Cyburbia Weightfest Thread

[Bear Up North]

As you should all know, bears are, by the grace of God, big guys. This Bear is a big guy. I knew that back in the 1950's when my mother took her boys to downtown Toledo for shopping. We would go to the men's store and I would always be directed to "the husky section".

I'm a tall bear, too. Expecting some shrinking as I continue toward age sixty (60), this Bear is 6-2, with my shoes on.

From about age eighteen (18) through thirty-five (35) my weight was a steady 233 lbs. Big boy, not overly fast on the basketball court, but a great outside jumper
("It's Bear in the air!") made up for some excess weight.

I broke an arm in a game at Swanton High School, playing Ohio Highway Patrol guys. I couldn't play b-ball for awhile so I started running. Eventually went down to just over 200 lbs. as I ran about six (6) to eight (8) miles a day.

As this Bear went into his forties the running slowed, although the b-ball continued. My weight eventually went back to around 233 lbs.

In my early fifties my weight started to creep up. Eventually, it had gone to about 260 lbs. So, along came Jared and his diet plan. It worked and my weight went back down to about 225 lbs.

It stayed in that range for a couple years, as I went through my long-bout with chemotherapy. There was some up and down flucuation with the3 chemo.

Now, my wife is "prepping" me for my bone marrow stem cell transplant by "forcing" me to gain weight. She is concerned that the BMSCT will make me lose a lot of weight.

I do not share that concern. At the Cancer Center last week my weight was approaching 265 lbs. Enough is enough.

Jared is re-entering my life, BMSCT or not. I will return to the basketball court when my treatment is over. I will return!
_____

If you dare.....share your story, your weight. This Bear doesn't want to go down as the Cyburbian with the most wives and the most pounds.

Toledo Scale Bear

[Cardinal]

I have known two people who have gone through the bone marrow treatment, and both gained weight due to the steroids. I would not worry. Simply be as healthy as you can before it begins.

[giff57]

Last February, I stepped on the scale at home and it said ERR......ERR......ERR. Must have maxed out at just over 300#. So off to Weight Watchers I went. Now I'm at just about 245. I caught a virus a couple of weeks ago and been lax at working out but, I'll be getting back into it this week.

[el Guapo]

The nut job medical profession says I should be 185 - yeah right. I'm 5'11" and built like an Dark Irishman - plenty of extra torso, short legs and wide sholders. At my max after I quit smoking I hit 268. Right now I weigh a cool 219. My goal is 195. I was at 210 last fall. But with job changes and the new commute I put some flab back on. But now I pay more attention to my resting heart rate, cholesterol, BP, A1C, and blood sugars. Those numbers tell the real story. Damn doctors are right - regular exercise works. Bastards

Best Wishes Bear.

[JNA]

....I pay more attention to my ....cholesterol, BP, A1C, and blood sugars. Those numbers tell the real story. Damn doctors are right - regular exercise works...

eG I have been dealing with/controlled by those numbers for 10+ years now.

[Michele Zone]

This is me at age 14, 5' 7" tall and probably under 120 pounds but I don't remember the weight, I just remember that I felt like I was starving:


These pics are of me at age 17, when I weighed about 127 pounds, was 5' 9" tall and was anorexically thin (I wore sizes 5 and 7):


Notice how you can count my ribs:


Just so you understand that I was desperately underweight and routinely passing out from standing up too fast, here is one more:


This is me at age 26 1/2 -- I must have weighed about 30 pounds more than in the above pictures and I wore a size 14 to 16 -- thanks in part to the weight gain, I had a bosom for the first time in my life:


This is a photo taken of me today, just for you Bear -- I am now 5' 8" tall and I probably weigh about 220 or 226. I think I am down to a size 18. I have lost about 3 dress sizes in the last two years but only about 5 pounds, if that. I was not just heavy when I was so sick, I also had a lot of swelling, took a LOT of steroids, etc. (Like Cardinal said: the steroids tend to really put the weight on you: my sister gained a lot when she was on chemo. Unless your doctor is telling you to intentionally gain weight, I would be skeptical of doing so as "preparation".) I looked like a walking corpse for a time. I really think I look pretty good these days, most of the time:

Frankly, I think it is a really unflattering photo, taken with no preparation by a 17 year old who knows nothing about taking photos and who has serious eyesight problems -- but, hey, he loves me no matter what I look like. So, Bear, please be flattered -- I don't usually make a habit of posting "icky pics" of me in public. You are privileged.

