|
What it was like
4/18/03 at 450 lbs. at my top weight. |
What it's like now
8/14/04 at 291 lbs. after losing about 150 pounds. |
|
Severely and
chronically depressed |
Chronic depression
symptoms under control with medication and lifestyle changes |
|
Constant feelings of
shame |
Pride in recovery
efforts - still fairly self-conscious, but not steeped in shame |
|
General feeling of
powerlessness—"I can't" |
General feeling of
being empowered—"I can" |
|
Pessimistic about
my life—feel pretty hopeless |
Optimistic about
my life—very hopeful |
|
Feel sick all the
time |
Feel quite well
most of the time |
|
Isolated and
socially withdrawn. Feel l don't belong—not part of anything |
Taking social
risks and feeling part of society |
|
Very worried I'll
have a stroke or heart attack at any moment |
Not worried. I
feel my health is pretty good and getting better every day |
|
Winded by walking
up one flight of stairs - hard to catch breath after even mild
exertion |
Doing two half hour
stints on the treadmill most every day, working up a good sweat, and
feeling good afterward. Have to use handrails most of the time because of bad
balance and to get some relief from back pain. Started doing some work with 5
and 8 pound dumbbells to build up arms and shoulders. |
|
Constant
debilitating back pain. Pain levels average 6 to 8 |
Still have a bad
back but it's not a problem most days. Pain levels average a
2 to 4 |
|
Blood pressure
189/103 range |
Blood pressure
112/68 range |
|
Cholesterol 278 |
Cholesterol 152 |
|
Insulin resistant on my way
to diabetes |
Normal blood sugar levels |
|
Constantly tired,
no endurance, falling asleep during the day a big problem |
Energetic most of
the time, can usually complete tasks, rarely nap during day |
|
Living on strong
coffee - 10 or 12 cups a day |
Living caffeine
free |
|
Severe obstructive
sleep apnea |
No big problem. I no longer
use a CPAP machine |
|
Horrible headaches
almost every day especially in mornings |
Occasional mild
allergy related or sinus headaches |
|
Sleep in EZ chair
a lot due to reflux (G.E.R.D.) |
No reflux problems |
|
Sedentary |
At least
moderately active lifestyle and loving it |
|
Can't keep legs
crossed when sitting in chair |
Easily cross legs
in comfort |
|
Almost impossible
to find clothes that fit. Forced to buy most through big man's
catalog. |
Not a big problem. Shop at K-mart's large man's section.
They stock up to 3 XL. No more mail order. |
|
Binge and eat in
secret. Hide food. Shop in the middle of the night |
Don't binge. Have
no reason to hide food. Shop any time needed |
|
Seriously
dependant on cane for walking, rising out of chairs—a
must if I drop my keys and need to bend down to pick them up
|
Carry cane only on
long walks mostly for balance or in case back problems flare up.
Getting up from chairs or bending down not a problem |
| Very worried
as body size and arthritis are causing matters of normal personal bathroom hygiene
to be quite challenging |
Don't even
think about those kinds of problems anymore because they aren't an
issue |
| Cutting
toenails is a difficult chore. I can barely reach |
No problem
cutting toenails |
| Wear
moccasin type slippers everywhere because putting on sox and tying
shoes too hard, almost impossible |
Wear regular
shoes and sox every day with no problem |
| Constant
digestive and elimination problems. Upset stomach, constipation or
diarrhea |
Regular as
clockwork. No problems |
| Hate
dropping things because bending down to pick them up is a chore |
Not worried
about it |
| Seems like
everything is put on hold. Projects remain undone waiting for
someday... |
Very
productive and getting many things done every day |
| House is
pretty much a mess all the time |
Clean up as
I go—no problem |
| Constantly
worry about having to go out. Afraid of possible commitments that
can't be avoided, surprise visitors |
Look forward
to opportunities to get out and do things |
| Have to be
very concerned when sitting in various chairs. They need to be very
strong and big. Won't sit in folding lawn chairs or antiques |
Still worry
a little about rickety old lawn chairs, but I'd probably do that even
when I am at my goal weight. Mostly, chairs are no longer an issue |
| Seat belts
in cars often don't reach. Hard to buckle them if they do. Can't even
get in tiny cars or sport cars--just too big |
No longer
have difficulty getting in and out of smaller cars. Seat belts always
seem to reach now |
| Afraid to go
to see a doctor |
Working
closely with my VA physician |
|
Uncontrollable binging. Living on junk food, frozen pizza and TV
dinners |
Never binge.
Eating primarily whole natural foods. Lots of veggies, grains, fruit.
No highly processed or packaged foods |
| Self-esteem
in gutter |
Improving
self-esteem, most days fairly good. Still improving |
| Usually
refused to get my picture taken. I hated it! |
Doesn't
really bother me anymore. I'm still overweight, but I'm sharing my
pictures with others now and hope to have more to share soon. |
Dave's Journey to Fitness
Changes