YOUR Story

W E WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU. We want to be encouraged by your successes as you have waged the war against excess weight and other health matters. In each issue of our newsletter we will print one or more stories as we all try to encourage and inspire one another to stay the course. Submissions must be less than 1000 words and may be emailed to peter@speakwell.com ». Please include your name and your city.

A Father's Story

 by WF (Bill) Dyke

WHEN A YOUNG, VICTORIA-BORN MAN announced his intention to swim around Vancouver Island in conjunction with a Canadian Red Cross Water Safety program, I was highly skeptical. The water conditions around the island are often difficult due to strong winds, complex ocean currents and extreme tides. Having fished the waters around Vancouver Island since 1964, I was especially aware of the risks this swimmer would face. [see our coverage, summer 2005 » and autumn 2005 »]

I was first introduced to Rob Dyke in 1967. Since then, I have watched him mature and have monitored his achievements. Rob always sets difficult challenges for himself, and puts forth his utmost efforts to meet his goals and objectives. His past endeavours are well documented and a matter of public record.

Watching him during these physically and mentally demanding activities of self-induced torture recurrently raised a question in me: why does he continue to do these things? I understood that success, accomplishment and personal satisfaction were important motivators for him, but I eventually discovered that Rob found his greatest reward in inspiring others.

At several of his speaking engagements, I witnessed many in attendance commit to a complete change in lifestyle, a change that would often require personal sacrifice and hardship. As I watched Rob perform his particular brand of magic, I also noticed that some people appeared to miss the message entirely. It was at that point that I realized that I was one of them. Here was Rob, sharing his message for change, and I had failed to act upon it. Then and there, I committed to change.

At that point in my life, I weighed 389 lbs according to the scales at our local feed store. I had to weigh myself somewhere else than the doctor's office since the scale there only accommodated loads up to 350 lbs, so it was either the feed store or the commercial truck scales for me. I was short of breath and unable to walk any distance. In addition, severe phlebitis frequently sent me to the doctor's office and I was forced to wear compression stockings as well as undergo a three-month treatment at the Leg and Ulcer Clinic in Victoria.

So, could I take Rob's advice? Could I sacrifice and commit? The answer is, yes. Since February 2007, our black Labrador and I have walked in excess of 2100 km. I have not needed any additional medical treatments for phlebitis, and I weigh 235 lbs. The change of diet, the gradual increase of physical activity, and most of all, the inspiration to commit to change worked.

Rob, thank you son. I guess that now, we are proud of one another.

:: WF (Bill) Dyke, Victoria BC

Subway's Jared Celebrates 10 Years of Weight Maintenance!

CONGRATULATIONS GO OUT TO SUBWAY'S JARED for doing what the vast majority of those that lose weight don't do – keep it off.

According to an article in the Washington Post, Jared's Subway eureka moment came back when he weighed 425lbs and his college roommate at Indiana University made a tape recording of the sounds he made while sleeping (severe sleep apnea can sound quite dramatic and frightening). He reports trying a few other efforts before finally settling in on his now famous Subway diet which arose with him reading a nutrition facts panel while standing in line for a sub. The rest of course, is marketing history.

Jared's Subway diet amounted to roughly 1,500 Calories a day, low for the majority of men, combined with lots of walking.

Subway took notice after Jared was featured on multiple local media outlets and he has remained a spokesman for them every since.

He no longer formally counts Calories but certainly practices Calorie awareness and knows what portions work best in his own personal foodscape.

Jared's not alone in his weight maintenance success. The National Weight Control Registry » (NWCR) now numbers well into the thousands and to be a registrant you've had to have lost over 30lbs and kept it off for over 1 year. The last time I saw Dr. Rena Wing (one of the registry's founders) speak, the average registrant had lost 66lbs and kept it off for 5.5 years.

So how do the registrants do it? The NWCR has a great facts page and here are some highlights,

Duration of successful weight loss has ranged from 1 year to 66 years!

Some have lost the weight rapidly, while others have lost weight very slowly—over as many as 14 years.

45% of registry participants lost the weight on their own and the other 55% lost weight with the help of some type of program.

98% of Registry participants report that they modified their food intake in some way to lose weight.

94% increased their physical activity, with the most frequently reported form of activity being walking.

78% eat breakfast every day.

62% watch less than 10 hours of TV per week.

90% exercise, on average, about 1 hour per day.

One thing's absolutely certain and during a working day you'll hear me say it at least 5 times a day,
"The more weight you'd like to permanently lose, the more of your lifestyle you'll need to permanently change"
which of course then leads me to the,
"Therefore if you don't like the life you're living while you're losing, you're much more likely to gain it back"

Jared has kept his weight off because he likes his new lifestyle.

Do you like yours?

Congratulations again Jared.