Changes

HST

HST

Joined
Apr 2, 2015
Messages
1,880
I never thought I'd be making a thread like this, but here I am. What seems like yesterday - this happens as one ages - I started making life changes. Aound me people were passing away and I finally got scared enough to look at myself. What did I find? A severe case pf personality disorder - I was actively trying to die. I drank the best bourbon, ate the best food, and consumed both at an alarming rate. I drove daringly around the world and all across the Americas. Risk and reward became skewed every time and it always ended in debauchery. I was obese, an addict, and I had a severe case of personality disorder, so I got started on myself. What I didn't understand was the time needed to reverse 10+ years of gluttony. I started drinking when I was 35 and I gained one pound a month (just an average) for 9 years. I almost didn't want to say it out loud, but my hope is, I will reach and inspire one person from their fate. I have no idea how I escaped my own fate, besides the desire to not be who I became.

I pulled through and it was tuff. Quitting alcohol was serious for me - it took two years to feel 'normal.' Luckily, I had my own home where I could let it all out in privacy, but most importantly, as I was ready. When I was brave enough to get on the scale, I was 293 @ 6 ft. (01/17) with an unknown morbidly obese bf% (I went all in before 12/22/16 and probably gained 20+lbs? True gluttony!). My submersion test on 02/21, I was 8.8% @ 178.5. I really started caloric restriction and high cardio @18.5% bf and it took 11 months to hit single digit bf (03/30-02/21). Today I'm 188 with "old man" 11-12% bf and eating 3200 calories a day. Don't let anyone tell you it can't be done, or real change can't happen. The problem is we don't stick with it long enough for the true change to happen. I do/did NO androgens, PED, drugs, creatine, pre-workout or any supplements besides vitamins and minerals. I eat all fruits, veggies, and fresh meats with healthy salt and butter (95% of the time). "Calories In/Calories Out" is the rule - it doesn't matter what you eat, when you eat, and/or how often you eat to lose weight. I work-out infrequent and no more than three times a week for less than 30 minutes a time. I do cardio quite often for 1-2 hrs at a time. I should add, I had stage two hypertension, diabetes, cholesterol was very bad, low liver function (poor thing), and tachycardia daily. I used sobriety, nutrients, and time only (single ingredient foods, vitamins and minerals) to cure my all disease. I turned 50 recently and I've never felt better...I'm not just saying that.

My whole life has changed. I don't care to drive "fast" or even really want to drive one of my cars. I dislike the city. I never eat out because I want to be in control of my calories and nutrients. I find most of the things I enjoyed I no longer do. I've become simple, but that simplicity is my peace. To go from an obese addict to where I wanted to be was 5 years and 2 months. There are no short cuts and the only thing I learned was X amount of time should be undefined as the process is the process. For long term viability - I urge all to take their time with change. One thing at a time and you only have to win the day that you're in.

Today: I've decided that I want to roam the earth in a 5th wheel and a truck. I've also been sailing - I got a S/V - and I will be doing that equally as much. Hurricane season I'll stay on land and when it's not I'll be sailing. JIC, I got some land in FL 30 miles from the beach. Therefore, I've decided to sell it all - even my home and car collection. What is relevant and included is the sale my extensive knife collection.

This isn't a for sale ad - it's a giveaway.

Before I sell it all, I want to give back to a special place - The Porch. I will be giving away 3 knives. 2 Blade Forum knives that are new and a lightly used Freemont Jack. The forum knives are #863119 and Buck '18, and the Freemont Jack is in OD Green Micarta with a "tasteful" by me forced patina. I will use a random # generator to pick the winners. I will draw the winners Sunday of this week and post winners by next week Monday morning EST.

To enter the giveaway, you must be a member of BF, you must have 100 posts on the Porch, and you must tell us all a personal moment of your life that you triumphed over yourself. You may also state a time in your life that happened and created change for the better. I want some pro-human stories - I feel we could all use to hear some - and this community is rich with them. Thanks for listening, thanks for being you, and thanks for stopping by.


Live well, y'all.
 
I'd like to celebrate your salvation from debauchery, HST HST !!!
Mine is a little simpler; I had a scary, debilitating stroke, a serious flirt with full-blown diabetes, and rambling high blood pressure! After a lot of serious dietary changes, and extensive rehab, a new hip, amid corrections for other aging diseases, the waters are merely a little choppy for me!! I'm older, at 77+, so my goals are not as ambitious as your; more like trying to keep an even keel!!
I wish you the best in your endeavors!!
 