[Richmond Jake]

I'm just over 5'-11" in bare feet. The most I tilted the scales was 215 lb. about 3 years ago. I'm now down to between 180-185. The dress shirts fit my neck much better.

(I'm leaving the comments about MZ's flex pix to someone else....)

[Michele Zone]

(I'm leaving the comments about MZ's flex pix to someone else....)

Yes, and I still see myself that way...don't confuse me with the facts, My Mind is Made Up...



MZ, planning on having all the mirrors surgically removed from my apartment because it sounds cheaper and less painful than plastic surgery and I like delusionally living in the past.

[Dan]

5' 10", 175 pounds (178 centimeters, 79 kilograms) (12 bloody stone and seven bloody pounds, God Save the Queen). I'm about 20 pounds above what I feel is my ideal weight at 155 pounds. I'd be happy at 160, with a flatter stomach.

My problem is that I'm way too sedentary; after I moved from dry Colorado to humid Florida, my activity level dropped like a rock. A bicycle (I'm looking at a Giant hybrid) and some neighborhood exploration should take care of it, but the bike purchase won't be until after New Year. I'm also going to join the local J after I get settled in. ("The Beachwood J, where you don't have to be.")

[boiker]

For some odd reason I have been loosing weight this year.

Before college I was 160 and 6'-0", immediately after college I was about 185 and 6'-0" within a year of that I was 190, then this year, 180, 170, now.. 163. Pregnant Mrs. B was a little upset that her husband has lost so much weight that she now weighs (at 5 months pregnant) more than him. I think a big part of my weight change has been a regular 10-12 block walk to and from my car at work, taking the stairs up/down 4 flights rather than the elevator and not drinking pop or beer much at all.

[donk]

My weight loss secret has been stress and a bit of annoyance.

I've lost nearly 40 lbs since moving here in March.

Height 6'2 - 6'3
weight in february was about 210, now in the low 170's.

The light weight made climbing on the bikes fun, but lost a bit of power on the flats, time to possibly hit the gym this winter, depends on what the skiing here is like.

[Trail Nazi]

Bear, I hope all goes well with your medical procedures. When it is all over with, come down and visit and I will get you in shape in my water aerobics class. I will tone you up and keep you in shape. Plus, it will make you feel a lot better. You will definitely be able to get back on the b-ball court after a few sessions of water aerobics.

As for my weight, I have dropped all of my baby weight and then some (finally seeing single digit clothes sizes again). I feel like a whole new person with that extra weight off.

OT = eG, my whole family has that black Irish problem too. Darn Flintstone legs! Argh.

[Lee Nellis]

They bought a new scale at the gym, and there's 10 pounds difference. Which one is right? Who knows? I was 172, after spending 45 days in the wilderness, and that is probably how much I should weigh at 6'1", but I felt like I could blow away in a strong wind. The old scale at the gym said 181. The new one says 191. Guess I need to find an accurate scale.

[Seabishop]

My weight is too embarrassingly low for an adult man to list publicly. I only weigh 10 lbs more than in high school. About 5 years ago I gained a few pounds largely through junk food and inactivity but if I so much as walk up a flight of stairs I drop 10 lbs.

[mendelman]

I have been steadily gaining small increments of weight since I graduated HS 8 years ago.

I am 6'-1"(ish) and currently about 220lbs. When I graduated HS I was about 185lbs, but the crappy and fatty food and drinks I ate during college (and now) brought me to where I'm at now.

It's not bad though. I only have a slight paunch. I also gained alot of muscle mass one summer delivering ice in college, unfortunately, I think that has all flabbed by now.

Luckily, my wife and I live in a more pedestrian oriented place, so we walk alot, and we also have a 6 month old Lab puppy who needs lots of excerise. Therefore, I have been able to be pretty stable at 220 lbs.

And, as Bear alluded to, being over 6' and a little overweight helps in basketball - you can throw it around.

[Tranplanner]

I have body issues similar to EG...my 5'10" frame just won't fit into the "desirable" weight for that height. I tend to yo-yo slowly between 185 and 195 depending on the the season and motivation.

[biscuit]

I suppose I was a bit of a late bloomer because at 6' 3" I only weighed 160 lbs. or so after graduating from college. But now, 4 years later, I tip the scales at a near ideal 183 lbs. There was a time a couple of years ago where I got up to 220+, but geting out of my car and moving to the city, where I walk all of the time, and cutting out (most ) of the fast food has taken care of that. Now, just about the only undesirable fat on me is on my gigantic noggin.

