For the past 16 years I have struggled with my weight. Like so many, I would lose weight only to pick it up again and again and agin. At first, I yo-yoed with about 20-30 pounds. In 2006, however, my weight soared out of control.
In 2008, I had multiple blood clots hit both of my lungs and I should have died (1 in 3 people die from a single blood clot). By 2012, I had topped 300+ pounds. Because I was tall, I reasoned to myself that I carried the weight “well.” The photo below was a rare occasion where I allowed my picture to be taken (I was in 2XL shirt at the time and would graduate to a 3XL).
I was embarrassed and ashamed. If I did allow my picture to be taken, I would normally stand behind someone else to hide how large I was. I didn’t have the energy to engage with my family when at home. I look at this picture now and it makes me sad because on the inside I was miserable.
My wife, Angie, was (rightly) very concerned about my health. She was secretly dreading the day when I wouldn’t be around and when she would be on her own raising our four children. But how do you voice your concern to someone when they are so overweight? Generally, you don’t.
In November 2012 (above), I had enough and I started losing weight by limiting my caloric intake to about 1,200 calories a day. I did this by eating two ham sandwiches every day for seven months (literally every single day). By June 2013 I had lost 60 pounds and weighed in at just under 240 pounds. But I stopped eating those sandwiches and immediately started gaining weight again. Over the next three years I would pick up 55 of those 60 pounds and weighed nearly 300 pounds again (below).
During that same stretch, my knees were deteriorating and I had to have cortisone shots twice over a three year stretch. My body was simply giving out.
In October of 2016, Angie and I went on a two-week “shred” where we cut out gluten and sweets, among other things. When she told me what we couldn’t eat, I retorted, “It would be easier to fast for the next two weeks!” And I was serious about that! But we did it … and I continued beyond the two weeks. Eight months later, I had lost 56 pounds and weighed in at a “slim” 237 pounds. And then I started my weight gain all over again. I felt defeated.
In June 2018, I bumped into a friend, George, who had recently retired from a church he had planted in Portland, Oregon. I asked him what he was doing in retirement and he told me that he was a health coach helping people get healthy. I smiled and congratulated him, but on the inside I felt guilty and ashamed (once again). My weight was spinning out of control again, and I knew I needed help but I couldn’t bring myself to say anything.
Fortunately for me, George’s sister-in-law is a member of the church where I serve as pastor. In October 2018, George and his wife, Ann, came to Richmond to visit their family. He called me and invited me to lunch. We had a great conversation about life and ministry and at the very end I asked,
“So tell me about this health coaching
thing you are doing.”
He explained the physician directed program that he was coaching people through and after about 15 minutes I blurted out,
“Sign me up! I’m out of control and I need help.”
I went home and told Angie what I had done and she almost fainted! She couldn’t believe that I had reached out to someone for help.
So in mid-October 2018, Angie and I began a health journey together that has really changed and transformed us. Our coach started walking with us and encouraging us in our nutrition and other health habits. The weight started falling off.
For the first time in nearly 20 years, I had hope.
The truth is, I had lost hope and I had resigned myself that I would always be obese (it is hard to say that word in reference to myself, but that is what I was).
In six months, I lost 75+ pounds and got into the healthy range on my BMI and Angie lost 25 pounds. Overall, I have lost 110 pounds from my heaviest. I’m in a size 34” waist and wearing a large sized shirt. I honestly never thought that would happen.
I am so thankful for George and Ann and for their encouragement. Because so many people began asking about my transformation, it occurred to me that perhaps I should begin paying it forward to help others get healthy. So Angie and I took the steps necessary and became health coaches.
If you or someone you care about has had a similar experience to my own, please know that there is hope and that you can experience transformation. So, let me ask you some important questions:
Have you or someone you know lost hope?
Need to lose 15 pounds or more?
Struggle with sleep apnea? Snoring?
High blood pressure / hypertension?
Diabetes? High cholesterol?
Want to get off of some medication that is the result of
extra weight and unhealthy eating habits?
Do you want to get healthy? Like for real?
Tired of trying on your own? Would you like some help?
Someone to walk with you and encourage
and empower you to get healthy?
If so, send us an email and let’s schedule a conversation about your health goals and see how this physician directed program could help you or those for whom you care.
All my best,
James Brummett
hello@BrummettCoaching.com