I have always been a big guy.  Always been able to function well as a big guy.  Then I hit 40 years old, and everything slapped me in the face.  At 41 years old, I weighed 348 pounds, and a body composition study put me at 44% body fat.  I was taking medication for hypertension, high cholesterol, on a c-pap and was diagnosed with type II diabetes.  As all of this piled up on me, I also realized that I would sleep all night and wake up tired and physical activity was becoming increasingly more difficult and undesirable.  

 

My diagnosis of diabetes was the tipping point and happened in a time frame that was nothing less than a perfect storm.  All of the issues listed above that I was dealing with happened in a time frame when my workplace was instituting a peer fitness program and had put in motion an opportunity for physical health improvement.  A friend of mine (Gabe Holmes) confronted me one day and told me in summary that "hey, now is the time for you to start getting in shape!!!  Things aint gonna do anything but get worse from here on out without change."  He pointed me in the direction of a nutritionist (his wife Jennifer Holmes) and told me to reach out.  

 

From that point I knew I had to get started at a healthier lifestyle.  I prayed hard and long, then I prayed some more, then I made the phone call and made an appointment with Jennifer Holmes.  Before my first appointment, the newly started fitness program pointed me in the right direction at working out and exercising.  I began that immediately and looked forward to learning how to eat right.  

 

I met Jennifer for my first appointment and felt as if I was in the right place immediately.  She was welcoming, down to earth and treated me as a friend more so than a patient.  We discussed my lifestyle and goals while making decisions on what was the right way to proceed.  Mrs. Holmes set goals for me as it pertains to protein intake, carbohydrate intake, what were good choices and what were bad choices.  My goal was a BALANCED diet.  She also guided me in the right exercise direction.  We discussed weight loss medication, but I made the decision to do this without meds.  I was confident that I could make this work.  

 

I got started on this journey and immediately began to see results.  I buckled down and met all of my goals.  I lost 20 lbs in the first month and an average of 15 lbs per month for the next several months.  Six months into this I have lost 75 pounds.  My body fat percentage is down from 44% to 34%.  I have gained 2 pounds of muscle while losing all of that fat.  I no longer take blood pressure or cholesterol medication and will be coming off of the c-pap in the near future.  In addition to that, my blood sugar has stabilized and is running in the 80-90 range consistently.  My doctor completely removed my diabetes diagnosis from my chart.  My energy is up, and I feel better today than I have in 20 years. 

 

Coming to the realization that it was my responsibility to make a change, and convincing myself that I could not do it alone was the first big step in success.  I am grateful for Gabe Holmes having the courage to have a difficult conversation with me and help me with my workout routine.  I am grateful for Jennifer Holmes because she laid the dietary foundation for me to make a change.  The Holmes family has supported me and encouraged me and given me the help that I needed in one of the weakest times in my life, and I am grateful beyond words!   

 

Adam P. Brown

Battalion Chief

Murfreesboro Fire and Rescue