Losing 200 Pounds, a Success Story in Progress

I have been obese most of my life. Actually, it is probably fair to say all of my life. I had tried every fad diet known to man and some I invented myself. I tried every magical pill and potion I could find. Some of them even worked, temporarily, but I couldn’t sustain it. Whatever weight I did lose would come back to me twofold. Losing weight actually caused me to gain weight.

Early in the fall of 2012 I was at the lowest point in my life. I had a wife who loved me, a son who adored me, and too many family and friends to count, yet I was in a very dark place, and I was scared. I was scared that my wife would be a widow and that my son would be fatherless way too soon all because of my lifelong problem – obesity. I was scared of my future or if there even was one.

I didn’t have a scale because I didn’t want to know what it would say but the fear I mentioned above convinced me to buy one. It was time to face the truth and see how bad things had gotten. So I went and bought a scale, a nice digital scale that would read up to 450 pounds. When I stepped on that very first day I was scared what number it would read. Unfortunately it wasn’t a number at all – the scale read “ERR,” because I was simply too big for the scale to hold.

That was a difficult thing to see. As hard as losing weight has been for me in my life I realized that not only did I need to lose weight, I needed to lose more than most people even weigh. I possibly needed to lose half my weight. It sounded impossible.

I decided that day that I had one final shot at losing weight. I had one final shot at getting this right. I had one final shot at saving my life. It wasn’t going to happen overnight and it wasn’t going to be easy. I wasn’t going to happen with the help of a crazy diet or a magical pill. I needed to make a new lifestyle that involved eating less as well as being more active, one that I could sustain forever - one that worked.

In the beginning of October, 2012, I set out on an unbelievably difficult journey that would test me in more ways than I ever imagined. It would be a journey that my very life depended on - a journey I had to win.

In the beginning of October, 2012, I weighed over 450 pounds and my very first attempt at exercise was a 15 minute walk that I couldn’t complete. I walked only five minutes before stopping because it hurt too much. My feet, ankles, knees, hips, and back all felt the pain of transporting my oversize body for five minutes without stopping. If I couldn’t walk 15 minutes but I could walk five minutes three times, and I did.

Life has changed a lot for me since the beginning of October, 2012. Then I weighed over 450 pounds and couldn’t walk down my street but this past Saturday morning I weighed 249 pounds and ran 10 miles.

The realization that I lost over 200 pounds is overwhelming to me. While I didn’t want to celebrate it because I still have a ways to go, it would be foolish of me to not admit its significance. It would also be foolish of me to not share this in hopes that somebody out there in a similar position might find hope that it can be done.

Losing over 200 pounds was incredibly difficult for me but looking back on it the key to sustainable weight loss is simple – Never quit. I decided that no matter how hard things got I wouldn’t give up. No matter the temptations, no matter the obstacles, no matter the struggles – I wouldn’t quit. I knew that in past efforts I would let a bad day turn into a bad week. I would let a bad week turn into a bad month. I would let a bad month turn into a bad year. I decided that I wouldn’t let a bad today be a bad tomorrow.

I woke up each morning with a promise to myself that for just that one day I would control my eating and live a more active life. For just that one day I would forget yesterday regardless of how bad it was and focus on being better today. Then at the end of the day, regardless of how that day went, I would go to sleep with the plan to make the same promise the next day. Then I did.

Thank you for reading and good luck on your way to better health. Believe in yourself, because you can do it, and never, ever give up.