My Weight Loss Journey
I spent decades trying to find my way out of my health spiral, but feeling like it was useless. For me, true change came only when a spark of HOPE ignited in me.
Growing Up
I grew up, like most of us, eating the standard American diet. Everything was fried, full of pasta and bread. And don’t forget the gravy! The pantry was always full of sodas, or Coke (all sodas were called Cokes in Ky). Little Debbies and Pop-Tarts were regular snacks.
One of my earliest memories is of my dad rolling my brother and me up in our blankets, which he called jellyrolls, and loading us into the car to take Mom to work. Every morning, on the way home, he’d stop by the gas station and pick up some honey buns. But we didn’t eat them out of the pack like a bunch of savages. He’d warm up the oven, put them on a baking sheet, butter them up a little, and serve them to us warm. They were gourmet honey buns.
My family wasn’t a special case–everybody ate this way back then. Stop by the corner mart, pick up an RC and a moon pie, or an Ale8 (IYKYK). Needless to say, my youth was filled with sweet eats and treats.
If it weren’t for football, I’d have probably blown up like a balloon. But all that running and hitting the weight room paid off at the time.
But the story changed in college. With 12-hour work shifts and 6-7 hours of schooling, I only had 5-6 hours to commute, eat, and sleep. So fast food was my go-to on the way home and on the way to work. Of course, I was exhausted on the weekends, so those mac & cheese wars at 10/$1 were perfect. I’d throw 2-3 of those boxes together and have a carb frenzy that’d put me right to sleep.
As you can imagine, my weight started to climb. In fact, since college, it’s never stopped climbing. Oh, I’ve had seasons where I pushed back the tide, but the overall trajectory was upward.
When I settled into construction life after college, I had to start that shift early in the morning, so I developed the habit of stopping by Whataburger for breakfast…and lunch…and dinner. Yep, I’d eat fast food 3 times a day, and then eat whatever my wife cooked at home for dinner.
By the time I hit my 40s, I weighed in the higher 500s and probably the lower 600s.
Food Was My Coping Mechanism
Like a lot of people I know, 2020 was a rough year for me. My wife and I divorced after 22 years and for the first time, I was alone. Typically, my newfound freedom was an excuse for a long-term binge. I spent about 8-9 months with non-stop pizza deliveries, family-sized Oreos, Nutter Butter packages and the fridge stocked with 2 liters of Mt Dew and boxes of Little Debbies.
I was suffering, I was scared and I was alone. Food was my coping mechanism. It had been a faithful friend all my life. Feel bad? Eat something. feel good? Here, eat this. That had been my way of life for as long as I can remember.
It wasn’t long before my reckless weight gain caused me to lose my mobility. It was getting harder to walk from the office to the truck, a path of about 50 yards. I started using a golf cart to reduce my walking to about 12 feet. And still, that walk hurt. In fact, everything hurt. My entire body ached. My pride was wounded, and my soul was dying.
In 2024, I found my ability to move deteriorating so fast that I was scared for my life. I was already bedridden, only getting up for the bathroom, but then even that walk was too much.
I called 911 and had them take me to the hospital. My weigh-in at the hospital revealed a whopping 779 lbs! Wow.
As it turns out, I had A-fib, and that was causing me to swell more than usual. Through the care of the hospital, I was discharged 6 weeks later at a weight of 666 lbs. Yep, I lost 113 lbs in those 6 weeks. It was fluid weight, but it’s still 113 lbs!
Dark Days and A Ray of Hope
You’d think that having a medical intervention that saved my life would lead to brighter days, but actually, I entered into one of the darkest seasons of my life.
When I returned home, I was still bedridden. I could lean on my walker and make it to the bathroom but that was it. I spent day after day, week after week, and month after month staring out a window at a block wall in the backyard. The realization started to sink in that this could be my reality for the rest of my life.
And that’s when I started to question if living that life was even worth it. Why suffer this sentence every day? Why continue to be a burden on my kids, who needed to prepare and bring me food, and help me clean myself? I hated that feeling of being dependent on anybody else, but being a burden was even worse.
Those were dark days, and I wouldn’t wish those on anybody.
I can’t exactly put my finger on what caused it, but at some point in that darkness, a spark of hope was ignited in me. I decided that I wanted to live. And I decided that I could get better. And for some reason, I believed it.
