Weight-Loss Story:
Johnny Masterson

Age 18, from Roswell, Georgia

I don't know where it really came from, but I've always been comforted by
food. It started at a very young age. I had a hard time when I was growing
up, and I turned to eating as a way to make me feel better. It's not that I
was consciously doing it, it's just something that ended up happening. I
found that when I ate something I really liked, that it would make me feel
more relaxed and at ease. The trouble was that my favourite things to eat
were not particularly good for me. I always really liked bread and butter,
and potato chips, and chocolate bars. That sort of thing.

My family was a military family -- my father was in the army. Like other
military families, we were always moving around to new cities. That has a
really tough impact on children I think. It definitely bothered me. The
story is common, I'm sure -- every time I moved somewhere new, I'd make a
few friends here and there, and then have to move again. It left a lot of
things going on inside me. I felt like nothing was totally not in control
of anything happening around me, and nothing was permanent. I wanted some
sort of control, and I found that in comfort foods.

My parents, God bless them, treated me very well. They couldn't help but
feel bad about what they were putting me through. They tended to spoil me.
There were always junk foods around the house. My Mother loved them and
knew that I did too. There would be chips, popcorn, cookies, candy. My
parents meant well, but they couldn't watch me all the time. They knew I
was eating a lot of junk, but all they could do was tell me to watch it now
and then. I don't think they or I even noticed how much weight I was
putting on. It's hard to notice that when you see someone everyday.

The unfortunate effect of putting on all that weight at such a tender age
was that I had more trouble than ever making friends. Kids are really cruel
at that age, and they really give chubby kids a hard time. I was one of
those chubby kids. I didn't have to be, I mean I shouldn't have been, but
that's just the way it happened. I had a really hard time in school around
the age of 11 or 12. I was not getting along with the other kids. Everyone
around me was starting to develop and grow in their social lives, but I felt
like I was stuck in limbo.

I felt like I really had nothing to lose, so I wanted to start dieting. Boy
was that a mistake. I tried every major diet I could imagine or hear about,
with really bad results. I would lose a little weight (probably water
weight) and then feel really good about myself, like that was the snowball
rolling down the mountain in my weight loss quest. But it never held. I
always gained it back and felt really bad about it. No one could tell what
was happening because I didn't look any different, but I knew. I took it
all very seriously. Years of dieting also did horrible things to my body.
I felt really fatigued and sick a lot of the time. I just wasn't getting
the right nutrients. And I always ended up diving back into snack foods.

Grade 9 gym was a horrendous experience. All the other athletic kids would
torment me in the most cruel ways. I just felt like I wanted to disappear.
I usually did... into a blanket and a bag of chips on the couch. But one
good thing about that experience was that I discovered something that I
really liked -- running. I wasn't a great runner, but I really enjoyed
doing it -- trying to pace myself, go long distances, increase my stamina.
I wanted to stick with it, so I kept it up. I didn't feel like it was work,
and I never wanted to quit because I found as much comfort in running as I
did in eating junk food. I also wanted to increase my distance, but the
main block was my size. I wasn't going to be able to run really long
distances unless I lost some weight. The great thing was that I discovered
that the more time I spent running, the less time I spent eating junk food
-- and the less I wanted to eat junk food. Maybe it was a psychological
thing, but I started craving different things. Things that would help with
my nutrition and power my running. I ate more fruit and vegetables and
grains, and found that I enjoyed nothing more than pasta for dinner, because
it gave me lots of energy.

I don't know, I guess it was just a mental switch type of thing. I found
something I liked, and stuck with it. I think that's all you really need
sometimes.

Over time I found that I was automatically losing weight -- just a residual
effect of all the exercise I was doing. I wasn't even trying to lose
weight, but it happened, and made me feel so much better. It's like a
chinese finger trap -- the more I tried to lose weight and get out, the
worse things got. But now that I found something I enjoyed and relaxed
into, I got right out of the hole I was in. By the time I got to my senior
year in high school, I was the picture of health, and found a whole new kind
of confidence. I met many friends and did a lot of things I had missed out
on when I was younger. I even tried out for some of the sports teams.

Currently I'm looking forward to going to college -- I'm majoring in
nutrition. I hope to help other people who have the same kinds of problems
I once had.




Based on 8 votes, this diet story has an overall score of: 7.88

Vote & Comment

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

Name:
Comments:
Spam Prevention:

Comments

(#1) Diana posted on Mar 22, 2005 (IP: 209.240.205.63)

I read your Story and I think you are something else, I am proud of you, I suffer from depression and I realize I reach for Food also to comfort me, but it is not Food I need, it is what I lack in Life. We all Eat for a reason, it is not the Food, so thank you for your Wonderful Story, Good Luck in everything you do in Life, you deserve it. Diana.

(#2) Anonymous posted on Mar 20, 2004 (IP: 205.188.116.15)

you did the best thing ever getting fit i wish i would have at your age im 33 and you suffer terribly being an overweight person.but you have inspired me to try again and find comfort in something besides food thanks good job!!!