Result of 250lb weight loss plus aftermath of body lift on my upper torso

Me in 2008 after losing 250lbs. in 17 months.  I was 31 at the time.

Me in 2012 after getting my second body-lift surgery.  Yes, they had to move my nipples.

Not sexy - but this is the dirty reality of weight loss.  It's still more than worth it, but skin and fat cells don't really disappear.

Trying to edit. Editing posts is really shitty btw. Anyway, I didn't intend this to become a weight loss post, but I will be a bit morbid and say that weight loss can be incredibly painful and there is a cost.

This is my experience. It may be worse than most. At the end was it worth it? Yes, hell yes, it is worth going on this journey, but you should beware that it can be exceeeeeeedingly painful at times. So take care of yourself, and be more poactive than I was.

This is pretty random because this edit window is super tiny.

#1 - I was always heavy from the time I was a little boy and suffered greatly because of it. I was always self-concious, and took all that pain and turned it inward, making myself incredibly suicidal.

#2 - I was unemployed after the dot.com bubble burst and the 2001 crash. For 3 years. Being unemployed destroyed my sense of being man - basically emotionally emasculated me. On top of that I was 400lbs. already (I was 25).

#3 - My boss in 2007 told me that I was a really good program manager (I work for a major software company) but that I wouldn't get anywhere because it looked like I couldn't manage myself. She trusted that I would take that feedback in (she was nice about it). She saved my life. Lourdes, wherever you are, I will cherish our time together til the end of my life.

#4 - People will try to stop you. People will try to make it a competition. This drove me away from people, it was my own struggle, it wasn't a race. You don't do it for Imgur points (oh the irony!) One of the worst things I've heard is, "You could have won Biggest Loser!" It's not about that, it's not about exposing yourself.

#5 - It pisses me off when people post pictures where they look like sculpted models. Stop. I lift 4 times a week, I can run a half marathon, I can do 100 mile bike races at 20mph most of the way. I am 5 foot 7, I look like a rugby player, I have skin all over and fat cells that will never leave. This is as good as it's going to get.

#6 - Advice: Go get a nutritional education and go get a therapist and go get a psych eval. The demons that I dealt with in the aftermath essentially gave me clinical PTSD. I don't mention this because people throw this around. But I've been diagnosed by 3 different professionals and take litium, lamotrigine, duloxetine and enlyte to deal with that and my bipolar 2 (thanks mom and dad!) not to mention the 3 blood pressure medicines I'm on because that never went away.

#7 - I have borderline hypothyroidism and go on and off medication. This is no excuse, it is controllable, so whenever someone tells me they have medical reasons why they can't lose weight I raise my eyebrows.

#8 - I no longer talk to my parents and have dissolved almost all of my social circle from before the weight loss... part of losing the weight is re-evaluating why you gained it. I ate to kill myself. Slowly, but that was the reason.

#9 - There was a time where I hated fat people during my weight loss. It was a phase, and I had to confront it. I don't talk about this subject usually unless someone wants to know. Usually I preface it with, "it's not sexy" or "do you really, really want to know?" Because it's about an examination of self, not a diet.

I'm about 210 lbs. now.  My lowest was 181.  I am 40 though and enjoy beer.  But it's better than the 430ish lbs. I was in my late 20s.

I didn't have weight loss surgery. I don't have any thoughts on it other than to say that the only successful cases I've seen is when people lose a large percentage of weight (say 25% - 50%) before doing it. It's too hard to change your lifestyle when doing that surgery (IMO).

I applaud all of the people who have various means of getting the results.

I went from 435 - 300 by cutting my calories to 2,500 a day. I ate the same meal every single day. And I mean, every, single, day.

If you limit your calories, you can eat whatever you want. 2 days into your non-stop cheeto and donut bender you will realize that you feel like shit and you will naturally adjust your diet budget.

Just as long as you keep it under your caloric limit.

It's been 9 years, I'm just now starting to become comfortable with the idea that I cannot be 170 lbs., and that I have skin and cells that will never go away.

But I think about it pretty much 10 times a day, every time I look in the mirror. I also picture myself as fatter than people tell me I am, I suppose this is somewhat similar to what anorexic women see or feel like.

And yes, I got to see the pictures of my nipples sitting on a table and it was totally bloody and gross but AWESOME.

I can't add additional pictures so I'll add more when I can and post in a separate post.

Sorry for the long edit.