Weight Loss Success Story: Meet John from Stone Ridge

written by Koren Barwis, HHC, CPT

One of John's Weight Loss Tools

Meet John* from Stone Ridge.

John is a husband and father who in March of this year weighed 288 pounds. At 6’-0”, he was roughly 75- 100 pounds overweight and he felt it. John had always been overweight and was never very athletic. He had poor eating habits and snacked constantly, especially in times of stress. “I’d easily eat an entire bag of chips or cookies. I’d get home from work, eat a huge dinner and then sit on the couch and snack more.” 

Everything changed when at his annual physical, John’s doctor said if his blood pressure were any higher, she would have to send him to the emergency room. She recommended prescription drugs to reduce his blood pressure. The experience scared him so much that the next day, John started walking outside and eating healthier food.

“It was important to me to be a role model for my boys. I want them to be healthy and I knew I couldn’t do that without setting an example.” 

 John started eating clean – lots of fruit, vegetables, lean protein, and some complex carbohydrates. “I think I lost probably 75% of my weight simply from eating healthy. If it comes in a package, doesn’t expire within a week or two, is high in fat or 'bad' carbs, I probably won’t eat it. I don’t cheat, I don’t snack, and I won’t eat after 6:30 PM. I drink a lot of water.”

John also went from being sedentary to exercising daily, adding in biking to his repertoire. “I love (actually, crave) exercise now. 7 months ago, I did none of those things and hated working out.”

For the first several months, John’s weight came off very quickly. His clothes fit better and he slept better at night. Then the weight loss slowed and John learned that in order to keep his momentum, he had to push his body harder. He’d bike longer, and tried running, something he never thought he’d enjoy. He has started strength training and even did his first pull-up EVER last week. There is even talk about running a half marathon next year. As of December 1, John weighs 178 pounds — 110 pounds lost in eight months!

John has had to buy all new clothes and does have some extra loose skin, but he believes “these things are a small price to pay for the health benefits of losing the weight.” Throughout his weight loss journey, John has learned a lot and has some bits of advice for those just starting out:

• Figure out what works for you, and make it a passion. If you can seriously commit to 3 months, it just becomes part of your routine and after you see the results, you will probably care more about keeping it up rather than undoing the effort you put into your self-improvement.
• Set a reasonable goal for yourself, hit your goal, and then create a new goal.
• Surround yourself with people who’ll support you and encourage you. Ignore the haters - some people ask “what’s your secret” and get turned off in disgust when you tell them that it’s simply eating right and exercise because they are still looking for some miracle, easy solution.
• Get advice from other healthy people. Everyone has an opinion and the best people to listen to are those who are walking the walk.
• Lastly, don’t view healthy eating as a diet, because that implies that it is temporary. Clean eating is just how you eat - regularly, permanently. It is truly a lifestyle.

I wish I could take credit for John’s success, but he was already well on his way when he came to see me at The Wellness Connection. I simply helped him gain a deeper understanding of nutrition and fitness and encouraged some adjustments and tweaks to his routine and diet. John is one of the most dedicated and disciplined people I’ve worked with. I’ll suggest a change and he implements it. I don’t know his secret, but his story does confirm one of my core beliefs - when you are ready to change, change happens.  

  *John’s name has been changed.
  (Photo credit: Flickr, gingerchrismc)