The power of hope is unbelievably powerful. In the worst of suffering, hope can make somebody endure even more and encourage them to start moving toward something better. That’s what happened to me.
I started eating a little better. It wasn’t perfect eating by any means. I still fell to my compulsions regularly. But I wasn’t focused on my bad habits; I was putting effort into creating good habits. I gradually added more good habits until they pushed the bad ones out of the way.
I knew exercise at 660 lbs was gonna be a challenge, but I started working a program called DDP Yoga. DDPY offers several levels of exercise programs, and the one called Bed Flex was perfect for me. I could start to stretch these stiff limbs right in my bed. So I did.
Momentum
Eventually, I transitioned from bed exercises to chair exercises. That was a milestone for me. Now, I’m doing yoga movements while standing! I’m taking back my mobility, and my hope is growing every day.
I’ve had some incredible wins lately. I’ve been outside for the first time in a year. I’m cooking my own meals and soon I hope to make it out to the home gym in the garage.
I’ve just started this journey, and I have another couple of hundred pounds to lose, but I have hope. I AM going to lose it. I AM going to get my mobility and my health back.
I welcome you to follow my weight loss journey here, and we’ll both witness a transformation from darkness to light. Cheers!
Follow My Journey To Lose My Next 300 Pounds!
What Am I Eating?
I’ll be the first to admit I don’t have a perfect diet, but I’ve come a long way since my Whataburger days!
I usually don’t eat breakfast. If I do, I’ll have turkey bacon/sausage & eggs, or I might have some fruit. But I mostly skip this meal and start with lunch.
I generally eat a small salad for lunch. I don’t use a dressing. I squeeze lemon juice on it and then lightly salt it. It’s making my mouth salivate just thinking about it!
For dinner, I’ll grill a steak, chicken breast, pork chop, fish… You get the idea–some kind of lean meat. That’ll be accompanied by green beans, peas, mixed beans, or another salad.
In general, on the advice of my weight loss specialist, I try to eat a pound of vegetables every day. That might sound daunting, but it’s really not. That single can of green beans gets me to a pound.
So my daily diet consists of lean meats, fruits & green leafy veggies, and some healthy fats. it took me a while, but I’ve built a habit that’s sustainable.
I Highly Recommend This Book!
In A Pound Of Cure, Dr Matthew Weiner makes the case for eating at least a pound of fruits and vegetables every day.
His advice is based on years of research concerning the body’s metabolic set point. This set point works to keep our weight within a certain range. You may notice that when you tend to gain weight, your body begins to fidget with nervous energy. Conversely, when we start to lose weight, we often become more lethargic than usual. This is our body trying to keep us within our setpoint range.
Certain foods naturally increase our metabolic set point. Processed foods, sugar, and starchy vegetables are among these villians.
Fruits and vegetables, on the other hand, naturally lower our metabolic set point, allowing us to enjoy them in abundance.
I encourage you to purchase a copy of Dr Weiner’s book and start your journey toward better nutrition.
How Am I Moving?
At close to 600 lbs, movement can’t be taken lightly (pun intended). It’s very easy to hurt yourself and set back your progress.
I’ve chosen to utilize a form of yoga for my main exercise routine. Now, as Diamond Dallas Page says, “This Ain’t Your Mama’s Yoga”. This program is full of traditional yoga stances, accompanied by callisthenics, strength exercises, and, most importantly, modifications. If you can’t perform the goal movements, you’re encouraged to “make DDPY your own”.
I love that DDPY meets me where I am. I started in the Bed Flex program. I was able to stretch and exercise in bed while I was bedridden. I then progressed to the Chair Flex program, where I was able to sit in a chair and perform the movements.
I’m now working through Standing Chair where I do the movements in a standing position while having the support of a chair nearby.
I’ve progressively increased my strength and mobility using this program, and I owe a debt of gratitude to Diamond Dallas Page and the DDPY team. It’s changing my life!
What’s Next?
My next physical milestones are:
1. To make my way to the home gym in the garage and lift weights
2. Get into my truck and go for a drive
More About My Weight Loss Journey
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Listen To My Story on the Fat Guy Forum
Mike Gorman of the Fat Guy Forum interviewed me about my weight loss journey so far. Mike can draw out the best from his guests, and he definitely made it easier for me to share my story for the first time. In this episode, we talk about: There’s some emotional moments in here as I…
