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Eagerly awaiting the last school bell to sound, I take note of the time and date - 2:45 p.m. on May 29, 1986, the last day of my junior year in high school. In five more minutes, I will have one more year to complete before graduation. Sitting squeamishly in my desk I take note of my obese size. All three hundred pounds of it. "Man" I say to myself, "you think you might want to try and diet." Easier said than done. I've dieted since the fourth grade to no avail. Life as a fat person has afforded me very few friends, little socialization with my peers, and made me the target of more fat chokes and nick names than I care to remember. Classmates, so called friends, family, and society at large look at me as though I were an alien not entitled to live. The last nine years of this over sized condition has imploded a wave of depression in my life causing me to withdrawal from any interaction with others. It was still too early to tell what emotional and / or physical scars would impact my future. Despite this shortcoming, I held faith that the summer of 1986, about to be bestowed upon me, would be life changing. Charisma, self discipline, compulsive behavior, and perseverence were about to take a strong hold on my life as I knew it.
The bell rings. I move as quickly as my jelly like body will allow. Within seconds, I am in my car determined to begin a new life. As I drive away, I begin to psych myself out for what is about to be my largest undertaking ever. I say, over and over again - "this summer, Chris, your dreams are going to come true. A fat boy will no longer exist. Remember, if you want your life to change, you must take action." That is exactly what I did. The very next day I began the most rigid of diets lasting until the Thanksgiving holidays of 1986.
A turning point in my life was on the horizon. The following day after the completion of school, I began a diet of fasting without a solid piece of food for twenty-one days. Finally, on June 20, 1986, my birthday, I knew I better eat something. My birthday that year was a beautiful day. A day filled with spaghetti, lasagne, po-boys, cakes, cookies, and more. The next day, however, I remained on track starting a second go round of fasting for eight more days followed by another day of food. These eight day fasting cycles followed by a day of eating on the ninth day became a way life that summer. This new form of living ultimately allowed me to achieve my life long dream - a normal life without obesity.
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