ertlandia

- you kind of look like opie(from sons of anarchy) - i don't mean to be rude but are you sick... with like cancer or something and my favorite because I don't even notice it and it sent my wife into a blind rage. - getting checked out while holding my wife's hand

If anyone is looking for support send me an add mfp username -> ertlandia

great job keep it up

thats awesome

sorry about that fixed the link

One of the goals that I set for myself shortly after I started riding a bike after surgery was that I was going to complete a 100 mile bike ride. At the time I thought it was kind of outrageous of a goal to complete with in a year from my surgery date. The last weekend in July I will be headed up to Burlington VT to complete that goal. This is a donation based ride that I need to raise money for. I choose this ride to use this, lets call it, a second chance to try and do what I could to help someone that helped me. 2 years ago I found out that I had type 2 Diabetes. I was in denial for a few days but snapped out of it quickly. I did not ask the doc many questions at the appointment that I found out. I was in denial. I found the most support through a young girl, who was dating my youngest brother, she had been a type 1 diabetic since she was 3. At this point she had been living with it for 13 years. Even though type 1 and type 2 diabetes are different. The way she explained things about metabolizing carbs vs sugars helped me get alot of my intake under control. I ride for her in the hopes that what ever money I can raise can help her from having to stick herself multiple times a day every day. Below is the link to my donation page. Mods/admins if this is inappropriate on the forum please remove the post http://www2.jdrf.org/goto/ertter

tagged so when i get home i remember to provided titles

I was having some issues early on with leg cramps and was advised by the staff at the weight loss center to add more salt to my diet and add magnesium.

you look amazing. congrats on the loss

before i started riding again it had been 16 years since the last time i rode. Starting out was rough but after a while I got a lot easier. I started out only able to get 5 miles at a speed of maybe 5mph. Now I am up to a max flat land speed of 24 mph (but not for very long) I am able to hold an average speed between 15 to 16 mph on much much longer rides now. It is now to the point were I ride not for the exercise but because it is like therapy. bad day good day get on the bike and everything is better.

I am honest and up front with anyone that asks. I have had reactions ranging from that's awesome to you took the easy way out. I don't care if people think I took the easy way out. I did this for me not for them. I made the choice, I made the choice I felt was best for me. I always look at it as "haters gunna hate"

This stuff is gross... Super super gross. with that being said if you can get past the taste its a lot of protein. When I went to soft food I could not eat eggs I would instantly get sick, eggs in something fine, scrambled what ever nope. I tried multiple times up to my a month ago (9 month post op mark) and i started to to feel ill. I was not able to eat turkey and still cannot same with cured ham. leafy greens will still sometimes give me some issues. Everything else that I have tried I am able to eat in small amounts. (minus bread Pasta rice etc haven't even tried)

I still, 10 months post op, do not always feel hungry. I run my life off of scheduled eating times and listen to my body. It gives me signs and clues when I need to fill up it's tank

When I started I was 5 miles at a 5mph pace. It has taken me months to get my distance and speed up. I can remember after one of my early rides, about 7 or 8 miles, I could not walk right the next day. It gets easier, just keep on keep'n on, the peddles that is.

I would walk, it was more of a mosey 3 days after surgery. When I was cleared to start "working out" I was 4 weeks out and started going for day hikes, 8 to 15 miles. (I live right off the Appalachian trail) it was about 3 months out I started riding a bike. I consulted with my doc to make sure going to lift was not going to damage anything at 6 months out. At 9 months out I started crossfit. One of the other activities that I wanted to get into was brazilian jiu jitsu and it was HIGHLY recommended to wait. When in doubt run it past your Doc.

as butter said cycling tights with a chamois. I run a pair of Pearl Izumi 3/4 length attacks knicker bibs(model name) long name amazing on the gentleman parts. I also had a professional fit done to get the bike dialed in just right. I was riding 125 to 150 miles a week no knickers. Picked a pair up and was able to almost triple my distance that week. I also run a seat with a cut out.

that is awesome. I also had issues finding shoes that would fit. now I can find stuff that fits. It is a great feeling

