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TOTAL BODY WORLD
Work Out - Feel Good!
Richard's Story:
My name is Richard Stephens.
I am 41 years old. I have lived in the Oklahoma City Metro most of my life. I am married to Tanya Stephens, who is also on an epic weight loss journey. We have three great kids, Andy who is an outstanding high school student and recently retired football player at Edmond Santa Fe; Jacob who is a first grade student; and Rachel who is a pre-kindergarten student.
I have battled obesity my entire life. I remember as a second grader, being ridiculed and beaten up by older kids for being overweight. I played sports including baseball, basketball, football, and golf all through my childhood and teenage years. I was athletic, but always overweight.
Dec. 21, 2006
I was successful a couple of times with losing weight as a young adult, but have never been as successful as I wanted. I feel that this was primarily because of motivation. I always attempted to lose weight for someone else or for a cause that I was not fully committed to.
I graduated from Putnam City high school and have trained and worked as an EMT-Paramedic and law enforcement officer my entire adult life. I have earned a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Criminal Justice. As a career EMT-Paramedic and law enforcement officer working in the metro area, including responding to the Murrah building bombing, I experienced a significant amount of job related stress. I have always been a stress eater and turned to food as a comfort. This resulted in a nearly steady increase in my weight, waist size, and a concurrent decrease in my physical abilities and self esteem.
When I was 37 year old, the lifestyle that I had always known led to the development of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and type II diabetes. I will never forget the nurse’s telephone call to tell me “Mr. Stephens, your cholesterol level is at the highest level the machine measures”. As it turned out, my blood sugar was ridiculously high as well. I started what I thought was a life sentence of medication to maintain blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar. My weight was 370 pounds.
The medical diagnosis with this combination is Metabolic Syndrome. The first year after this discovery, I lost 70 pounds through diet and exercise. I felt better, but had significant difficulty regulating my blood sugar. I felt at times as though I was eating to feed the medication, to avoid blood sugar that was too low. I continued this process of adjusting medication with diet and lifestyle changes for almost 4 years. I had stabilized my blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood sugar, but only managed to maintain a loss of 28 pounds.
On September 7th, 2008, I decided that I would join Weight Watcher’s with my wife Tanya. I hoped that I would eventually learn to control my diet and lose a few pounds in the process. I told myself that I was joining with my wife to support her weight loss. We wanted a better life for her and our children than the one I was living. I poured myself into the Weight Watcher’s program. I learned everything that I could learn and analyzed every part of my life. I used the Weight Watcher’s “Good Health Guidelines” to mold my diet and activity to optimize my weight loss. I was not really expecting anything significant, but I was very hopeful. I was pleasantly surprised that the Weight Watcher’s plan really works when you really work the plan. I followed the plan to the decimal point and lost weight. I lost 22 pounds in the first four weeks. I continued this success and by the end of 2008, I had lost 53 pounds.
I began walking outside at first, but with the onset of winter I chose to join Anytime Fitness to use the cardio equipment indoors. I also made a public goal. I committed to running the 5K at the 2009 Oklahoma Memorial Marathon. I want you to understand that the goal of running in an organized event was daunting enough; but, I had not returned to the Bombing Memorial since the date of the explosion. I researched a training program, and settled for one titled: Couch Potato to 5K. I began this training program on December 28th, 2008. I weighed 290 pounds.
I wanted to train on a consistent schedule, but did not want to miss family time with my children. I chose to lose a few hours of sleep every day to accommodate all of my priorities. I woke up nearly every day at 3:30 AM to be at the gym by 3:45 AM, and to work before 6:00 AM. Most week days, I returned to the gym in the afternoon to do additional cardio work and cross train. I trained hard and completed the 5K event. I weighed 245 pounds. I not only accomplished a significant goal in training for and completing the race; I returned to the Bombing Memorial; and I lost 45 pounds in the process. I believe that this illustrates the importance of setting personal goals not only during weight loss program, but throughout life as well.
