What is it like to rediscover your life and begin living it to the fullest? You're about to hear from someone who can answer that question.
John Pozzobon is the modern day equivalent of the incredible shrinking man. His weight loss story is nothing short of phenomenal. Like many obese people, John knows what it means to live life on the outside, but like very few of the 100 million, or so, obese Americans, he did something about it. He proves that losing weight, if done in a manner consistent with good health, yields a lifelong benefit that, unlike today's fad diets, is sustainable for a lifetime.
Source: Bread and Money
B&M: John, you've recently experienced a big change in your life that affects your health. What was it?
JP: The change was what I put into my body. Mostly fresh fruit and vegetables. I completely stopped drinking soda and very seldom drink coffee. I drink a lot of Green Tea and water. I haven't given up on everything but I eat my old favorites very few and far between. I also started walking and running a couple hours a day and I joined a gym and lift weights 3 times a week for a couple hours those days. My attitude towards my health and well being has done a 180 and I have never felt this good ever.
B&M: What was your maximum weight?
JP: My highest weight was back in the mid to late 1990's when I was a manger for McDonald's and weighed around 365-370lbs with a 56 inch waist (ouch).
B&M: Have you always been overweight?
JP: I have struggled with weight my whole life. Not to the extreme it was 10-12 years ago but I grew up having to wear the husky sizes as a kid. Even though my mom and dad would prepare well balanced wholesome meals I would sneak candy etc. As I grew older I watched my diet more carefully and through the 1980's till the early 1990's I was around 165-180lbs with a 34 inch waist. I worked out and played sports constantly. I had to always watch my diet and I was successful for a period of time.
B&M: People often mistakenly assume that weight gain is something a person chooses. They often wonder why people with a weight problem don't just stop eating and get more exercise. What is your response to this?
JP: I feel that a majority of overweight people do eat the wrong things, eat late at night before bed, and do not get enough exercise. That being said I also feel a lot of people have medical conditions such as an overactive thyroid or something like that. They can't help it and are ostracized by society. Until you walk a mile in someone else's shoe you should keep an open mind. Not everyone chooses to be overweight. But there are people who have a choice and don't make the right one.
B&M: Very good point. Ultimately it does come down to personal choice. Where people get stuck, I believe, is that too often their choices are based on poor information. It's really hard to make the right choice without good information. For instance, we're told to diet to lose weight and every year millions of overweight and obese individuals go on one type of diet or another, but the choice to diet is actually based on poor information. As you figured out on your journey, diets don't work. The health and nutrition choices we make have to be sustainable for a lifetime. Once we learn this simple lesson, the choice to go on another fad diet or make real changes that we can live with is up to us.
Read more »