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Congrats on the changes. 👍 I know it can be rough.
Since I just won in Charlie's waynorth waynorth 's GAW, I'm out.

Word of advice from experience from when I was on a friend's crewed charter boat.:

If you're sailing you  need a set of fids for splicing triple strand and hollow core double braid lines, and a Marlin Spike knife.
A safety harness or tether for rough weather, mast chair (and safety harness) for when the sheave(s) at the top of the mast (or the mast nav lights, radio antenna(s) radar (if equipped) weather cock, or rigging) needs attention while underway is also mighty handy. So is a sail needle, thread, and palm protector
In your emergency gear keep an axe, large bolt/cable cutters, (to cut stays if you bust a mast during a storm) 3 pound short sledge hammer, plugs to fit each through hull, 3M 5200, or "quick dry" 4800, (both cure below the water line/if submerged) various fuses/spare circuit breakers, coolant impeller for the engine(s) (including the gen set)

We put a strobe light and an EPRB (Emergency Personal Radio Beacon) on each life jacket, which was supposed to be worn by anyone on deck. Even on a 72 foot over deck Ketch with safety lines around the deck parameter, it was still possible for someone to go overboard. Same is true on the 1,000 passenger cruise ships. (we never had anyone go overboard while underway)

The safety gear and EPRB are recommended whether you stay near shore or go bluewater.
 
This is not an entry but I do wish to congratulate you on making positive changes and taking stock of your health. Realizing at 50 and making the changes will make the other half much better as Charlie Munger had said in the last Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting. I work in health care and have been seeing this for a lot of my patients during these covid years. Unfortunately we are in year three of this debacle (well almost, depending on when you started counting) and it has taken a toll on a lot of my patients. They haven't caught covid, but they were the work from home crowd. So often we have heard, oh Jack, I work from home, so since the boss is not looking I can have a glass of wine with lunch. A lot of them have ballooned up in weight from the take out and excess alcohol. Combined with the fact that they were approaching the middle age group, some serious smoking history, lack of exercise, and general deconditioning from the quarantine, they have done some damage to their health. Precisely how much, we wont know exactly unless a retrospective study is done at some point to analyze this. I myself saw first hand the damage that can be done to the body since before the pandemic i go right to the gym after leaving the hospital and work out for almost two hours daily. However, the pandemic took the gym away, and I myself experienced some deconditioning as well combined with the alcohol and snacks. It took months to regain everything and now I am back on track with my lifting, and hoping to achieve a 225 incline bench by the end of the year even if its a one rep max. Glad to hear you made the changes 👍👊💪
 
Not an entry for me, as I just won a GAW. I do want to commend you for recognizing a path you were headed down and choosing to make a real change in your life. I'm not sure if there was a particular event that forced you to reflect, or if it was just a decision made along the way.

For me, I didn't feel that I needed any change in my life. It was 2009, I was 41 at the time. I was just doing my thing, no problems. I was biking with some friends, and they were giving me hard time that I had to stop for rests fairly often. After that, I started having issues getting out of breath and having to stop and rest after climbing stairs and such. I thought maybe it was pneumonia, so I made an appt. for a chest xray, which showed clear. My doc decided to send me for a stress test, which I wasn't able to complete. They did some dye imaging, and then decided not to let me leave the hospital, as I had a 90% artery blockage.

One bypass operation later, and I had to rethink my diet and lifestyle. I was 20-30 pounds overweight at the time, so I was able to lose that. I changed my diet, tried to exercise more, and not take the lazy way with everything. What I felt the worst about was putting my wife and our son through all that. I was glad nothing worse happened. I suppose it still can though. I try not to get too worked up about things I can't change now, and try to live everyday to the fullest. I haven't given up everything that's bad for me, but I now do so in moderation. I learned to enjoy my friends and family more, cause they or I could be gone like that.

I also enjoy my knife collecting hobby, but enjoy giving my knives and services away more that that, so I appreciate you for being generous as well and good luck with this GAW!
 
