Kevlar281's Weight Loss Thread

Kevlar281 · Post by **Kevlar281** » December 18th, 2009, 2:43 pm

Well it finally happened. I hit the big milestone today; exactly 100 lbs down.

01/06/09 - 415.2 lbs (6'7")
12/18/09 - 315.2 lbs (6'7")

My Story:

I had been out of college for about a year and half and I had been working an entry level job pushing paper at a real-estate company. My life was completely sedentary. Wakeup go to work, sit behind a desk all day, come home, watch TV and go to bed. Rinse and repeat.

Well one day my brother asks if I could bring my truck by his shop and help him move some wood. I had no idea what I had gotten myself into. It took about an hour to load the truck and I was exhausted. I had never minded being a big guy because it had never limited me and I had been relatively active while in school with intramurals. As I drove home I started thinking about how tired I had gotten from a little bit of manual labor; it was rather disconcerting.

That night I went out for some drinks with some friends. It just so happened that one of my friends who was there that night was one of the healthiest people I knew. I asked him about his workout schedule and if I could join him. He agreed and I showed up at his house the next day. He has just about every imaginable piece of free weight equipment in his garage. Let me tell you working out in a unairconditioned garage during the summer time in Houston is no picnic. To this day my friend says he never thought I’d come back after the first day but that’s exactly what I did. I just kept coming back and lifting day after day. I was gaining strength and losing some weight but I was not seeing the results I wanted.

So we started trying to work some cardio into the routine, jumping rope, jogging the block etc. But I hated it all. It was just not enjoyable. So I Started thinking about all the cardio exercises I had done in my life. The only one I had ever enjoyed was rowing in High School. I knew my parents had a C2 that they had bought used and I wasn’t even sure if they were using it anymore. It had been awhile since I had rowed but I got on and gave it my all. I managed to make it 1,200 meters in just less than 7 minutes before I had to stop. But I was hooked; I knew this was something I could do. So the next day I made it to 1,500 meters. Every day after that I increased the distance by 500 meters. I kept myself at 5,000 meters for two weeks and then I started increasing the distance again by 500 meters each day until I hit the 10,000 meters.

I now consistently row 10,000 meters x 5 days a week. I like to row in the morning before breakfast. It’s a great way to start the day. When I combined rowing with lifting I was averaging a 10 lb a month weight loss. However, I recently started law school and it is very difficult to find time to lift. I still row in the mornings (5 days a week) and I’ve managed to lose about 5 lbs a month with just cardio. I still have a long way to go but it’s amazing to think that I have more behind me then in front of me.

Citroen · Post by **Citroen** » December 18th, 2009, 3:54 pm

Kevlar281 wrote:Well it finally happened. I hit the big milestone today; exactly 100 lbs down.

01/06/09 - 415.2 lbs (6'7")
12/18/09 - 315.2 lbs (6'7")

Well done. I'm around 166lbs. You're more than half way to the point where you'll have lost a whole one of me.

tjf0 · Post by **tjf0** » December 18th, 2009, 10:35 pm

Great story... rowing 10K a day will definitely use up the calories....not sure if you are throwing in intervals but if not I think they will help with your wt. loss. Especially if you mix them up ...

Big Chris · Post by **Big Chris** » December 23rd, 2009, 6:52 pm

Kevlar 281,
Reading your story blows me away because it seems as if I am reading my own story.
I to am also 6'7'' tall.

I am 46 years old and over the past few years my weight had just kept creeping up. I topped out at 390 myself and now come in at about 315 also. I started my weight loss journey on 1/04/09

I like to vary my rowing program a lot and have started doing crossfit workouts also. I tend to also row in the morning before work after about a 2.5 mile walk with the dog. How ever I prefer interval work to the longer pieces.

How have your times compared to when you started. I just pulled a 6:49- 2k last week and I am planning on rowing in the Sattalite row in Seattle for the CRASH Bs. Not that I will make it there but I love the drive to compete.

I am not trying to hijack your thread but it is so exciting for me to find someone else my size who is motivated to keep going and keep it off. It blows me away that you and I started about the same time with the similar results.

Congratulation on you weight loss and keep it up my fellow big brother.

Kevlar281 · Post by **Kevlar281** » December 30th, 2009, 1:18 pm

Thanks for the encouraging/kind words everyone.

tjf0 wrote:Great story... rowing 10K a day will definitely use up the calories....not sure if you are throwing in intervals but if not I think they will help with your wt. loss. Especially if you mix them up.

I haven't really done any interval training. Although it's something that I should probably consider.

Big Chris wrote:How have your times compared to when you started.

My times have definitely improved. However, I don't go full out on any short pieces. I've just been sticking with 10,000+ meters. I've considered updating my C2 with something that I can monitor with the my computer.

Citroen · Post by **Citroen** » December 30th, 2009, 6:57 pm

Kevlar281 wrote:My times have definitely improved. However, I don't go full out on any short pieces. I've just been sticking with 10,000+ meters. I've considered updating my C2 with something that I can monitor with the my computer.

For Windows users that's RowPro from http://digitalrowing.com

Mac users can run RowPro if they dual boot into a copy of Windows (and make their Mac into a brain dead zombie machine).

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My lost brother