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Stuart MacDonald
Benton Harbor, MI

I was obese, pre-hypertensive, and the needle was getting too close to Type 2 diabetic.

Four years ago I had to shut down two of my businesses, go back to college, and start all over. The journey to Whirlpool was terribly stressful mentally as well as physically. I’ve moved four times and bounced around three low level jobs to pad my resume. The stress manifested eating comfort foods and opened the door to craft beers. The weight poured on and I ballooned.

The trigger was my biometric screening. I was obese, prehypertensive, and the needle was getting too close to type 2 diabetic. The first step was to make myself a goal and to find a way to keep myself accountable. I know that the path I was on was slowly KILLING ME. That’s enough to say wait a minute, I have to do something and not wait for Monday to start…it’s like right now!

To help keep me accountable I created a weekly episodic documentary online complete with message board so people could ask questions or offer encouragement.  With my journey on display for everyone to see, I HAVE to progressively get better results than the week before by comparing my progress photos. So far everyone has been encouraging and I’ve made lifelong friends through this journey all over the world.

I feel empowered. When I go grocery shopping I look at all the food I used to eat and see other people piling it on in their shopping carts. I feel a little like a crusader for good health. If I can do it you can do it.  What can you do today? It’s simple.  No boxed foods is a great rule. Another is get moving. We are living in a new world where the word binge is a good thing. We binge watch TV shows now, we game all day…STOP. There is a world outside that needs you to walk, run, bike, hike, swim and play with your kids. Our planet has the best stress relief system in place and it’s called being outside and eating foods grown outside. Start opening up your eyes and see all the people on those electric go carts in the grocery store that are young and wonder to yourself, what is like that ten years ago? NO. Most of those folks are experiencing diabetic nerve damage from eating chips, pop, candy, breads, cereal and alcohol. Once you open your mind to what’s around you, you’ll see the warning signs that something has to be done and it has to start with YOU.

The biggest goal of all though is to continue my exercise and nutrition program the rest of my life. That beat up inflated person is long gone and the new me will never return to that lifestyle…ever.