Effects Not Typical

2008 and Early Days

I wasn't always heavy, and I never really ever set out to be a poster child for extreme weight loss. The genes and a failing thyroid kicked in when I was a young adult, not even thirty. I tried various diets and half-heartedly exercised, but I wasn't too interested in either. And as my life continued, and I moved to Boston in 1995, I got heavier and heavier. Eventually, the seatbelt on my car was getting to be too short for me (never mind airplane seatbelts; the solution, of course, is: don't fly). Then suddenly my doctor was telling me I was going to become a diabetic. And, perhaps, I was beginning to have a bit of a midlife crisis.

This is my before picture:

Enter alli. It was, for me, quite simply the right time to do something about how far I'd let myself go. With alli (they don't pay me, by the way), I began to take back control of myself. Not just of my eating habits, but of my own self. This was on January 19th of 2008.

February 21, 2008, when I was searching the Internet for Indian recipes, I stumbled onto SparkPeople. It had the one piece that alli was missing: a real community. Now, alli has a community. But I never liked it; it was very heavily moderated. And, while that is helpful for people who are shy about expressing themselves about their health and well-being, I found the format to be somewhat stifling. With Spark, I was able to be myself. Almost as importantly, I was able to blog. It let me be my own quirky self. Here is one of my favorite written blog entries. This is my favorite video blog entry. Of course I post there as jespah.

On March 17, 2008, I was 25 pounds lighter.

On May 12, 2008, I had lost 50 pounds. Being under 300 pounds for the first time in about six years was pretty amazing, too.

On August 4, 2008, I was suddenly 75 pounds less than when I had started.

On October 27, 2008, I celebrated 100 pounds off. Suddenly I was becoming one of those Effects Not Typical people. Suddenly I was an extreme weight loser.

2009

In January of 2009, I joined Women's Fitness of Boston. I had not really seen myself as a gym-goer before. Sure I had tried, in the 1980s, but that time was different. This time I was serious.

On February 9, 2009, I was 125 pounds less than I had been.

On April 21, 2009, I got the opportunity to tell my story on television. This was because alli was going on sale in England, so I ended up being interviewed at a breakfast show in England, on GMTV. It was all done live in New York City (in the middle of the night!). My interview was apparently seen by a good 6 million people! It was a very heady time.

In June of 2009, I decided on a lark to enter a 5K. This was the JP Morgan Boston Corporate Challenge. I wasn't a fast runner. The course (about 3.1 miles) took me a little over an hour. But I did it! I was hooked on racing. I also had lost a total of 150 pounds on June 22nd and was suddenly under 200 pounds for the first time since about 1992 or so. To some it may seem silly or over the top, but the first time I saw my weight as being under 200 pounds, I broke down and cried. I'm not ashamed to admit that.

On November 21, 2009, I took my last alli. I still had more weight to lose but was confident I could do it on my own. Plus, after about two years (I was coming up on that time), it loses all effectiveness. It seemed silly to continue paying for it if it was going to stop working, anyway.

In 2009, I finished six 5Ks, all in and around Boston.

2009 Race Results

Date	6/25/09	7/5/09	9/7/09	10/3/09	11/8/09	12/13/09
Time	01:04:04	43:38	43:33	42:13	38:21	44:35

2010

On January 15, 2010, I had surgery to combat what happens when you've lost significant weight in a relatively short amount of time. This included a tummy tuck. My doctor didn't really take off a lot of weight (about 6 pounds), but he did reshape me enough that I fit into clothes better. There was a while there where my shoulders fit into a size medium blazer but by the time it got to my hips, I was an extra large. That had to change, and dieting and exercising just weren't getting the job done. They took very good care of me at St. Elizabeth's Hospital. A shout out to them; their nurses in particular are really fantastic and I bow to their kindness and expertise.

In 2010, I completed nine 5K races.

2010 Race Results

Date	4/18/10	5/1/10	7/17/10	8/21/10	9/6/10	10/2/10	10/30/10	11/7/10	12/19/10
Time	40:31	40:44	47:26	43:36	46:39	43:04	44:27	41:17	45:33

2011

A lot of 2010 was spent going one step forward and one back. I traded the same six pounds during the course of over 1/4 of the year. I intend to do better in 2011.

In 2011, I plan on completing ten 5K races. My first was in March. If you're in Brighton, come cheer me on, or join in the fun. I usually wear yellow.

2011 Race Results

Date	3/18/11	4/3/11	5/7/11	6/14/11	7/16/11	8/20/11	9/15/11	10/1/11	11/6/11	12/18/11
Time	43:07	41:01	36:10	41:51	45:26	45:46	44:14	45:24	44:47	00:00

2012

A lot of 2011 was spent with maintenance.

In 2012, I plan on completing ten 5K races. My first will be in March. If you're in Brighton, come cheer me on, or join in the fun. I usually wear yellow.

2012 Race Results

Date	3/18/12	3/31/12	5/5/12	6/12/12	7/14/12	8/18/12	9/3/12	10/0/12	11/4/12	12/0/12
Time	00:00	00:00	00:00	00:00	00:00	00:00	00:00	00:00	00:00	00:00

What else is planned for 2012? Well, I'd like to make it to my ultimate goal: 146 lbs. Stay tuned.

Here's some extreme weight loss results (this photo was taken on April 7, 2010):