HST said:
I never thought I'd be making a thread like this, but here I am. What seems like yesterday - this happens as one ages - I started making life changes. Aound me people were passing away and I finally got scared enough to look at myself. What did I find? A severe case pf personality disorder - I was actively trying to die. I drank the best bourbon, ate the best food, and consumed both at an alarming rate. I drove daringly around the world and all across the Americas. Risk and reward became skewed every time and it always ended in debauchery. I was obese, an addict, and I had a severe case of personality disorder, so I got started on myself. What I didn't understand was the time needed to reverse 10+ years of gluttony. I started drinking when I was 35 and I gained one pound a month (just an average) for 9 years. I almost didn't want to say it out loud, but my hope is, I will reach and inspire one person from their fate. I have no idea how I escaped my own fate, besides the desire to not be who I became.

I pulled through and it was tuff. Quitting alcohol was serious for me - it took two years to feel 'normal.' Luckily, I had my own home where I could let it all out in privacy, but most importantly, as I was ready. When I was brave enough to get on the scale, I was 293 @ 6 ft. (01/17) with an unknown morbidly obese bf% (I went all in before 12/22/16 and probably gained 20+lbs? True gluttony!). My submersion test on 02/21, I was 8.8% @ 178.5. I really started caloric restriction and high cardio @18.5% bf and it took 11 months to hit single digit bf (03/30-02/21). Today I'm 188 with "old man" 11-12% bf and eating 3200 calories a day. Don't let anyone tell you it can't be done, or real change can't happen. The problem is we don't stick with it long enough for the true change to happen. I do/did NO androgens, PED, drugs, creatine, pre-workout or any supplements besides vitamins and minerals. I eat all fruits, veggies, and fresh meats with healthy salt and butter (95% of the time). "Calories In/Calories Out" is the rule - it doesn't matter what you eat, when you eat, and/or how often you eat to lose weight. I work-out infrequent and no more than three times a week for less than 30 minutes a time. I do cardio quite often for 1-2 hrs at a time. I should add, I had stage two hypertension, diabetes, cholesterol was very bad, low liver function (poor thing), and tachycardia daily. I used sobriety, nutrients, and time only (single ingredient foods, vitamins and minerals) to cure my all disease. I turned 50 recently and I've never felt better...I'm not just saying that.

My whole life has changed. I don't care to drive "fast" or even really want to drive one of my cars. I dislike the city. I never eat out because I want to be in control of my calories and nutrients. I find most of the things I enjoyed I no longer do. I've become simple, but that simplicity is my peace. To go from an obese addict to where I wanted to be was 5 years and 2 months. There are no short cuts and the only thing I learned was X amount of time should be undefined as the process is the process. For long term viability - I urge all to take their time with change. One thing at a time and you only have to win the day that you're in.

Today: I've decided that I want to roam the earth in a 5th wheel and a truck. I've also been sailing - I got a S/V - and I will be doing that equally as much. Hurricane season I'll stay on land and when it's not I'll be sailing. JIC, I got some land in FL 30 miles from the beach. Therefore, I've decided to sell it all - even my home and car collection. What is relevant and included is the sale my extensive knife collection.

This isn't a for sale ad - it's a giveaway.

Before I sell it all, I want to give back to a special place - The Porch. I will be giving away 3 knives. 2 Blade Forum knives that are new and a lightly used Freemont Jack. The forum knives are #863119 and Buck '18, and the Freemont Jack is in OD Green Micarta with a "tasteful" by me forced patina. I will use a random # generator to pick the winners. I will draw the winners Sunday of this week and post winners by next week Monday morning EST.

To enter the giveaway, you must be a member of BF, you must have 100 posts on the Porch, and you must tell us all a personal moment of your life that you triumphed over yourself. You may also state a time in your life that happened and created change for the better. I want some pro-human stories - I feel we could all use to hear some - and this community is rich with them. Thanks for listening, thanks for being you, and thanks for stopping by.


Live well, y'all.
Click to expand...
Not an entry, but I want to congratulate you on making such profound changes for the better on your life. You will be an inspiration to others, myself included.
 
HST HST They say that the road to recovery is admitting the problem. I pray you make the changes you know you need and wish I could do the same. My health is better than yours though I did have a stroke last year. I know my problems and prefer to keep them private. I wish I had your strength. I'm very good at giving advice, unfortunately I'm very poor at taking it. Again, good for you and maybe, just maybe it will give me a kick start to changing my life. Here's to you and the Porch support system.
I'm in, my friend.
 
Magnificent accomplishment - you have my respect and admiration HST HST . You have dared to tread where few would care to follow. That your other choices were so bleak does not diminish your resolve to change. My hats off to you. I thank you for the GAW offer but I bow out of contention. My life has been so much easier, thank you.
 
