Ohhhh you doubter!
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| Oooo, Oooo, Oooo! |
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| I love you!! |
THE FAT GUY ILLNESSES
From 1993 to 2001 I put on over 120lbs and then I got hit with the 'fat guy' illnesses... sleep apnea & type 2 diabetes. And you know what I COULD blame... a great job, money, sundown-sun up partying and bar-time drive thru's. They really did a number on me! Up at 3:30, work til noon, go out to lunch (margaritas & mexican), go buy a new outfit, dinner out, home to shower, head to the Sportspage to DJ all night, hit Mickey D's or Uncle Nicks, eat the food on the couch watching tv and fall asleep on the couch! I COULD blame all of that or the fact that I'm alone with nobody to share ANYTHING with.
EATING MEET LIKE A CAVEMAN
Meeting my wife in 1997 wasn't enough to pull me out of the rut either... unconditional love is a double-edged sword. She didn't care that I was that big and she'd never seen me 'in shape' so I just let my lifestyle continue. Five years after meeting Mary Beth, I got real jealous of how she could go anywhere to buy clothes and I had just Fat Ass Store #1 & Fat Ass Store #2. And while we're on the subject of Big & Tall sections, what the hell is with their sizing? It's like they think you're either Tall & thin OR Short & fat... the damn store is called big AND tall not big OR tall!!! Anyway, I started going to the gym to try and lose some girth and the lady that owned the gym suggested I try the Atkins diet... so I did. I lost about 30lbs and I was eating any piece of meat my 'caveman' ass could get. THIS WAS AWESOME!!!!! Then, as with any 'lifestyle' change, I hit a plateau. I got a little discouraged and stopped going to the gym for quite a while. I had read plenty of how transitioning off the Atkins diet, if not done right, could cause you to gain some of the weight back and now I had normal carbs back in my diet and I was starting to lose weight again (without exercise). I also could never quench my thirst and I got up 2-3 times a night to go to the bathroom. You might know what came next... doctor said; "you have type 2 diabetes!"
I took it serious... at least enough to stop drinking regular pepsi. I was 35 and still had that stupid "Man-tality" that I'll just take some pills and shake it off! I had good insurance so the pills didn't cost much and I was cutting extra sugar out of my consumption everywhere. And guess what happened? The friggin' weight came back and then some!!!!
CAN WE KEEP THE DOUBLE D'S
So after our wedding, I saw the pictures (oh, BTW I was wearing a white jacket) DO YOU KNOW HOW FAT A FAT GUY LOOKS IN WHITE?) and it was time to go back to the gym. This time it was like I was possessed! I became a sponge for every tip a trainer would give and I hit that Atkins diet again like it was my job. In about a year I got down to 260 and then I stopped again. Not sure why, I guess my car didn't like passing my house to go to the gym anymore. Then for the next couple years until our daughter was born in 2005, I slowly put 30lbs back on... I'm the one who couldn't get rid of the baby weight. My wife gained 52lbs during her pregnancy and lost it in just a couple months (she was hoping to keep the Double-D's nature gave her, but she lost that too). For the next almost 6 years I just floated between 290-300 and sporadically hit the gym.
PRO-LEVEL SHOPPERS
Then THIS March, I booked an appointment with Dr. Lydia Savic, she helped me "get after" this weight & diabetes, and now I weigh 248 and am excited to say that my waist has gone down from 44" to 36". I am OFFICIALLY a "Clothes Horse" again!!! There are things that couples do SO WELL that they could go pro... for me & mb it's definitely shopping!
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| Mary Beth showing off her new Anniversary Boots from Roxy Carmichael. |
As a matter of fact Old Navy is having a "Buy 2 get 1 free" sale today so I'm shutting the Macbook down and hittin' the bricks!! Have a great Fourth of July!!! Have the burger & brat... hold the buns, and eat an apple EVERYDAY!
Good for you! Hoping that your story will also influence my husband (also married on June 23!) Keep it up, you look great!
ReplyDeleteThis is a wonderful story Steve and VERY inspiring, it brings tears to my eyes and makes my heart though as it sounds sooo much like my husband. I too met him when he was BIG and loved every pound of him and still do! We too just celebrated our 10 year anniversary and he has lost almost 90 pounds from the Atkin's diet but he has rode that weight loss roller coaster so much that I get so nervous he will hit bottom again and gain his weight back. Do I care how big he is in the physical/sexual sense? HECK NO! Do I worry about losing him to heart disease and/or Diabetes? HECK YES! I also know what his self-confidence is and how low he feels about himself. We have a pool in our backyard and he has been in it once in 3 years and not once since he lost weight, as he feels he is still heavy. Anyway - just thought I would share as you shared your story. I am going to have him read your story tonight! I am from Beloit and follow your show as many others in the Stateline area do, you are a great person and inspiration to those BIG LOVEABLE men out there! Keep up the good work!!!
ReplyDeleteBrooke
Steve I loved reading your story and thank you for being brave enough to putting it out there. I have had type 2 Diabetes since I was about 27 and I am now 41 and it is a battle everyday! I have also been overweight all my life. Dr Savic has been my Dr. for almost 3 yrs now and just yesterday she has put me on her weight-loss plan and I am praying that it works because I really want to get off the 2 types of insulin I'm on and go back to just pills not to mention to lose weight and to be able to shop anywhere too! You are my inspiration to get it done!
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