Rob's Personal Story

Tying my shoe. That's all that it took for my world to get flipped upside down. My mother always tells the same story about how when I was young, she always had a hard time finding jeans slim enough for me. I was always the active child, and that carried over until I was in high school. I was on the varsity tennis team. I was the Drum Major of the Marching Band. I even ran 5k races every weekend. I was in shape.

Then, I went to college at the age of 17. I ate what I wanted to, I slept when I wanted to. No one told me what to do, when to do it, or how it was to be done. I was the owner of my own world.

Slowly, without realizing it, life was catching up - and it happened at the same time that the metabolism slowed down. I got a job, I was taking classes, and I stopped working out. I put on a few pounds here, but nothing I couldn't take off whenever I wanted to, right?

In November of 2005, I was putting on my suit and tie to go to a job interview. A big interview, a possible position at one of the larger banks in the area. I put my suit jacket on, my shirt, my tie, and my shoes. And then I bent over to tie my shoelaces. My back went out. Tying my shoes.

So I went to the doctor. I literally crawled into his office. My back was in such pain that involuntary tears came pouring out of my eyes. I stepped on the scale, which is the first thing that all doctors make you do. I weighed 379 pounds. Let me spell that out to assure that that this is no typo: three hundred-seventy-nine pounds. My life had spun out of control. How did I, someone who had been so athletic growing up, lose myself like that?

I went into a depression, and then I went on a diet. And then I lost 20 pounds. And then, I felt good about myself, and gained 25 right back. Then, I'd feel depressed again, and then go on a diet. This time, I'd lose 30 pounds. And then I'd gain 30 pounds.

I went to the doctor again a year later, this time on November 22nd of 2006. The doctor looked me in the eye and told me that if I kept this lifestyle up, I would be dead in ten years. The feelings of sadness, embarrassment, and loneliness crept into my life like I had never thought it would. I was 28 years old, and my luck was about to change.

When I was doing a websearch looking for a tool to help me lose weight, and lose it for good. Across my screen, calorie-count.com glowed brightly. I logged in, tested the food log, checked out a few articles, and I found a support group - a group of people who cared about their health. A support group that not only wanted to lose weight - they wanted to support me while I lost the weight.

It's almost five months later. I've lost 40 pounds so far, and I'm well on the way to losing over 100 pounds. I feel better about my life, and my outlook has changed. No longer do I HOPE that I can lose this weight for good, but now I KNOW that it is only a matter of time. For so long I felt like I lost control of my situation, but with the friends that I've found on this site, I'm taking over my own world again, and I'm damn proud of that.

And for the people here who have helped me on my way, if your back ever goes out, I'll tie that shoe for you, and help you gain control of your life, because that's what friends do, right?