The Physical Side of Before, During, and After of Obesity: Guest Post 2 From Gaz

02.22.2012 | 7:42 am

A Note from Fatty: This week, Gaz, who blogs as “The FORMER Super Morbidly Obese Cyclist” will be taking over my blog. He’ll be describing his journey from fat to fit, as well as answering your questions about how it’s possible to lose a lot of weight (in Gaz’s case, hundreds of pounds) by riding.

Sorry folks, I should have been here yesterday but got called away on business at the last moment yesterday. You do, however, have my full attention again today.

I’d like to touch base on the physical side of the journey I have been through, before dealing with some more of your questions.

Before

I started my journey at 560 pounds (Give or take)

• I had Type 2 Diabetes
• I had Sleep Apnea
• I had Super High Bloody pressure

My Doctor told me that if I chose to exercise, it might well kill me, but if I chose NOT to then I’d be dead pretty darn quick. That was harsh to hear but not a total shock, to be honest.

I had 2 very young kids at the time and I knew what I was doing to myself wasn’t fair on them. Through no fault of their own, if I didn’t fix myself then the children that I had decided to bring into this world would know a future without a father, there would be no role model, no “My Daddy was a fighter.” Just “My Daddy was too fat to live.”

When I sat down and thought about that for the first time, I knew I couldn’t fail.

Where do you start though, when even walking to the bathroom hurts? Running was out, I found swimming was so very difficult at that size, and walking bored me.

As a kid I used to cycle and was pretty good at it for someone that wasn’t passionate about it (Oh how times change), but finding a bike store, let alone a bike, that would take me seriously at that weight was a REAL challenge.

I didn’t give up and a few months later my MTB was ready and waiting, it took me a few months to muster up the courage to go out in public and show the world what I had become.

During

I was REAL lucky physically with injuries during my weight loss journey, despire all the strain on my body, I only suffered one “injury” — a hamstring pull — and even that wasn’t enough to keep me off the bike, it just slowed me down, a LOT.

However, when it came to accidents, my luck wasn’t in, once slipping on a icy road and once being hit at high speed by a van.

But amazingly, that accident didn’t cause me any major , long lasting injuries. Sure, I still suffer with my back now, some 18 months later, but I was doing over 20 mph and the van driver over 30 mph and I landed on my HEAD, backwards. On any other given day, I wouldn’t have survived!

But I did and I feel its because I have someone watching me, I wear a LiveSTRONG band and have done from day one, never taking it off. It fits pretty big these days from being stretched though, but — and I know this might sound crazy — I feel that it saved my life.

That accident spooked me, but I will talk about the mental effects of it and my weight loss tomorrow.

After

So, now, after being obese , where am I ? Well, I NO LONGER have

• Type 2 Diabetes
• Sleep Apnea
• Super High Bloody pressure

I can hold an average speed on my Single Speed road bike of over 20 Mph all day long (unless we are talking serious hills of course)

I can round around playing with my kids, they are proud to have there daddy take them to school and want to show him off, unlike 3 years ago.

And along my journey I have raised around $6000 for Cancer Charity’s by just riding my bike, everyone is a winner,

It’s not all good tho, with around 14 pounds of excess skin, I have been told I need a full body reconstruction, something that I would never be able to afford or justify but I’d much rather have the skin than being dead!

Tomorrow I will cover the same areas but from a mental perspective!

Ok, questions from the floor please……..

Al

Q. Hey Gaz – nice to see you on here. I’m based in the UK and came across your story last year and was inspired then (as now) by it. I saw you’ve got a Madone now – cool, cool choice!

A: Hey Al, good to hear from you, my Madone is of course the coolest because it’s the 7 TdF champion edition J

Daddyo

Q. How far is your daily commute by bike?

A. The “normal” route is a 13 mile round trip, but in the summer, most days, I’ll ride 20 miles each way.

Snotrocketeer

Q. I have a close friend who weighs close to 400lbs and I want to help him loose a lot of that weight by embracing cycling like you did. He has expressed interest in it and I want to get him started by buying him a bike and helping him with his training.

My question is, what kind of bike did you start riding at your heaviest? It seems like one would need something specialized for such a high weight, as well as someting easy to handle with the limited mobility of someone that size. Any tips on an entry-bike for someone trying to do this for the first time at 300-400lbs?

A: I rode a TOTALLY Standard Giant Yukon 2007 MTB. Best tip I can give, is to avoid pot holes and don’t jump off the kerb.

Tee

Q. Gaz, great job. I was wondering what your first ride was like when you decided enough was enough. If you can remember what were your thoughts from when you took the bike out and put your leg over it to when you brought it home from the first ride. And, if you had to do it all over again would you have done anything differently? Thank you.

A: It was HARD, shameful, painful, exhausting and enlightening at all the same time, there is nothing at all I would have done differently , apart from not gain the weight in the first place.

CGradeCyclist

Q. What a brilliant blog!! Great story that has been told in great style – inspirational!! Thanks Gaz – I really enjoyed reading through some of your blog posts.

My only question is this – did you ever “fall off the wagon” or regress to old habits? If you did, how did you kick yourself back into regular riding again?

A: Thanks! I fell off the wagon just once, and that was after the accident. I felt REALLY low and couldn’t walk for a few weeks. As soon as I got back on the bike, it was all fixed though.

Bryce

Q. Did you ever figure out why you gained all the weight in the first place? What made it stick with the trade of the bike instead of the food?

A: I sure did and its something I will deal with in tomorrows post.

Dan.weise

Q. First off, congratulations on the loss and maintenance! The questions I have are regarding the temptations and “falling off the wagon”. What was your biggest temptation? How did you fight it? IF you did go overboard, what got you back on track?

Also, this is for the wider audience as well. I’d love to bike to work, but its 12+ miles and some climbing which means I wouldn’t exactly be “fresh” when I got to work, if you know what I mean. I work in an office with no shower facilities. Any suggestions or strategies that would allow me to bike and to be presentable at work?

Thanks!

Keep up the great work!

A: Thanks for the question, the bike always kept and keeps me on the straight and narrow.

12 miles isn’t as far as you think, I have 2 climbs both ways and both are not easy , I did them from the start almost though and it makes you a better rider, having no shower at work too myself, I can say, take a towel, change of clothes and LOTS of deodorant

Thanks everyone!

Gaz