I've lost 360+lbs on my own and I would love to answer any questions people have.

weakjuice · 3 months

I'm not sure if anyone will read this but I am Michaels older sister and I've been reading a lot of the comments and questions and I just wanted to share some info. A few questions were about if he was made fun of and some comments were how he seemed happy even when big. We have been blessed with an amazing family, our parents support all and any crazy dreams we've had and have shown us that it doesn't matter if your rich, poor, 100lbs or 700lbs they will always be there for us. I think growing up with that security helped us gain self esteem at any weight. I have always been bigger then I would like but I've always been happy cause my weight never defined who I was. I have never been as heavy as Michael was and it is true that living with him you knew he was big but you never really grasped how big. Now that he is fit and healthy I definitely get jealous but I'm also so proud and I love sharing his story with everyone. I will also say this, what Michael did is truly amazing but in order to succeed at anything you have to want it whole heatedly and never make excuses, during his transformation we never once heard him complain. He wanted to change more then anything in the world and there was nothing that was going to stop him.

weakjuice · 3 months

From about 600lbs to 250 took me a little into 17 months. From April 1st of 08 to Sept of 09. The last bit of body forming, ie putting on muscle, going through surgeries and injuries (I'm accident prone now that I love to push my body to it's limits), has taken up the bulk of the 2 and a half years since then. Oh, and I'm 24 now.

weakjuice · 3 months

The stretch marks absolutely fade with time. I got "lucky" in the sense that I got big when I was younger so I got the stretch marks as a kid and over my teen years they faded. The skin on the other hand I had to have surgically removed because my case was so drastic that I had damaged my skin's elasticity and it would never have gone back. How long you've been over weight, how old you are, and how heavy you actually get all play into how well your skin will bounce back. There is always a light at the end of the tunnel so never let fears of what COULD be deter you from what you want to achieve. Everything will be better than you expect.

weakjuice · 3 months

I ate when I felt hungry. Not bored, not not full but actually hungry. When I did eat I only ate until the hunger was gone, not until I was full. Turkey with mustard and a piece of fruit usually did the trick along with a pickle and bam, low calorie filler.

weakjuice · 3 months

And now I'm blushing.

weakjuice · 3 months

Keeping busy was a big part of it, yes. Nowadays I'm more in your shoes with classes, work, and life in general it can be hard to find time to eat but if I know I won't have time for eating during the day I try to have something ready on the fly like I posted earlier. Usually it's hard boiled eggs or low carb yogurts or even just a peach/apple/pear/plum (out of hand fruit). That helps me from gorging later in the night which I know first hand.

weakjuice · 3 months

Actually, my best friend now admitted to me that in high school when I was heavy and before we knew each other he made fun of me behind my back. It didn't bother me seeing as how we all say dumb things and regret them later and he was very apologetic.

weakjuice · 3 months

I was very lucky. I was made fun of as a child because I was different but not much, certainly not enough to scar me. As I got older and bigger and hit high school the jokes got even less frequent because, lets face it, who has the stones to make fun of a 6'3" 500+lb guy going through puberty? I think I have my sisters to thank for my calm and happy attitude towards life. I was the rough stone on the beach and they were the ocean, slowly grinding me down to what I am now, a smooth peaceful pebble.

weakjuice · 3 months

The rough days I take on the chin like everyone else. If I have a bad day where I eat something I know I shouldn't have (I'm looking at you jar of processed peanut butter...) I remember to take it one day at a time. Tomorrow is a new day and having sports amnesia--quickly forgetting you had a bad game so you can focus on the future, can be a great asset. Life will still be there tomorrow so hit it hard.

weakjuice · 3 months

They truly don't believe me. Often times it comes down to me showing them my old ID or that I have no belly button. Actually just telling them is near worthless, ha.

weakjuice · 3 months

Going shirtless these days doesn't bother me in the slightest and I find it rather interesting as how almost no one notices I don't have a belly button unless I point it out and people tend to think the scars are from either a fight or accident.

weakjuice · 3 months

I can! I'm was in the middle of working on my front hand spring before my accident which broke my shoulder blade. Cartwheels are great.

weakjuice · 3 months

I've read every comment and I've never been so humbled. I feel undeserving of all of these kind words, everyone is so nice.

weakjuice · 3 months

Cheers :). I still watch the video and it sucks me in every time and it keeps me motivated.

weakjuice · 3 months

Well everyone, this talk about hikes and activity is making my antsy so I'm off to get some fresh air and smell the roses. I will be back later and try my best to answer anymore questions. Thank you all for the kind words, I hope I was able to help even just a little.