At my largest updated pic ohhhhh ahhhh side by side current 213.5 and day after surgery 380 I have always been heavy. When I was a kid playing little league football I had to play with kids 3 to 4 years older than myself to "make weight" This was the start of my struggle with my weight. When I got to Jr High I started power lifting and did that for a few years. I quit while in high school to get a job. It was at that point I started to pack on weight. I was used to consuming a large amount of calories for my physical activity and never scaled it back down after i quit. I quickly balloon up to 300lbs after graduating and getting a desk job. Fast forward to November of 2011. I was diagnosed with diabetes. I weight 442lbs at the appointment. I still remember that day vividly. Its funny how you can remember the details of major events like that. I was in denial. I left the Doctors office and went to a philly cheese steak place and consumed a meal that consisted of 3500 calories. the entire time thinking to myself, "thats bullshit, I don't have diabetes, my liver function can't be at 60 some odd percent.". It took me a day to process everything and come to terms with it. It was then that I decided to pursue the option of WLS. I made and appointment with a local surgeon. I started the pre-surgery diet before I even meet with the nut. I did that with the help of the diabetic education system that the local hospital has. Leading up the the surgery the process was took 6 months because of insurance requirements. My surgery was August 17th. During my stay at the hospital all I can remember were the apologies for not having a bed long enough for my 6'3" frame. It was only about 2 days until I really wanted to get up and start doing stuff. I did not become very active due to the doctors warnings to take it easy. The only issues with the post surgery diet that I had were issues with food intolerances. No eggs or turkey, kind of saddening but lift goes on. At my first check up on talked with the doctor about when I could start exercising. He gave me a date that I would be cleared to go. I called some of my buddies and we setup a time to go for a hike on the Appalachian trail. My first real exercise was an 8 mike hike on the trail. I was beat and went home and slept for like 12 hours. I didn't slow down there. We started hiking every Saturday. We have covered about 1/3 of the Trail in the state of PA, multiple times over. I set a goal to get down to 100lbs below what I started and I would buy a bike. When I hit that goal November of 2012 I went out and bought a nice mountain bike. When I started riding the bike I would park at a friends house about 4 miles, direct route to work, and ride in. I would get between 8 to 10 miles a day. This went on for about a week. As my friends put it I went a little crazy one saturday on my way home. My house is 14.6 miles from work I rode the entire way home after riding for a week. That was the start of my commuting via bike to and from work. I started out getting 30 miles a day. I kept going riding 4 to 5 times a week. When the weather started to get snowy and really cold that slowed down and I joined a gym. I set another goal, Complete a 100 mile ride for charity with in a year of my surgery date. I registered for the JDRF Ride for a cure, sold my Mountain bike and picked up a road bike. Starting out I was only able to get up to a speed of about 8 to 12 mph through my rides. I started taking the long way to work getting an average of 28 to 32 miles one way. After weeks of working on my speed I have gotten up to a constant 15 to 17 mph peaking with sprints into the high 20's. At 9 months post op I am at 214 lbs a loss of 228 lbs total 174 in the 9months post surgery. I am no longer on diabetes meds and riding 60+ miles on the days I ride. I still hike and trail run. I have taken up yoga strength training and will be giving cross fit a try. The surgery has given me the tools to be as active as I wanted to be. I am not healthier than I have ever been. I have started running group rides for friends that want to get out and cycle to loose weight. I, for the first time ever, was called a role model. the morning before surgery and few weeks ago(will take a new pick I have dropped 15 or 20 lbs since that was taken)[/font]

thank you for your compliment. You should not feel like a failure thou. We all lose differently. I have had to put in a lot of exercise to get to were I am at. I work out, on average, 2 hours 6 days a week.

I would go back and do it all over again in a heart beat, extra skin and all.

1 I do have extra skin. I am able to tuck my hand under it. monday is yoga, tuesday deep tissue massage wedesday biking, thursday gym Arms chest, abs and back extensions, friday bike again, saturday gym back shoulds. Sunday off one week next week i run a group ride for some people I know who are trying to ride to lose weight. I also commute to work by bicycle 75% of my work week. I will be adding crossfit to that. 2 I am a stomach over the belt kind of guy. Most all of my excess skin is around my trunk stomach back and butt. I wear compress shorts all the time. 3 This was one area I was concerned with the possibility of excess skin. The excess skin sprang back pretty good here. I forgot to add I do a ton of sit-ups. I average 2000 situps a week and 600 push ups a week.