I just joined the website and wanted to say hello and introduce myself.
I started changing my lifestyle 19 months ago. At that time, I was up to
562.3 pounds. Last Monday I weighed in at 296. I have lost
266.3 pounds in the last 19 months using good nutrition and lots of exercise. At almost 600 pounds I had to start by just walking in the pool. I hit the gym 5 days a week now. I am on the home stretch of reaching my goal and starting maintenance for a lifetime of better health and improved physical fitness. I am 46 years old. I had to find my motivation to change 19 months ago. I did find it.... not sure what took me so long
My 7-year-old daughter, Katy, is what motivated me to change. I had always thought I would work on losing weight so that the other kids would not make fun of Katy because her dad was fat. I had the best intentions to do that. I tried several times.
In May of 2004, Katy was about to be in the 1st grade in a few months. Dad was topping out at 562.3 pounds. I never knew how much you could love someone until my daughter was born. Katy's mom is in very poor health as well. My parents are in their early 80's. At almost 600 pounds, I could not get any life insurance. My own health was going down fast. It hit me like a bolt of lighting that I was about to fail in the most important thing I would ever be tasked to do in this world: take care of my daughter. If I did not do something, I was going to eat myself into an early grave and leave my baby girl when she would need me the most. At that moment in time, it became unacceptable to me to continue to be morbidly obese.
Losing this much weight is a lifestyle change and a journey. You tend to discover many things along the path to your goals. Katy is, and will always be, a huge motivation for me. Initially, I was motivated to get healthy just to be alive to help her grow up. As I lost weight and could become more physically active, an entire vista of possibilities opened up. I could not only be alive – but as a healthy, active dad, Katy and I could go to amusement parks, play soccer, bike together, hike, run and play – a million and one things. I could give her not only a secure childhood, but one filled with fun memories.
I realized that I still had a few items on my life's "to do" list as well. I feel motivated to be a better, more complete person. I just signed up for beginning acting classes. It was something I always wanted to try but, you know, when you are morbidly obese, you tend to suppress most of the dreams you have.
Lastly, I am motivated by a burning desire to help others escape the clutches of morbid obesity. I don't live in the past and I know I can't go back and change the fact that I let a large part of my life go by while being morbidly obese. What I can do is dedicate myself to doing all that I can to help fight obesity in children and young adults. I can't change my own past, but maybe I can help some people have a present and future free from the heartbreak of morbid obesity.
I still have a ways to go on my own journey - but if I can do anything to help anyone here - I would be happy to do so. I think those of us with a lot of weight to lose face some special challenges. It can take a good bit of time to get that much weight off. I think you just get fatigued by the whole process if you don't keep looking for ways to motivate yourself. I love getting support and ideas from others and hope that I can help others as well. We are all fighting this battle together! I know we can all reach our goals!
I wish everyone the very best,