Mike George
My name is Michael George and I am 31 years old and was born and raised in
I have been overweight for 11 years. I was thin growing up all through middle school and high school and always ran about 165-170lbs and never got above a 32 waist. When I went to college in the fall of 1995 I was this weight. By Christmas I had put on 20-25lbs and was just shy of 200. That Spring I went to the campus doctor for my allergies and he inquired as to my weight. I explained to him my weight gain and he tested my Thyroid and discovered it was not working properly. (Hypothyroid – my mother and father both have it) He put me on Synthroid but I did not take it consistently. I continued to gain and was a 38/40 waist by the early spring when my Grandmother took me shopping because none of my clothes fit me anymore. By the following summer/fall; I had moved up to a 42 waist and was about 230-240 lbs. This was the fall of 1996. I had put on 60-70 lbs in one year. So much for the freshman 15. I had not changed my eating habits in that I lived on campus and had no money and no car. I ate in the cafeteria and consumed less then I did in high school when I worked in the mall and ate fast food every other day. At the doctors urging I went back on the Synthroid and stayed on it and maintained my weight for about 3 years. Then I got married in September of 1999. After college I went to work running a route delivery truck which involved intense exercise 8 hours a day. I still got up to 250 -260 lbs because I had to increase my pants to a 46 waist and my shirts to a 3xl. In January of 2000 I was promoted to a supervisor position and had to buy dress clothes...at this point I was a 48 waist and gaining. I was only able to wear those pants for 4 months before I outgrew them. I began falling asleep everywhere…driving, meetings, watching TV…I could fall asleep standing up. The doctors tested me for Sleep Apnea and put me on the CPAP. I did not tolerate it well so I did not use it. Over the next 2 years my weight continued to increase to about 335 lbs. In 2004 my doctor retested my sleep apnea and put me back on the CPAP…this time I forced myself to adjust because they told me I could die in my sleep. That scared me. My doctor suggested I do the Gastric Bypass at the time but I still thought I could do it on my own. I began trying every diet out there from Adkins, to
The bottom line...I do not want to die young! I have a beautiful wife named Angel and two adorable little girls age 6 and 1. They need me!
