EXERT & EXHALE people were starting to latch onto . And that felt good , even if my health sucked !
But one of the biggest hesitations is this .
I ’ VE BEEN HERE BEFORE
Back in November , I tipped the scales at 377 . As of this writing , I ’ m weighing in at 297 lbs . Awesome , right ?
But , I ’ m sure most of you know how the story sometimes goes from there . The majority of people with weight issues do the “ yo-yo ” a lot . Get fat , lose some weight , feel good for awhile , use food to celebrate because “ we deserve it ,” put all the weight back on . Rinse . Repeat . The latest yo-yo for me began around four years ago , when I had worked my way down to about 270 lbs . from 388 in a little over a year . And then … Rinse . Repeat . Back to 377 just six months ago . No rinsing or repeating this time . At least not yet . And that ’ s one of the problems : I keep saying
“ yet ” as if I ’ m destined to put it all back on again .
Don ’ t get me wrong . I ’ m happier than I ’ ve been in quite a long time . My parents , my wife , her parents and our extended families have been beyond supportive . Life is good .
But , I got so used to being fat that , even with a lot of weight gone ( and plenty to go ), I get into this seemingly-neverending internal struggle where my inner voice is telling me , “ Hey man , you ’ ll be back up here in the 400s eventually ,” and I come out of the gate swinging saying , “ Nope , not this time .”
Ring the bell . Let ’ s go . Let yet another weight loss fight begin .
I throw a left jab at the inner voice . Then a right uppercut .
But , like George Foreman in “ The Rumble In The Jungle ,” I ’ m in that boxing match with my inner voice , swinging and landing punches ( and shedding pounds ) like I never have before . Jab . Jab . Jab . Right hook . But my inner voice won ’ t budge . It ’ s taking every punch like it ’ s been hit with a feather as my energy and willpower are nearing empty . Jab . Panting . Left hook . More panting . All the while , my inner voice is whispering back at me . “ Is that all you got , Zach ?”
Apparently , my inner voice is as strong as Muhammad Ali .
And I was tired of getting beat by him .
SO I ASKED FOR BACKUP
Let ’ s go back to April 2017 for a second . My wife was pregnant with our second child – a boy
“ THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE WITH WEIGHT ISSUES DO THE “ YO-YO ” A LOT . GET FAT , LOSE SOME WEIGHT , FEEL GOOD FOR AWHILE , USE FOOD TO CELEBRATE BECAUSE “ WE DESERVE IT ,” PUT ALL THE WEIGHT BACK ON .”
( Monroe officially joined the family a couple of months later ).
My weight was climbing ( again ), and I had been bumming because I lost all of the weight the previous time around due in large part to not wanting our firstborn child , Remi , to be subject to an obese father . But , she was born and my inner voice had told me , “ Mission accomplished , now come on back to the dark side .” And I had .
Anyway , we knew our health insurance deductible for the rest of the year was going to be met with the birth of Monroe in July , so I threw it out there joking , “ We should go ahead and get all the medical work done we need if insurance will pay for it all .”
I threw out the option of weight loss surgery , but I figured that wasn ’ t even possible . I figured insurance wouldn ’ t cover such a thing .
But , the more and more my wife and I talked it out and researched it , we started to find that this sort of thing was , indeed , covered by our insurance plan with one big , fat ( no pun intended ) contingency : I had to be medically supervised for six months on the same diet and exercise plan to prove that I was invested in this process and not gain one pound over that time . I was to come in to the doctor once a month for a weight and wellness check .
Only then would the insurance company decide whether or not to count the surgery as “ medically necessary ” and , therefore , covered at 100 percent by insurance .
“ OK , then , I ’ m in . I ’ m doing this ,” I remember telling myself . Only to hear the inner voice tell me over and over : “ Six months without gaining a pound ? Yeah , right .”
And I ’ m not gonna lie . There were times I was convinced the insurance company was going to come back and say “ denied .”
But there was one more hurdle . One more hesitation that ’ s tough for me to share .
There was a part of me that was sort of hoping I would get denied the coverage I needed to go on with the surgery .
I was ashamed that I was even using this route . I didn ’ t want to tell anyone I was going to have the surgery . Why ? You know why .
Because everyone would ’ ve thought I took the easy way out .
I was already having nightmares about how people would talk about me after the surgery .
“ Zach is so weak . He couldn ’ t do it the oldfashioned way , huh ?”
It was debilitating . On one hand , I NEEDED HELP to reach health goals that I had not been
JUNE / JULY 2018 : EXTOL 51