July 4, 2009 - 235 pounds
My wife has joined Anytime Fitness as well and is by my side every morning before she goes to work. She has set her own fitness goals and completed her first 3K race on July 4th, 2009; the Route 66 5K race on August 1st, 2009; and the Spirit of Survival 5K on October 4th, 2009. I am happy to support her during her training time and will be beside her where ever her journey takes her.
The results of my weight loss journey have been more rewarding than I had ever imagined possible. As of today’s date, I have lost 130 pounds since September 7th, 2008. I am off of all medication. My health has never been better. I have lost 16 suit and pants sizes. I continue to make new goals. I completed the Route 66 Quarter-Marathon on August 1st, 2009, and the Spirit of Survival Half Marathon on October 4th, 2009. I will complete the Route 66 half-marathon November 22nd, 2009, and will complete the Oklahoma Memorial Marathon on April 25th 2010.
Several people have contributed to my motivation and support during this process. First and foremost is my wife Tanya. She provided the initial idea for joining Weight Watcher’s. I had considered weight loss surgery and probably would have taken than option had she not pointed out the common sense idea that if I could eat less and be more active after surgery, then I could do it without surgery as well. Tanya has been supportive and encouraging every week as we have changed our lives together and forever. Tanya and I hold each other accountable to the Weight Watcher’s program as well as to each other. We are together most of the time, and are available to give a kind word or prevent the other from making poor food choices. Tanya has realized significant success during this process as well with a total weight loss of 88 pounds as of this writing.
The Weight Watcher’s program is designed where members are encouraged to attend weekly meetings. At the meetings, members weigh confidentially and receive information about how to successfully complete the program. The meetings are led by members who have achieved and maintained their lifetime goal weight. I have been following the leadership of Heather Brett at Weight Watcher’s in Edmond. Heather is a licensed Psychologist. She has been successful and maintained her weight loss for about a decade. Heather focuses member’s attention on discovering why they overeat as well as how to overcome their eating disorders. Heather frequently says that weight loss occurs from the neck up. She is always supportive, but will also have unpleasant conversations with members when they need to hear the hard truths that can change them from the inside out. I am certain that I would have never been able to succeed in this journey without the support and motivation provided by these two ladies. The Weight Watcher’s meeting provides a public forum where I am able to share my experiences with the
other members. This enables the members to learn from each other as well as from the leaders. The ability to interact with the other members in a confidential environment offers the additional accountability that I need to solidify my resolve to continue to succeed in this weight loss journey.
The Weight Watcher’s program provides celebration and recognition for the members as they progress through the plan. When I reached the first goal of 25 pounds lost, I received recognition at a meeting. This also includes a medallion that serves as a reminder of my accomplishment and the celebration. We receive rewards for each 5 pounds that we lose. When a member loses ten percent of total body weight, they receive a special key chain that is shaped like the numeral 10. This key chain holds additional medallions that are received as rewards for losing 25, 50, 75, 100, and 150 pounds. I have received nearly every reward that is available from Weight Watcher’s. My 10 percent keychain and the medallions that I received are a treasured item to me and are as important as any other reward I have ever earned.
In recent years, Oklahomans have received terrible ratings for fitness and percentages of obesity. I always felt I was a glaring representation of these statistics. Now, I feel as though I can be a motivator and role model to those who want to increase their fitness, reduce their weight, and improve their overall health. I will to complete my weight loss journey and begin a new journey of maintenance. I will succeed in maintaining my weight loss because I have not dieted. I have completely changed my way of life. I truly enjoy my life. I play with my family. I help them learn the joy of fitness and healthy living. I will continue to motivate myself, my family, friends and anyone who will listen about the benefits of increased fitness, and healthy living. I hope to help those who want to improve their way of life. I know that I cannot make anyone else change; however, I can help those who were in my shoes and have resolved themselves to a life sentence of obesity, disease, and shame. I want them to realize that they can live a life of success, fitness, health, and happiness.
Thank you again to my loved ones, supporters, Weight Watcher’s and Anytime Fitness.
Sincerely,
Richard Stephens
October 4, 2009 - 211 pounds
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