Photos of me & my "beginner hats" (many pics - thread may take a LONG time to load!)

[TroubleMan]

I "vote" for the nicer of the black trilbies.

 

[MJL]

"I probably don't look too fat in those photos - this is partly creative photography but also partly that I have actually lost quite a lot of weight lately. I'm 6 feet tall and somewhere around 220 pounds now, which is still a lot more than I should weigh; but, when I started dieting about 13 months ago I was somewhere around 335 pounds. Belts definitely a no-go when you're that shape."

Dude! My hat is off to you. I have weighed in about 340-50 for the last decade and know your pain! I KNOW how hard it is to do what you did and applaude you. I only wish I could get off my fat arse to do the same!

 

[nicolasb]

I "vote" for the nicer of the black trilbies.

It's certainly my second favourite, maybe my joint favourite - it's a little more flexible than the broad-brim one. I find I can wear the trilby with a black T-shirt and magically become smart-casual, where the wider-brim one needs a shirt with a collar at the very least....

Dude! My hat is off to you. I have weighed in about 340-50 for the last decade and know your pain! I KNOW how hard it is to do what you did and applaude you. I only wish I could get off my fat arse to do the same!

You're very kind, but I don't really feel I can take much credit for it. If, 15 years ago, someone had introduced me to low-carbohydrate diets and Tyrosine/DLPA supplements, and I'd figured out then some of the countless things I'm intolerant to, it's quite possible that I would never have gone much above 170 pounds in the first place.

I'm a firm believer in the notion that all overweight people are suffering from either a medical or a psychological problem (or, with depressing frequency, both) - it's just a question of finding out what it is, and then seeing if you can do anything about it. In my case I have a variety of interesting problems, many of which sadly can't be dealt with. (I have elevated cortisol, for example, and thus have all of the symptoms of Cushing's Syndrome - but, because it's elevated for the wrong reasons, doctors aren't interested in treating it).

It actually makes me very, very angry when anyone suggests that people are overweight because they are "lazy" or "greedy". The idea that anyone would voluntarily be morbidly obese (if it were actually as easy not to be as some people make out that it is) is just preposterous. :rage:

Okay, this is starting to sound like a rant. I was actually trying to be encouraging. It really isn't a question of "getting off one's fat arse" (as I suspect you probably know all too well) and you won't do yourself any favours by feeling undeservedly guilty about it. In fact, if you're anything like me, feeling guilty and miserable just leads to bingeing.

 

[TroubleMan]

It's certainly my second favourite, maybe my joint favourite - it's a little more flexible than the broad-brim one.

I think the black tribly frames your face better than the broad-brim fedora. The problem I perceive with snapped-down broad-brim fedoras, in general, is that they tend to over-shade or hide one's eyes. Fine if you're a "shady character" in a film noir, but less advantagous to one who wants to be sociable in the real world.

It actually makes me very, very angry when anyone suggests that people are overweight because they are "lazy" or "greedy". The idea that anyone would voluntarily be morbidly obese (if it were actually as easy not to be as some people make out that it is) is just preposterous.

Yeah, there's so much BS generated around the topic that you need wings to stay above it. I'm not sure at what point in history being thin became equated with moral superiority, but it's garbage -- throw it out.