Weight-Loss Story:
Ryan Moore

Age 53, from Des Moines, Iowa

My name is Ryan Moore, I'm a 53-year-old father of two, and I've lost a lot
of weight. Recently, I discovered that I have high blood pressure, and that
I was headed for an early grave. I needed to lose some weight, in a serious
way.

I've always been a hard working guy. I always seem to find something to do.
I can't help it, that's just my nature. My job, however, was not a very
physical one. I'm a detective, and I've been on the force for 30 years.
Being a detective doesn't involve much running around and chasing bad guys,
but there is a lot of stress and a lot of sitting down and typing. I never
had much time to watch my diet. There was always doughnuts around at work.
I know what you're thinking... cops and doughnuts, but it was true where I
was working. I just didn't watch what I ate, and it eventually caught up
with me. I didn't get enough exercise because by the time I got home all I
wanted to do was rest. I started putting on weight in my 30s, and it stayed
on for many years. It didn't affect my job, or my life really, but little
did I know it was really affecting my health. About a year ago I was
diagnosed with hypertension, and it was getting serious. I needed to slim
down and cut out the stress or I was in big trouble.

My wife, Rhonda, was understandably very concerned. She's a nurse, and she
knows a thing or two about taking proper care of your body. She's more
concerned now than ever, in our 50s, that we take care of ourselves and
eachother. We're not 20-year-olds anymore, and our bodies can't bounce back
the way they used to. Rhonda had never been happy about my diet, and she's
always told me to smarten up, but I didn't really listen. I was too busy to
bother. But I had to listen now, there was no way out of it. She helped me
to understand what kinds of simple meals I could put together if I wanted to
get healthy. I was not impressed, I like big substantial meals, that's the
way I was raised. But I was willing to try anything. At first I found it
hard to deal with a healthier diet, and it even made me grumpy a lot of the
time. To tell the truth, I've never gotten used to it. I would give
anything to chow down on a juicy steak every night. But I have to be really
careful these days. I eat a lot of fibre and fruits and vegetables now.
I've never been a fan of those things, but I've discovered what I like and
don't like to eat, and I can get by. I miss having eggs and bacon for
breakfast, but I've found ways around it. Cereal or toast aren't half bad.
The thing I miss most is big helpings of red meat... but I can't do that
anymore. That's about the worst thing I can eat. So I eat a lot of pasta
and chicken and things like that.

Exercise was not as difficult as it seemed. I was in the process of
retiring when I was diagnosed with high blood pressure, and that's the thing
that kept me going. With all the free time I have now, I can really make
sure that I get in good physical activity. My wife and I have started
walking together, every night after dinner. Walking has done wonders, and
it doesn't even feel like exercise. It feels like I'm spending time with my
wife. On the side, I've been doing some biking and at home I do some of the
exercises I used to do when I was training to become a police officer. I
can't be as hard on myself as I was back then though, I take it pretty easy.
But that's really all I've needed. In just a year's time, I've lost 57
pounds. I started at 220 and now I'm at 163. The doctor says I've done
remarkably well, and my blood pressure seems to be in check, with a
combination of healthy living and medication. Things look good!




Based on 10 votes, this diet story has an overall score of: 8.90

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10 - Motivational! 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 - Keep Trying

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(#1) Anonymous posted on Nov 25, 2007 (IP: 63.226.79.47)

Sounds like you are doing a great job. Keep it up!

(#2) tina posted on Oct 25, 2007 (IP: 70.208.229.7)

wonderful! thank you so much for sharing!

(#3) Diana posted on Mar 21, 2005 (IP: 209.240.205.63)

I am so Happy for you, that is Great! that you lost the weight, you should be very proud of yourself for doing it the Safe Way, the Natural Way. Walking is the best Exercise you could do for your body and mind. Thank you for letting me share in your success story, have a Great Day! Diana. Keep Up the Good Work!

(#4) Anonymous posted on Dec 09, 2004 (IP: 140.194.32.253)

I enjoyed reading about someone in my age group!