Good luck to you on this latest round of treatments Bear. And remember, no basketball. A good friend of mine was going through chemo a few years back and it made his bones extremely brittle.

[zman]

Best wishes to the Bear as well. I hope everything goes well.

I weighed 190 in college when I was playing hockey, about right for my 6'2" frame. I gained weight soon after as I had gotten sick and couldn't play hockey.
Well, smoking in college canceled out the beer I drank, but I gained to about 210. Now I quit smoking and keep active sometimes and I'm hovering at 230. I need to go work out, and I lost weight earlier this summer by biking at lunch, but that has since been lax as I have had to work through lunch and thus become too tired at home.
A friend of the Z Man has invited him to play hockey for his team, but I haven't skated in a couple years. Basketball doesn't start until January for the adult leagues around town, so it may be back to running, biking, and hiking.

[the north omaha star]

This Star is 6'7" and 255 lbs. At one point, I was approaching 270 lbs. It's funny though. Between 1 and 5 years old, I was portly. Then from 5 to 23, I was tall and really skinny. Before, I moved to Maryland in 1997, I was 6'6" and about 195 lbs. When I was in elem. school, my Mom would buy me slim pants, then have to take in the waist. At the same time, my ribs push my stomach out. I looked like one of those kids on those late night send money now shows. I could eat anything and any amount I wanted and not show it.

I try now to watch the portion size. I'm at the new Y every other morning, to keep lose 15 lbs and to keep the cardio going. I really don't look heavy anymore. But in the back of my mind, 255 lbs is too much weight. Maybe because I was so skinny for so long.

[Gedunker]

I'm a shade under 6'-1" and up to 180#. I got down to 170# last winter/spring owing to the never-ending kitchen remodel, but now that the stove works again my weight is heading up (although it probably won't go much or any higher).

When I finished grad school I weighed 200# and really felt bad about it. Coached a U14 soccer team and dropped down to 160#, but I was too thin and felt bad. Ideally, I'd like to get to about 175 with less flab, but there's gravity to deal with.

[NHPlanner]

I've gained a bit of "sympathy" weight over the past 9 months.....hope to work myself back down to football weight in the coming months (back down to around 220 or so)....

[Jen]

I was boney maroni, skinny minnie, flat pat and a few other unmentionable names while growing up, and my friends hated the fact that I never ever dieted or worried about what I ate. Well now, it is a very different story... but I am stronger now than I have ever been thanks to yoga & pilates. I don't obsess about the weight, it comes and goes but cutting out fast food and bad snacking and increasing water intake has helped me stay out of the plus sizes, Oh and cutting back on the brewskies also helps

Nice pix MZ, and your current one looks fine too!

[Dan]

This is me at age 26 1/2 -- I must have weighed about 30 pounds more than in the above pictures and I wore a size 14 to 16 -- thanks in part to the weight gain, I had a bosom for the first time in my life:

http://my.execpc.com/~emercier/crumb/natural.gif

Mr. Natural approves of healthy girls.

http://www.ianai.net/jokes/forumpix/...20hit%20it.jpg

[el Guapo]

OMG - She's sitting on my mom's 1980's couch/love seat!

[Michele Zone]

I was boney maroni, skinny minnie, flat pat and a few other unmentionable names while growing up

Yeah, I got teased in much the same way.

Nice pix MZ, and your current one looks fine too!

Thanks.

OMG - She's sitting on my mom's 1980's couch/love seat!

That was MY mom's house at Christmas the year I returned from Germany. Even though you and I are both "Irish", we are NOT that closely related -- quit freaking me out.

http://my.execpc.com/~emercier/crumb/natural.gif

Mr. Natural approves of healthy girls.

http://www.ianai.net/jokes/forumpix/...20hit%20it.jpg

Please note that a size 14 to 16 exceeds your "size 10 or smaller" rule of thumb. You might want to think about that the next time you start spouting off in your blog (just days after the Shopping for REAL Women thread ) or on Cyburbia about the Importance of a Woman Being Petite. I don't think I am the only woman here who finds such comments/stereotypes offensive.

Now: I want my reward for politeness and patience for all the times I refrained from saying that under circumstances where it would have come across as a personal attack.