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Not an entry HST HST but I just felt compelled to say congratulations and to let you know that you’ve inspired me. I’ve been gaining weight and I’ve “hit the age” where my predisposals to certain ailments is starting to hit a fork in the road- I can choose which way I’m gonna go but I’ve got to decide soon lest I end up in a harder place. I’ve been looking for ways to get started getting back in shape, but you’ve pushed me over the edge to really start watching my intake/output. Thanks for your story, really a good, clear, blunt message that Im sure many of us can relate to!
 
Very inspiring, HST. My uncle went through a similar period of personal self-destruction before pulling himself together and turning his life around. Most of us are too attached to our possessions and I applaud your strength in letting go. I'm glad you found an inner peace to go along with your new health regimen. Hope you continue to be a presence here as well. We all could use more positive influences in our lives.
 
Good for you, that is awesome. :) I am in, thanks. I just recently hit my weight loss goal (my first one) by getting under 200 pounds. Now just 20 pounds more to go.
The toughest thing I have gotten over though is when I quit smoking. That was really hard. I used to smoke and dip, and I thought I could just quit whenever by going cold turkey. I tried to quit a few different times but always fell off of the wagon. I finally got a pill from the doctor that helped to quit smoking (helped with nicotine cravings), and I have not smoked in years. Sometimes you can do it on your own, but I learned that sometimes you need support from other people, and that is ok. I am really glad that I quit!
 
We all have different paths in life, but we all have hills to climb at one point or another. Thanks for sharing your story HST. Congratulations on making good choices for both your body and mind. Here's a bit of my story. Last summer I spent 10 days at home fighting off Covid, and when that didn't work I spent another 20 days in the hospital ICU. I pulled through, but not without lasting effects. I have covid induced diabetes, that may or may not go away at some point in the future, as Covid is too new to know for sure how long the effects will last. I'm hoping they are not permanent, but adjusting my lifestyle as though they are. I've cut carbs and sugars out of my diet, hoping to control my levels without needing medication. Time will tell if it works or not.

Thanks for the opportunity, I'm in.
 
HST HST , not an entry for me. Thank you for sharing your successes, monumental achievements. My congratulations and prayers for you to continue on your path of self enrichment and fulfillment.
I'm 77 YO, an alcoholic, black-out drunk, 38 years sober. Luckily, I did not have weight or health problem(s). I do suffer some mild personality disorders, like OCD, anger management and procrastination...not as bad as some but I know to watch out for the signs.
I too hope that this thread will help someone take the first step and continue their recovery.
 
Congratulations on your turnaround. I didn’t know if I would recover from my divorce, almost 40 years ago now, but I found out life goes on. I pulled myself up by the bootstraps, took a hard look at where I was going, and got a firm grip.

Thanks for letting me play.
 
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HST said:
Thanks for listening, thanks for being you, and thanks for stopping by.
Click to expand...
I want to wish you all the best in your endeavors. An honest clear-eyed no BS look into one's heart and mind is an occupation few have the guts to attempt and way fewer successfully accomplish. Thank you for sharing your victories to date and your outlook on the future. No entry for me but I appreciate your post.
 
I'm in.

Congratulations on your changes.

I was fat for a long time, from beer and thoughtless eating and lack of exercise. I probably would have been diagnosed diabetic a lot sooner if I hadn't gone 15 years without seeing a doctor.
I levelled off around 260 lbs after going vegan for the diabetes (and brought the blood sugar and fat way down). Then last September I had to give up drinking when I was diagnosed with A-fib. Grow up or die wasn't that hard a choice.
Now I'm down to 230 lbs with ca 35 lbs to go.

Thanks for the GAW.
 
Congrats. Change is good. I gave up alcohol about a year and a half ago after some health issues. Feels pretty good, and man the weight just falls off when you aren’t consuming those calories. Amazing how much better I feel, too.
 
Thanks for sharing your story. It’s really great to hear someone succeed - many do not.
I’ve had my fair share of twists and turns and though I’ve often wished things were different, it’s all left me better in the end. Most recently, we moved from the city to a very rural county. Since we’ve been here the mania of BS (consumption, greed, envy, backstabbing, being a jerk for no reason, political ranting, etc) has been largely eradicated from my life. I’m happy when I put the kid on the bus and turn around and stare into our woods and watch the birds do what they do. At night I look up at the stars and I can actually see constellations besides Orion! I’m constantly amazed at the work of the creator, and constantly grateful!

Not an entry…
 
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