In the Beginning…

It seems like I have been fat or chubby for the majority of my life. Last year at my wife’s encouragement and my frustration with being fat, I decided to do something about it. On June 4, 2007 I joined Weight Watchers. I joined for a multitude of reasons, the main one being I didn’t want to die. I knew if I didn’t do something I’d end up having a massive coronary sometime before I turned 40 and let’s face it; I like life and love my wife. I want to spend as much time on earth with her as humanly possible. The way I was going that wasn’t going to be very long.

I work on my feet everyday on a concrete floor. In November of 2006 I found out I have osteo-arthritis in my left ankle. Needless to say my weight didn’t help with the pain. My ankle would throb at night and be sore in the morning. It hurt getting out of bed. I felt like an old man. I knew just taking a little bit of weight off would help my ankle immensely. So yet another reason for joining WW.

I don’t really know how heavy I ever got, only that I am 100% positive I was over 400lbs at times. I know that I’d just tell people I was 350lbs, even though I was much heavier. Yeah, guys fudge about their weight too—the truth hurts. In fact that’s what my driver’s license says, weight—350lbs. When I started WW these were my stats:

Height: 6’5”

Weight: 393.6lbs

Belly: 60”

Chest: 52.5”

Arm: 17.5”

Thigh: 30”

I’m not proud of the “before” pictures but here some are. I had really let myself go. I look like if you stuck a pin in me I'd pop like a balloon. I don’t know why somebody didn’t show some tough love with me and tell me I was so large. I guess that’s just part of our politically correct culture nowadays.