Situation: I’ve been losing weight, and everyone seems to have noticed—my boss, the members of my church group—everyone except my fiancé. He says that I look great and he doesn’t care what size I am But I have type 2 diabetes and my doctor told me I need....
COUPLES UP CLOSE
Ed is fifty-seven years old and has been married to his wife, Jo, for thirty-seven years. They have four grown children, Jennifer, Kristopher, Danille, and Brett. Ed is the chief financial officer for an electronics firm; Jennifer, his thirty-four-year-old daughter, works in the corporate office of a merchandising company. She lives at home with her parents and some-
times finds herself commuting up to four hours a day.
Although Ed’s wife has never had a weight problem, Ed has been over- weight for years but for the most part was unaware of it. He says, “I never thought of myself
as fat; I just considered myself big—I’m six feet three inches tall and the least I can remember weighing is two hundred fifteen
pounds—when I was twenty-one years old!” He adds, “I assumed that my incremental weight gains over the years were part of growing older.” In 2005, on a visit to his doctor, Ed discovered that his weight had crept up to 285 pounds. He describes his condition: “My blood pressure was out of whack, I had diabetes, and my doctor told me that if I wanted to be around for the long term, I’d better think seriously about losing weight.” Ed said initially he felt down. He says, “I thought it was too late for me to change.” But after the birth of his first grandchild, Tyler, he was motivated to make some long-needed changes. He had heard that Weight Watchers was the most practical and realistic way to lose weight. He says, “In my mind I understood that I wasn’t starting a diet; I was mak- ing a lifestyle change.”
After joining Weight Watchers, Ed soon realized that his weight gain had been a result of what he ate during the day when he was away from home. He explains, “My wife cooks only healthy foods. I was eating all kinds of junk at work, and when I came home, I was a couch potato.” After a year, Ed had lost 65.2 pounds; he reached his weight goal and is now a Weight Watchers Lifetime member. Ed vows that he’ll never be heavy again. He says, “I don’t even need an alarm clock. At six A.M., I’m up and walking three miles at least five mornings a week. I’m also eating breakfast, which I never used to do.”
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