Had to share....

[Wes]

Some of you may or may not know that I spent some time in the hospital recently. I went in on Easter (March 23) experiencing shortness of breath and a gurgling sensation in my chest whenever I exhaled. They kept me for about a week before letting me go home with about 7 prescriptions. In a nutshell, my heart is enlarged 1½ times it's normal size, I have an irregular heartbeat, and I had congestive heart failure. I'm sure that my weight and my diet had a LOT to do with my condition. When I went in I weighed 348lbs. (I'm 6'5" so most people could not tell by looking at me that I weighed that much.).

I weighed in yesterday at the fitness center here at work and came in at 302lbs. I've dropped about 46lbs. since March 23. All I've really done up to this point is change my diet and work VERY hard at breaking bad dietary habits. For example, when I would sit down with the family to watch a movie I would polish off a whole bag of Chili Cheese Fritos. Now, I'll have an orange or two.

While I was in the hospital I told my wife that the goal is not weight loss. The goal is to develop a much healthier diet and to break unhealthy eating habits. However, measuring weight loss is a good way to monitor my progress. In my mind, I still need to lose another 72lbs. to reach my target weight.

This has been one of the hardest things I've had to do, but I'm lighter today than I have been in over 12 years.

I just had to share.

[JenJohnson79]

Congrats! That's one of my big goals after the baby is born later this year is to get back into healthier habits.

[kenw]

that is great news, Wes. It's not over, so your positive attitude and being aware of the success so far will go a long way towards continued success.

[snidow]

Excellent new Wes, I've been doing the same trying to improve my eating habits but have not lost much weight. it's great to hear you have lost weight but more importantly you are improving your quality of life.

[CaptainTom]

Dibs on the Chili Cheese Fries you are throwing away !!

[JohnT]

This is very good news, Wes, and congratulations! You might find that taking the last few pounds off will require some exercise in the form of cardio (elliptical, treadmill, bike, etc.), but it will be well worth the effort.

[Wes]

Originally Posted by JohnT

This is very good news, Wes, and congratulations! You might find that taking the last few pounds off will require some exercise in the form of cardio (elliptical, treadmill, bike, etc.), but it will be well worth the effort.

Yeah, I'm on the treadmill every day now. It took forever for my cardiologist to give me the okay to do that much.

Tom - the chili cheese fries are gone (did you know that there are over 5000mg of sodium in those things?). Before I came home from the hospital I made my wife get rid of all of the junk food and soda in the house. I used to drink a bunch of Diet Pepsi's every day. I used to add so much salt to my food that it looked like my food had dandruff. I used to chow down on candy bars, etc. because my company is owned by Nestle and that stuff is always laying around.

I have not had ANY caffeine since March 22.
I have not added salt to anything since March 22.
I have not had any candy or chips since March 22.

The change has been amazing.

Thanks to everyone for the encouraging words!

[gardener]

Kudos to you for recognizing the problem and trying to do something positive about it! Best wishes for a long and happy life to you Sir!

[bobby71]

Good for you for working on your actual lifestyle, and not just trying out some crash diet!

...now if I could only get myself to go out and run every night...

[ttusa]

Congratulations Wes-kudos to you!

[ShutteredEye]

Fantastic! Keep up the good work!!

[TxManx]

Wes -

Kudos and congratulations!!!!

It is truly amazing what changes to diet can do...

[AndrewCCM]

Wow Wes! I had no idea!!

I am so glad you were able to catch it and make changes. Some people don't get that chance. I want to lose 25lbs myself and get down to my early 20's weight. It has been very hard...I go down 5-10, then back up 5-10. Breaking that 10lbs threshold is so hard for me.

Congratulations and keep up the good work.... I am glad to hear you're doing well..

[loana0320]

Oh Wes Congratulations!!!! Keep up the great work!

[PhotosbyHollyWood]

congrats on the weight loss.. and the lifestyle change...

keep up the great work