[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLieB0Wui3E&list=PLQIikebAPmLVG5K5SiFWKd8p62FwKQ2KE&index=1[/youtube][powerpress]
David Garcia tipped the scales at 402 lbs and has lost 158 lbs to date after meeting Richard Simmons on the Ellen DeGeneres Show. He’s sharing with us today, the details of his struggle as an obese man, what he did to lose the weight and how he keeps it off today. We talk candidly about the ups and downs of his journey to becoming a healthier person and what it was like for him to be overweight. Doesn’t he look amazing?!
David knew he was obese, but hadn’t stepped on a scale for a while when he first met Richard Simmons. When he realized that he was over 400 pounds he felt all sort of terrible things like shame, disgust and bad thoughts. At that point in his life, he was overwhelmed by his health but had felt hopeless because he had been overweight all of his life and had several “failed” attempts at losing weight. He had resigned to being obese and unhealthy. None of the health problems that he would one day face were enough of a motivation for him because he had accepted his state.
At his heaviest, he would get very anxious about traveling and renting a car, fully aware that the type of car that he would fit would be out of his price range. Sometimes he couldn’t fit a seat belt in a friend’s car and would pretend that he was buckled in safely. He didn’t enjoy restaurants that featured mostly booths because if he had to sit at one, it meant inhaling, squeezing in and then hardly exhaling for an hour.
David was aware and worried about his health. What he attributes his weight gain to was his lack of courage and self esteem. Looking back at it, it’s tough to realize how miserable he was. When he first lost almost 160 pounds, he didn’t like looking at his before pictures because he saw a sad person. Now, being further removed from that, he feels overwhelming pride and joy of the accomplishments he’s made.
He’s always been fortunate to have really great family and friends to support him and love him. He was his “biggest bully”, so he doesn’t remember being fully cognizant of other people’s perception of him. He just remembers hating the moment he walked into a party, expecting everyone to notice him as he walked in.
“I was clearly the biggest person in the room.” #obese #KirstyTV
“I was always my biggest bully. I didn’t need other’s discriminating against me because I was plenty good at that all by myself.” #KirstyTV
David recalls a time when he tried to ride a roller coaster, but couldn’t because the overhead harness wouldn’t fit. He took responsibility for his size and didn’t see it as an attack or discrimination. He understood that he wouldn’t be safe in that particular ride and did not ride it. Unfortunately, the ride operator handled it in a very poor way that humiliated David in front of his friends and strangers. Since loosing the weight, he returned to that same roller coaster ride and was able to ride it! The Thumbs-Up is given by a ride operator that tells the rest of the team that everyone is secured, safe, and the ride is good to go.
He recalls how and why he continued to gain weight since he was young. There weren’t any big red flag triggers in his life. He just ate to eat, didn’t have a great metabolism, he has overweight people on both sides of his family and feels that he didn’t have healthy examples/mentors. He attributes his success to planning. That meant removing any sense of not knowing when he would eat. He would pack healthy snacks and meals, he would eat at home or if he ate out, he would look at the menu ahead of time to get acquainted with their healthy options.
David met Richard Simmons on the Ellen Show where he worked as the segment producer. David was in Richard’s dressing room where Richard took an interest in him and offered to help David. Without referencing his weight, Richard said to him, “I can help you if you want it.
“I knew it meant he could help me lose weight.” #RichardSimmons #Weightloss #KirstyTV
David goes on to share with us how the process of loosing all of his excess weight and found success in it. He gives tips and words of encouragement.
“I have learned how strong of a person I am. And how resilient and determined I can be.” #slimmons #exercise #KirstyTV
For more practical day-to-day tips from David Garcia, visit his blog, www.keepitupdavid.com, follow him on Facebook at facebook.com/keepitupdavid or on twitter at @keepitupdavid.
A timeline of events:
2003 – Started working at Ellen
Jan 2010 – Met Richard Simmons, who got me started on a weight loss effort. My weight: 402 pounds.
June 2010 – Resigned from Ellen show
Sep 2010 – Began blog as a way to stay accountable
David met Richard Simmons on the Ellen DeGeneres Show where David worked as the segment producer. Richard very simply said, “I can help you. Email me when you’re ready.” Check out this video of David on Ellen with Richard, after loosing over 150 pounds.
Stay tuned to www.KirstyTV.com for more exclusive and uplifting interviews. We will be sharing inspirational stories from everyday people, celebrities and experts every week. You can also subscribe to the KirstyTV Talk Show Podcast on iTunes.