A Day in the Life of an Obese Person

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Woke up, fell out of bed. Dragged a comb across my head.

Wait, no, that line is from my favorite Beatles song of all time.  That’s not exactly how I’d describe what it was like waking up weighing 344.2 pounds.

Here’s how I’d describe that:

Waking up at 344.2 pounds — I felt like I was strapped down to my bed.  It was hard sleeping on my back when I was obese due to the massive amount of weight surrounding my midsection.  Imagine lying down and putting a bag of potatoes (or a bag of concrete) across your midsection, much like a belt — and sleeping with that on top of you.  It feels like you’re suffocating and being held down.

It’s why I had to sleep on my stomach.  As a habit, I still do today.

While I was well over 100 pounds overweight, it’s hard to say how much fat called my midsection home — 50 pounds, 60 pounds, maybe even 75 pounds?  My excess weight was spread all over of course (thighs, arms, neck, etc), but my gut definitely claimed its fair share.  It’s why I had a 50-inch waist at one point.

Once awake and on my feet for the day, gravity started to take its toll on me.  And my spine.  And my joints.  Once out of bed, my gut lunged toward the floor and rested near my upper thighs.  Once my gut was fully “extended,” I could feel my spine being pulled forward by it, which is how it’d remain until I went back to bed.

I had a horrific hunchback when I was 344.2 pounds and I still have a slight one today from the massive amount of weight I carried in front of me all day long.  It’s one of the scars I’ll probably always have from being obese.

My joints, as of today, seem to have recovered well — but I suppose we’ll give it another 10 years and see if that stands true.  Being obese does considerable damage on your joints.  It’s why when I first started losing weight I couldn’t do much on the treadmill — it was too high impact.  Simply walking around in the morning after rolling out of bed at 344 pounds was hard enough.

Just imagine an object that’s 25, 50, or 100 pounds and being forced to carry that object around with you all day.  Now, forget about the object and just think about how much weight it represents and just imagine carrying that weight with you all day.  It’s with you in the shower, in the car on the way to work, dropping your child off at school, at work, having sex, mowing the lawn, washing the dishes — it’s stuck to you.  Put the weight you need to lose into perspective and it might scare you a little bit more.  100 pounds overweight — well, so what?  Well, a recliner weighs about 100 pounds — I was carrying around a recliner with me everywhere I went.

It’s impossible to live a healthy, satisfying life carrying a recliner around 24/7.

A day in the life of an obese person is usually one spent in the shadows.  My self-esteem was non-existent.  I never wanted to be seen or heard as I didn’t want even the possibility for any attention to be drawn to my weight.  I was quiet, shy, and lacked all confidence — it’s amazing I ever got married.

Luckily, my self-esteem has completely changed.  I don’t mind being the center of attention.  In fact, I like it.  According to my wife, I might like it a little too much.