Here it goes!

My name is Tony and I am an addict, for the last 34 years I have had a problem with food. I was 325 lbs and suffering horribly from gout. Although I was morbidly obese i always stayed somewhat active or as active as the gout would allow. It seemed that I was always on some sort of diet losing a few pounds here and there but always gaining back more than I lost. In the spring of 2009 while in the grasps of a crippling gout attack I made an appointment with my Dr. to talk about my options. We talked about my eating and drinking and how until I got both under control there wasn't much he could do. I knew that after dieting and failing so many times that it was no longer an  available option so I made an other appointment with a barriatric specialist. After a 6 months of a Dr. prescribed diet and no alcohol I was down to a whopping 309lbs. So on Nov.21 2009 I had Gastric Bypass Surgery to help with my problem. Surgery was fairly uneventful and I came home after a few days. All was going OK for the first few weeks until on Dec 21st I was being rushed in an ambulance to the emergency room with severe internal bleeding. After 7 days I was headed home again only this time I had a 10 inch scar down the center of my stomach and barely the strength to walk in the house. My family was thoroughly traumatized. As horrible as it may sound this was just the thing I needed to help turn my life around. I vowed that as soon as I was strong enough I would make exercise a key component to my lifestyle. By Feb I was able to slowly walk around the cul-de-sac in front of my house. From that point I made a goal to run a trail 5k with my sister. I trained as hard as I could. I was extremely weakened by the massive weight loss and effects of the surgery. So I ran my first race ever finishing in 33 min at 225lbs. and from that point I vowed to do a special physical event every month for a year. In May I rode the Arizona trail from Payson to Flagstaff. In June I signed up for a 104 mile mountain bike race but it was cancelled due to a Forrest fire but I did my own tour riding close to 150 miles over a couple of days. In July I climbed the San Francisco Peaks in northern AZ a feat that had been on my bucket list for years. In Aug. while on a family vacation I rode my bike across the state of Michigan from Detroit to Saugatuck. Sept I rode the rescheduled mountain bike race but only made it 78 miles because of bike issues. Sept also brought my first 1/2 marathon - the Flagstaff 1/2 at the Nordic center finishing in 2:12. October brought my first marathon. My best Friend and I ran the Detroit free Press marathon we finished in 4:19. Now my addiction has transferred to something that i can be proud of. I love to run. I love to ride my bike. But most of all I love being a positive influence on my children. Now instead of being a fat blob on the sofa my kids see me running and being active. I put my family through hell to get where I'm at, I ruined the Christmas of 09 for my wife and kids. Heck I almost died last Dec. and it took almost dieing to really see what living is. I'm starting this blog to record my exercise routines, weightloss and adventures.