20 months ago, at 405 pounds, I used a wheelchair when in stores and Disney World. I used a walker to walk the 5 feet to the bathroom. I fell once and had to call EMS to come pick me up; it took 4 guys to do so. I was mostly bed-bound.
Dr. Shravan Ambati talked to me in the hospital and told me I would either change my life or I would be living in a nursing home.
I changed my life.
I stopped Uber Eats immediately. That included the bottles of amaretto I drank for pain relief. I lost 40 pounds in 4 months.
My Endocrinologist put me on Trulicity and over the next year, I lost another 86 pounds. Mind you, I had no clue what a GLP-1. I didn’t watch TV, wasn’t on social media, my Endo didn’t tell me what it was… and in my research, I ignored the “might lose weight” part because I would never get that side effect. I thought it was a replacement for insulin because that makes you fat.
Even down 126 pounds, I weighed 279 and it was still incredibly painful to walk, but I was walking in the house without the walker, so progress.
I started Mounjaro (knowing what that was, thanks to my oldest daughter) September 7, 2023 and began walking the perimeter of the property, then a little further down the sidewalk a few weeks ago.
Amazing Progress
I walked for 23 minutes this morning and this afternoon, for 30 minutes. It was the first time I walked in a neighborhood, saying hi to folks, and listening to Queen in one ear.
One of the weirdest parts of all of this is I have always hated walking. When told I needed to, it was as if I had to take the bitterest of pills. Even after the Gastric Bypass in 2001, I hated walking.
Now, however, for the first time, it is a complete joy. Is it because I was so tethered to the earth by my fat for so long? Whatever it is, I welcome it.
There are no words to describe the freedom I feel. I am down 173 pounds and, even though I am still 232 pounds…
I feel as if I’m flying!
