Adam's Story

I have to admit, I am ghost writing for my husband. He is very articulate and could very well do this himself, but he won't, so I have to. Please excuse any things that seem like a girl wrote them. Because she did.

The way we lost weight was very similar, but our driving reasons were very different.

There we were, four years into a flourishing relationship, living together, loving one another, and working hard. But it wasn't easy. Nothing is easy, but being 343 pounds makes some things difficult. Demanding. Laborious. Wearisome.

I couldn't sleep. I would snore myself awake every day. Yes, day, because I work night shift. Which was hard enough on my heart. I was living with unbearable plantar fasciitis that made it hard to walk. Even my bench seat in my truck seemed confining. I was tired of buying my clothes at a big and tall store, and, for that matter, having to buy clothes every six months because of my expanding weight. Then, I had a doctor tell me they wouldn't continue my medication until I came in for an appointment. The last time I had gone to see them, they made me so ashamed of myself, I couldn't go back.

I didn't really have any ideas. Eat less, sure. Workout, probably not. Drink less, yeah right. Then Louise started asking if I would go to the gym with her. Since I would do anything for her including walk the plank, I figured why not.

Why not work out with her a little bit if it makes her happy?

Then she started talking about this weight loss doctor. At first, our insurance covered it. So why not? Why not go to a weight loss doctor if she wants to? Why not support her?

Then, the first two weeks of going to the doctor, I lost 12 pounds. 12 pounds lighter, I wasn't overwhelmed with success. I wasn't giddy thinking I could take on the world. But it was an incredible start. It made a impact on me. That moment when I finally computed how much I had lost was the moment I realized we could do this.

We worked together, meeting at the gym when I got off of work in the morning, before she went to work. Our routine was similar; we would walk on the treadmill, side by side, chatting or just sweating, for about 45 minutes. Then we would do some reps on the standard machines. Then we moved on to free weights. The weight kept coming off and I kept feeling more and more motivated. We changed our diets through the guidance of the weight loss doctor, and decided on a few meals we really liked that met our calorie limits. Day in and day out we did the same things: gym, eat right, lose.

Eight months later, we were half the people we were when we started.

I still have a little ways to go, and some fitness goals I hope to meet, but I am so thankful I decided to do this with Louise. We support each other, we learned together, and we grew closer. (And not just because our waists' were smaller...)