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