It was 2020 and, for some of us, the worst year of our lives. But, as the Disturbed song goes: "Sometimes, darkness can show you the light". With all that unfolded around us during the COVID pandemic, I found myself at 500lbs and with a job that had me traveling from home to hotels to hospitals, even though most of the world was shut down.
I had always been overweight from a young age. In fact, I can't remember a time when I wasn't. But this was the largest I had ever been.
I wore a 6XL shirt—I'm large and tall, so it was more like a 7XL because they always ran big—and had a 64-inch waist. So when I was home, I was stuck in my office frustrated, scared, and uncertain of what was next. I lost several friends to COVID, and working in hospitals fueled everything that was going on in my head.
Was I next? Would I infect my family? I was frightened. My wife urged us to go for a walk, suggesting that we stay away from other people and perhaps head into the woods. That is when I realized how out of shape I was.
We walked a block: I was out of breath, my back and feet hurt, and it was a struggle for me. My wife was in much better shape than me. We'd been married for 27 years at that point, and you get to know a person and what drives them.
My wife never allowed me to quit. Every day, she would ask: "You want to go for a walk?" If I said no, I'd feel like I let her down, so I never did. Amazingly, before I knew it, I'd lost 75lbs.
It's a drop in the bucket when you weigh 500lbs, an.
