yvranx42
Oh, where to begin...
I have struggled with my weight for pretty much as long as I can remember. I was overweight by the time I was 6 or 7 years old, and continued to be throughout my life. Even as a child, I was often on one diet or another with my mother, who is now impacted by diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma, you name it. My father is also overweight, as are / were most of the rest of my family.
One evening when I was in my early 20's, I called up a friend (also overweight) who I knew was into lifting weights, and asked if I could join him for a workout. That began what was one of my more successful weight loss periods, but one that had me lifting weights for a couple hours 3-4 times per week, spending an hour a day (or more) on a cardio machine, biking to and from the gym, and running up and down a 2 mile hill several times a week, all on 2000 calories or less. I felt healthy, and ALMOST made it below 200 lbs.
Then, just like all the other times, I stopped going to the gym as often, meals started getting bigger, and so did I. In my late 20's, I got serious again, began hiking a great deal, started doing martial arts, and tried out a vegetarian lifestyle. That worked pretty well for awhile, but then I got off the wagon again, and got back up to my highest weight ever, 328.
The real turning point for me was in March 2015. A few weeks after a lengthy road trip, I had this odd discomfort in my leg, like it was about to cramp up, only it lasted for hours. I went to the ER, where the doctor thought I was crazy to think I had a blood clot, but sure enough, that's what it was. Not only did I have the DVT, but I also had a huge pulmonary embolism in both sides of my lungs. I was told I was lucky to be alive. That was my wake up call.
After that, I managed to lose a good amount of weight, get down to about 260, but then sabotaged myself again back up to almost 300. My pulmonary doctor recommended that I check out WSL just for information, see if it was something that might be good for me. I hadn't really considered it as an option, even feeling embarassed that I qualify for it.
The decision to move forward was all about obtaining this tool that can help to get me to be more healthy so I can be around to live my life, see my daugthers grow up, and get old with my wife. I'm excited but also nervous about the journey, but know that I'm making the right decision!
