Before Kepa became my boyfriend, he was just a blogging buddy and someone I knew would be successful. I featured him on the blog back in 2008 as an ongoing weight loss success story. At that point in time he had gone from 504 pounds to 399. I knew he would reach his goal but one thing I didn’t expect was to be with him when it happened. But the fact that I was there in February when it happened made it all the most sweet to be part of his success. Now that I’m leaving this week to being the process of once again being with Kepa (hurray!) I figure it’s a great time to feature the final installment of his success story. After all, he has reached his goal and maintained that weight loss for over 3 months now. I’d say he is most definitely a success.

The following is the interview with Kepa. For a little bit of background on his story, check out his blog The Fat Lazy Guy’s Log or read his ongoing success story interview from 2008.

Last time you were featured, waaaay back in December 2008, you were an “ongoing success story” who had lost over 100 pounds. How much have you lost now?

Well my weight fluctuates, but I say I’ve lost over 130 kgs, or 287 lbs (290 if you want to round up ;)  I started my journey at 229 kgs (504.8 lbs), and now I weigh under 100 kgs (220 lbs).

Before:

After:

How long did it take you to lose all the weight?

It took a few months under two years.

How did you feel when you hit your goal weight? I told you it would happen while I was visiting New Zealand. ;P

Haha, you did! Despite our best attempts to not make it happen! (4 desserts! Hehe). But how did I feel… it’s hard to remember what I felt because now this weight feels like me, so remembering a difference or change is hard. I remember feeling proud, kind of excited, but also that it was just the inevitable coming to pass. It was always going to happen, it was just a matter of when, kind of thing.

You were featured in major news outlets in NZ because of your amazing story. It was really inspiring to many people. How was that experience?

Fun. Scary. Exciting. Disappointing. First off, live t.v. is way better than prerecorded stuff. It’s fun to have people make you feel like you did something cool, something worthy of discussion. Meeting people you see on t.v. is also kind of cool. The scary part was being live, and having to answer questions you haven’t prepared for. Trying to form a coherent answer in front of tens of thousands of people (NZ is smaller than the US ;) is an experience, to be sure. Also scary was wondering how people would react. Exciting… it’s freaking t.v.! The disappointing part came with the recorded piece. They edited out a bunch of stuff I said in relation to weight loss being a mental thing. Bah.

You told us last time that the most important factor in your weight loss was the change in your thinking to overcome depression. What would you say was the most important factor in staying persistent? How did you motivate yourself to keep going for so long?

It became second nature. It was just what I did. It was habit. And it was what I liked. I didn’t do anything I didn’t want to do, eat anything I didn’t want to eat. Finding a way to make it work for you is the most important part. Sure, one of the plethora of programs out there might do it for you, but they might not. Educate yourself and come up with something that works for you.

Did it get ever get easier or harder during the journey? Were there ever any points where you almost gave up?

As the weight loss kept going, it got a lot easier, mentally. As I mentioned above, it became an inevitability that I would reach my goal, rather than a struggle to get there. The hard parts generally came early on when I wasn’t so sure of things. And because I had so far to go, even reaching halfway I still had more weight to lose than most. But as I progressed, there was no point that I can remember thinking I should give up. Hating myself, sure, but giving up, I don’t think so.

You lost all the weight, so what’s your next goal? Well, that’s probably coming to America, so tell us what you next fitness related goal is.

Kind of stupid, but my biggest fitness related goal right now is to be able to perform one pull-up and one chin-up. But I have no plans on how to achieve this. My biggest and most immediate goal, however, is passing this semester with a B+ (or higher) average.

In the last interview you said your favorite exercise was pushups. Is that still true? And since then you could manage 1 against the back of the couch, how many can you do now? How have you progressed?

Haha, I forgot that. I suppose it is, because I can actually do a proper pushup now! On the floor, on the toes, straight back! The most I’ve been able to manage is 5 consecutive pushups :) I suppose I progressed by just losing weight. Less weight to push up, the easier it is :D

And you are a runner now! Can you explain a little bit about where you started with walking and how far you run now? Is running something you will continue to do to maintain your weight loss?

