My story - 170lbs after 1 year 4 years later (with photos)

I have logged into MFP for 1712 days.


After my first year I was down 170lbs.

I did this not by changing who I am, but by building upon my best qualities.

I wrote a letter that I hope people will find helpful:

I’ve started and restarted my opening sentence to this letter multiple times. I want to convey my journey from morbid obesity to fitness. I want to do so in a way that is eloquent, poetic even. But, that isn’t me and poetry, while powerful, can be so contrite. Instead, I want to be blunt:

I was fat.

Fat, isn’t a dirty word. It is a characterization, nothing more...nothing less. This is something that I have come to realize. I know who I was. I accept who I was and I appreciate that I am still that person. Our past is our foundation. The past is what we have to build upon to reach our present. I could not be the person I AM without recognizing and embracing the person I WAS.

I moved to Squamish, with my amazing wife, almost five years ago. I was fat. I wasn’t unhappy, I want that to be clear. Too often, we equate happiness with fitness as if one cannot exist without the other. This wasn’t the case for me. I was happy. Not only that, I was determined, I had friends and I had a loving family.

But:

I was 25 years old and weighed 355lbs; about as much as a Giant Panda. For a Giant Panda, I was quite old. For a human though, I was casting aside the best years of my life.

From 2011/2012 I lost 170lbs. To many people I became a different person.

I ran, a lot. I went from struggling to walk halfway up our hill, to running half marathons.

I biked, a lot. I went from peddling around our block to completing, and competing, in multiple ‘Test of Metal’ races (thank-you Tantalus).

Many would call this a transformation. I would have to disagree. I did not change who I was, instead I channeled the best parts of my character in order to reach my goals.

I was happy guy: I am a happy guy. The things that made me happy still do (food, friends, family). I have simply added fitness to the equation.

I had determination: I am determined. I have worked hard all of my life. This is the same now as it was when I was 355lbs. I have simply expanded my purpose and my goals.

I had fantastic friends: I have fantastic friends. Friends accept you for who you are and believe in who you can be. My physical appearance has not changed this. I have had the same best-friend since I was five years old. He accepts me and believes in me just as much as the amazing people I have met since I have moved to Squamish (you know who you are). Although my circle of friends has shifted, the underlying foundation of acceptance and belief remains the same.

I had a loving family. I have a loving family. The size of my body has not altered my love for my family or they for me. However, the size of my body could have limited my time with them. I want to be there for my parents. I want to watch my nieces and nephews grow up and have children of their own.

I wanted to write this to remind people, who are struggling (in whatever capacity), that who we are informs who we will become. Recognize that you have amazing qualities. Recognize that these qualities are your foundation. A strong foundation roots us in who we are while allowing us to grow. Look to your past to inform your future and your goals.

Living in an amazing place like Squamish certainly helps.


Cory Hartling