weakjuice · 3 months

Portion control can be a pretty big problem for me even these days. My go-to solution is only put good things in front of your face. Steam a pound of broccoli or cauliflower, put that out as the option to eat and your body will tell you how badly it REALLY wants food then. If you HAVE to snack and I have to sometimes, I try to keep hard boiled eggs in the fridge as a quick grab and go or low carb yogurts. I know keeping from being hungry can be a chore but the best advice I have is to get out and do something that takes your mind off it all together.

weakjuice · 3 months

I started weight training early last year in May. I started getting basic strength down with basic lifts extremely similar to SS (starting strength). After about 5-6 months of building strength I started doing Olympic style lifts. Clean, jerk etc. inside a basic push-pull routine. It's worked out for me very well until Jan 6th when I broke my shoulder blade. I've been out of lifting since and I hate it.

weakjuice · 3 months

This is a truly incredible community, I can already tell.

Great post, I concur that we share a lot of the same ideas! The ignore everyone can be an easy one to forget. No one has as much of a vested interested in your well being as you do and more times than not misery loves company. Great advice.

weakjuice · 3 months

Amazing question.

It really depends on where in my life I was at that time. I can recall joking with my family that I would always be big, get use to it and that is an absolute but it was more of a false face of security. I can't possibly know what your brother thinks or how he feels but I can say that while I was happy when I was big I always dreamt of being thin and if I ever lashed out at someone for suggesting I lose weight it wasn't because I didn't want to but because it was easier to lash out and accept my situation than it would have been to face myself and tackle it head on. I've helped people very close to me lose weight but I had a drill sergeant in my own head when I was doing it. It was all my problem and if I messed up I had to sleep with myself that night which really kept me pushing ahead. Until someone can find that inner drive I know first had it can be down right disheartening to try and help them.

weakjuice · 3 months

I never really told anyone I was doing it. I made up my own mind and I was stubborn enough to want to do it alone. Since it happened so fast my mother tells the story as "One day he was big the next he wasn't. He never said one word of it, he never complained about anything, I had no idea he was even doing it. He just did it."

My closest friends have always been supportive. My friend and I were biking up a hill both completely exhausted but so happy and I said through my gasping breaths "I love myself for getting thinner and and healthier so I can do this sort of thing with you man." He looked at me with a massive genuine smile and said "Me too buddy." I will always remember that day.

weakjuice · 3 months

I cut all bad foods out all at once. Integrating better foods into my diet was the gradual part. I wasn't able to wake up one day and have cravings for lettuce, that had to be nurtured and grown.

weakjuice · 3 months

Very common, actually. They basically did breast reduction surgery on me (the surgeon admitted I was the first male she had ever done it on which made me laugh a little). As far as risks, like any major surgery there are risks. During my second surgery after they closed me up I began to bleed out and they had to open me back up to fix it. I ended up losing a lot of blood but I was fine. The other thing that comes with it is the loss of feeling wherever they do the surgery but like I said, that becomes normal after no time.

weakjuice · 3 months

Ha! The beard remains but the large neck/chin is gone.

weakjuice · 3 months

The ball parks I gathered were anywhere from 8-15 for either surgery. I think just the chest was closer to 8 while a full body lift would be closer to 15. I'm sorry I can't be more exact off the top of my head :(.

weakjuice · 3 months

I would be glad to. I've had two surgeries, the first was to remove my rather large breasts of skin and the second was to remove the abdominal skirt. The surgeries themselves are easy, all you have to do is sleep for about 3 hours :). After waking up there is disorientation and mild burn sensation where they made the cuts. My surgeries were way more drastic that standard so when I describe it be sure to remember that. The surgeon took my breast tissue and additional skin sag underneath the breast. The recovery includes a tight vest and bandage wrapped around with drains for fluid build up (yes the tubes go deep inside). My recovery for both surgeries was about 6 weeks a piece and with the aid of pain killers, good friends and family, and video games I have almost no bad memories of recovery but know that getting up/flexing/coughing/doing anything physical for the first week will be an absolute bear. Another thing to remember is there is swelling that will remain for months after the bandages come off so it will constantly get better looking and improve with time so don't let the look of it the first time discourage you--it scared me I admit. There will be itching and that will be a good sign that it's healing and any numbness or weird feeling will eventually go away. I actually lost all feeling in one nipple for the first 4 months I would say but it came back (it was quite a laugh telling people I couldn't feel my nipple though!)

weakjuice

TROPHY CASE

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