I’m not really a runner. I run, but I don’t want to do races or marathons and such. When I started exercise I started with walking. I know most people probably think “Oh great, like walk a mile or something, that’s good exercise.” I couldn’t even walk the length of a football field without having to take a couple of breaks. But eventually as I lost the weight, it became easier. I walked Round the Bays last year, which is about 5 miles. I knew I wanted to run it, and I had heard of Couch to 5K, so I looked it up, tried it, completed it, and this year I ran Round the Bays, knocking off 47 minutes from my previous time. I didn’t really run to lose weight. I ran to improve my cardio, my endurance. And I’ll probably keep doing it for that reason, every now and then ;)

Do you feel differently about yourself now that you’ve hit and maintained your goal weight for several months? Are you starting to adjust to being at your current (sexy) size?  (Okay, I won’t include the sexy part.) (I lied.)

I do feel differently about myself, but it’s not always positive. I know I’m a different person, I know (sometimes) that I did a great thing for myself, but sometimes it doesn’t matter. Sometimes what I’ve done feels insignificant and I still feel like a failure. It’s not all the time, but it’s true that just because you lose weight doesn’t mean all your problems are solved. I’ve adjusted to my size in terms of knowing I can fit through gaps I previously couldn’t, sit in chairs I would have otherwise broken. I don’t feel comfortable with my size though, but that’s for other reasons.

You joined the exposed movement a while ago after thinking you would never do it. Was that experience cathartic? How are you coming to terms with your new body?  Is loose skin an issue that bothers you?

It was cathartic for perhaps a second. Then worry crept into the void. I still don’t feel comfortable with it. It’s there, I won’t touch it, but I’m not going to point towards it. I’m not a body image warrior :D But note, I think who improving body image movement is amazing and the people behind it, and participating in it, are awesome. My new body is just my old body, but deflated, really. It doesn’t feel new. It feels used and abused, but with a new engine, so to speak. So while it doesn’t look like much, it can do some cool new things it’s never done before. Loose skin does bother me, but there’s an issue with my body that bothers me even more that I can’t speak about.

How have you changed your eating habits since hitting your goal? Has eating maintenance been different from eating to lose weight? Are you planning to change your eating habits any further?

Not much, really. I’ve just been eating more than what I was, so in that respect eating to maintain has been different from eating to lose weight. Otherwise, no :) Well, perhaps a few more cookies ;)I’ll have to change my eating habits to gain muscle, for sure, so that’ll require eating even more than maintenance. It’s a scary prospect, and one I’m not at all keen on right now. And I believe the whole macronutrient thing becomes more important at that stage too, and I don’t want to have to think about that yet.

What are your three favorite meals or things to eat?

Shucks. Everything and anything! Haha. Well, from the things I eat, I’ve been really enjoying the Fish Pitas I make :) I love pizza and all its varieties. And caramel slices are a wonderous thing! ;)

What advice would you give someone who has been losing (or not losing) weight for a while? How about someone near the end? Would the advice be different?

The advice probably would be different. For someone who has been at it a while and hasn’t been having much success I think the best advice would be to try to help yourself more. There’s a reason why you’re not making progress, and you have to find it and address it. It could be as simple as needing to just do the work, or there could be other things like fear and self-loathing behind it too. Remember too, motivation is fleeting so use it while you can from wherever you can get it till you get yourself into your healthy habits. For someone near the end of the journey… RELAX. It’s not a race. You don’t win anything for losing X amount of lbs in a certain amount of time. You got in this to change your life, you have and it’s evident. Keep going, don’t stop, but there’s no need to go crazy. Be confident in your ability to succeed… you already have.

And now, I want everyone to watch the success story/journey video you made. I showed it on the blog once but I think everyone in the world should see it.

Awesome, right? Inspiring.

I’m so proud of his success and the fact that I’m his girlfriend. It’s pretty much the best thing ever. ;)

Make sure you watch the video and check out Kepa’s blog. For his press videos (oooh, what a star!) check out his press page. And make sure you leave him some awesomeness in the comments here!

Weight Loss Success Story: Kepa (Fat Lazy Guy) is a post from: A Merry Life! If you aren't reading it via RSS or on amerrylife.com it has been stolen!!