I had been obese for the longer part of my life. And just about being overweight, I have been morbidly obese. I am 5 feet 7 inches tall, and at some point, I weighed 136kgs. My goal has always been to lose weight because I am tired of living with obesity.
Before looking at my journey, I found it essential to shed some light on what being obese means in relation to the body mass index. A healthy body mass index (BMI) ranges from 18.8 to 24.9. A BMI score ranging from 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight. If you get beyond 30, then you are considered obese.
If my calculations are right, my BMI was way above 40. So if you see me talking about obesity, I happen to know it too well. If you have never been obese, it might be hard to comprehend what it means to be obese. For instance, I was accustomed to silent and instantaneous judgments, which at times led to outright rejection.
What It Means to Be Obese
I have battled obesity for the better part of my life. Although I always put in some effort in the past, I might say that I have finally found a way to get around obesity. First, I would want to share some of my experiences for those who might not be alive to the plight of persons with obesity.
I always started my day feeling exhausted. I only came to understand that my ‘bloated’ stomach was to blame. Waking up feeling tired meant that I had to start my day with high-calorie foods to feel energized and stay awake. This meant that I was trapped in a cycle that was almost impossible to break.
Being obese also brought me lots of pain. Excess body weight burdened my skeletal tissues, which meant that my joints would hurt all day. Even taking a walk around the neighborhood seemed impossible unless I took some strong painkillers to mask the pain. If joint pain persists, consulting a chiropractor (consider booking an appointment with Dr. Timothy Francis DC, if interested) is often recommended for treatment. As a result of the chiropractor’s work, pressure can be relieved and the joints can be mobilized. Generally, they tend to use a forceful type of manipulation known as “traction.” This involves applying a gentle, steady stretching force to decrease pain.
Another thing that most obese people experience is their struggle with natural human tasks such as going to the bathroom. Because of my size, I have broken toilet seats. Also, taking a shower was a great struggle, which meant that I had to turn to my childhood sweetheart for help.
Combating Obesity
All along, I had no idea of what I could do to bid goodbye to these self-inflicted problems. Luckily, with the help of the love of my life (God bless her), my struggle of fighting independence could soon be behind me. It all started by embracing the fact that eating was an addition, something I remained unaware of all along. I was addicted to pizzas, cream, sodas, and fries. And any time I felt low or stressed, my only solace was food. Any calorie ingested ended up worsening my miseries.
By the end of last year (2020), my only focus was to change my eating habits or tackle food addiction. It only started with some talk therapy, which helped uncover critical aspects touching on food addiction. As far as curbing cravings is concerned, I also had to try some medications that help ease cravings, further strengthening my resolve to curb unhealthy eating. If you are someone like me and are also struggling to control your weight gain even after trying almost everything I have mentioned above, then you might need to take a thyroid function test. A test of this sort might help you discover the real reason behind your weight gain – your cravings or some hormonal disbalance.
Having lost 24 kgs in the last 15 months, I honestly cannot say that I have won the ‘fight,’ but this has injected a breath of fresh air into my life. I believe that I will be able to lose even more weight in the future, but it all boils down to my ability to close my mouth and stop overeating.
As far as dealing with chronic obesity goes, I would not recommend that you start going for morning runs, which I am yet to begin. Doing this would make you susceptible to joint injuries. You can be active in many ways; all you need is to be creative and wary of your health status.
While it might be too early to claim that I have won the fight against obesity, I at least now know why I have been obese, what I did, and what I have to work on going forward. Simply, if I can resist the urge to gorge myself, then my weight loss struggles will soon be behind me. And this is a lesson for anyone who would want to rewrite his or her obesity struggles.