Losing weight has helped …

/ jeffreygentry

When I started this journey, I was feeling fed up with myself.

I had just been through a rough year. It started with the loss of my mom on Nov. 1, 2015, and was capped off almost one year later by the loss of my job at the end of October 2016 during a corporate reduction in force.

I had been with the company for 16 years. Like many other journalists, I gave it much of my life. Nights, weekends, extra hours. In the end, it didn’t matter.

I spent the  next two and a half months funkified. I ate too much of not good for me food. I drank too much alcohol. And I got married to the couch. Never a small man, my weight shot up.

One day — it may have been while tying my shoes, or putting my socks on or trying to button my jeans — I decided enough was enough. I had to lose weight and improve my health. Since Jan. 18, I have lost 24.4 pounds by eating better and trying to walk more. There is more I can do, and that excites me because I know this journey will bring many more success stories for me to tell.

But for now, I’d like to share a few of the differences losing just this 24.4 pounds has done as I’ve dropped from 356.5 to 332.1 pounds in the past six weeks.

  • I can tie my shoes without almost passing out.
  • I can put on my compression socks before the cat has time to grab the toe end thinking I’m playing a game with him.
  • When I look down in the shower, I can see my toes without bending over.
  • I now look forward to looking down in the shower and seeing what else I may soon see.
  • I can get in and out of my truck much easier.
  • When the car repair place put me in a Camry for a loaner, I didn’t panic. Well, just a little. But I fit easily.
  • My wallet may be a lot lighter since I still don’t have a new job, but it’s not getting lighter a lot faster thanks to healthier eating choices, the elimination of soda and reduction in alcohol.
  • My knees don’t ache and my back feels like a load has been taken off it. And when you think about it, 24 pounds is quite a load to carry around all the time. It would be like carrying 109 blueberry muffins, 16 iPads or 363 kings from a chess set. Think how much better you’d feel being able to set that load off to the side.
  • My moobies are feeling less saggy and actually a bit perky.

And that’s just for starters. I can’t wait to see what the next 24 pounds brings my way.

Now to find some success in getting a new job …

20 thoughts on “Losing weight has helped …”

  3. Kudos to you for not only undergoing such a transition, but for sharing it with everyone. Keep up the great work!
    Keep in mind – it’s a marathon, not a sprint

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  5. Really enjoyed your write up. Been retired for 15 years but it really made me think of a problem-solving model. Recognizing problem/need for change; developing a plan and personal commitment to plan; implementing/working the plan; recognizing successes along the way and the personal value of that success. Another step would be modifying plan when you’re not getting the results you need but I’m sure you will do that if and when that time were to arise. So proud of your lifestyle change and the benefits you’re getting so far.

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  6. Congratulations on your journey so far! One of my Weight Watchers leaders used to compare our weight loss to sticks of butter. So you have lost 97 sticks of butter!

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  8. My situation almost mirrors yours – lost my dad a week before Christmas 2016, lost my job with Gannett in October 2017, after 26 years. I haven’t seen a weight gain but I certainly know the low funk you can fall into! I’m working my way back up out of that now and I’m hopeful job prospects will start looking up soon as well. Thank you for sharing your experiences, it’s nice to see there’s hope ahead.

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  11. First, pat yourself on the back and know that your goal-setting, motivation and hard work translate to every other thing you do. Yes, it was painful for me leaving USA TODAY after three decades, and it takes a while to mourn, accept, move on. But you do, at your own pace. If I had to give any advice it would be to do something in a job search daily: message a contact, send out a resume, have lunch with someone in the biz, write the first chapter of that novel, consider other job choices. And be confident that good things will happen, because they well. Best to you, Kitty Yancey

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