600-Pound Man Convinced He Is Healthy
I'd like to publicly thank everyone who has sent me notes of encouragement and hope about my brother Kevin as he has been battling the seemingly endless saga of heart health problems in recent months. Your words and prayers have comforted and strengthened me and my family during this sometimes tense ordeal.
In fact, one of the people who read about Kevin's story here at my blog is a heart specialist who works with Olympic athletes to get them into tip-top shape. He personally offered to help Kevin free of charge if he would be willing to share his typical daily routine, including the medications he takes. When I presented this offer to Kevin, he seemed very excited about it and I was delighted that perhaps the dark cloud of despair that has hovered over him for the past few years may finally begin to clear up.
Unfortunately, though, I am afraid Kevin is squandering this golden opportunity by being less than forthright about his condition. When I requested some basic information from Kevin about his health, here are the mendacious answers he gave to me along with the cold hard facts:
Height - 6'0" (TRUE)
Weight - 373 pounds (FALSE, he's closer to 600 pounds!)
Waist - 62 inches (FALSE, it's MUCH BIGGER than that!)
Calories Consumed Daily - 1800 (HA! Maybe for breakfast! FALSE!)
Exercise - 2 miles daily (With 15% of his heart functioning? FALSE!)
He had a series of heart attacks back in 1999 and had 4 stints put in at the time. In 2005, an icdinplant was put in, and he was declared a Type 2 diabetic. Here is a list of the prescription medications he currently takes:
GLUCATROL 2.5 MG
PRINAVIL 10 MG
POTTASIUM CHLORIDE 10 MG
PLAVIX 75 MG
COUMADIN 10 MG
ASPRIN 81 MG
IMDUR 60 MG
COREG 37.5 MG
LASIX 80 MG
ALLOPURINOL 100 MG
TOPROL 50 MG
As you can see, Kevin's still in pretty bad shape and I fear he will stay that way as long as he keeps lying to himself about his weight and health. Some people criticized me for claiming people with obesity are in deep denial about their weight problem, but I've got a barely living and breathing example of this in my brother Kevin. This man who hasn't even turned 40 yet has so convinced himself that he's eating and exercising the healthy way that there's no way he could possibly do anything more for himself.
If that's NOT denial, then I don't know what is!
Furthermore, I don't believe for one second that Kevin eats just 1800 calories per day. Heck, even I eat around 2300-2500 calories daily and I'm actually LOSING weight! Then, to be off on how much he actually weighs by more than 200 pounds?! That's something everyone who gets really, really big goes through. When I started livin' la vida low-carb in January 2004, I thought I weighed about 320, but my ACTUAL weight was a whopping 410 pounds! NO SENSE OF REALITY EXISTS!!!
Then for him to say he walks 2 miles a day is completely absurd. He may "feel" like he's walked that far, but it's probably not much further than a few blocks and then he turns back around. Kevin is playing mind games with himself and not owning up to his end of taking responsibility for his weight problem. Until that happens, NOTHING changes.
And, yes, lest anyone accuses me of being inconsistent in my viewpoints, I believe Kevin does need to take personal responsiblity for his weight problem. Don't blame mom or dad for why you gained weight either because I overcame. And so can you!
While the circumstances of how he got to be 600 pounds is one thing, the truth for him and anyone else in the same circumstance is they need to make weight loss a priority and JUST DO IT! Stop your whining, stop your bellyaching about it being too hard, and for goodness sake stop pointing fingers. There's no arguing about genetics or a propensity to being fat in some people. But too many people are using those as lame excuses to wiggle out of making the right choices for themselves.
When I spoke with Kevin's roommate recently about what he had eaten that day, she told me Kevin had a bowl of oatmeal and a banana for breakfast, she didn't see him at lunch so she doesn't know, and for supper he had a big bowl of grits with eggs and sausage. Then he went out with friends and she was unaware of what he ate, but suspects he ate something. He's obviously eating way too many carbohydrates and calories still even though he is supposed to be trying to eat lower-carb and allegedly sticking to 1800 calories. PUH-LEEZE! This is frustrating me to no end!
I REALLY wish I could be in Florida with Kevin to personally watch him when he eats, walk with him for as long as he can take it, and show him practical ways to lose the weight and get healthy. That's just not a feasible option for me right now. What Kevin needs now more than ever is a major life intervention and quickly or he won't make it to the age of 40. He's been give that chances with this generous heart doctor, but I'm not so sure he's going to avail himself of this golden goose.
Continue to pray for Kevin Lee Moore that he would change his thinking about his weight. Until he comes to grips with the grave reality of his condition, he will remain morbidly obese and slowly keep chipping away at his life. The devastation of Kevin's condition that continues to happen right before my eyes keeps me focused on what I am doing to help educate, encourage and inspire others to get this part of their life headed in the right direction.
It's not my fault if people like Kevin don't listen, but it won't stop me from trying. I'll NEVER quit if for no other reason than to help spare others the pain of having to go through the drama of seeing a loved one eating his way to an early grave. If we can save just ONE person from doing that, then the tens of thousands of hours I have invested in my blog will have been all worth it!
I'll let you know if I hear anything new out of Kevin, especially if he decides to make a full commitment to improving his weight and health. I'm not confident he will, but I am hopeful for the best. THANKS again for all of your thoughts and prayers.
In fact, one of the people who read about Kevin's story here at my blog is a heart specialist who works with Olympic athletes to get them into tip-top shape. He personally offered to help Kevin free of charge if he would be willing to share his typical daily routine, including the medications he takes. When I presented this offer to Kevin, he seemed very excited about it and I was delighted that perhaps the dark cloud of despair that has hovered over him for the past few years may finally begin to clear up.
Unfortunately, though, I am afraid Kevin is squandering this golden opportunity by being less than forthright about his condition. When I requested some basic information from Kevin about his health, here are the mendacious answers he gave to me along with the cold hard facts:
Height - 6'0" (TRUE)
Weight - 373 pounds (FALSE, he's closer to 600 pounds!)
Waist - 62 inches (FALSE, it's MUCH BIGGER than that!)
Calories Consumed Daily - 1800 (HA! Maybe for breakfast! FALSE!)
Exercise - 2 miles daily (With 15% of his heart functioning? FALSE!)
He had a series of heart attacks back in 1999 and had 4 stints put in at the time. In 2005, an icdinplant was put in, and he was declared a Type 2 diabetic. Here is a list of the prescription medications he currently takes:
GLUCATROL 2.5 MG
PRINAVIL 10 MG
POTTASIUM CHLORIDE 10 MG
PLAVIX 75 MG
COUMADIN 10 MG
ASPRIN 81 MG
IMDUR 60 MG
COREG 37.5 MG
LASIX 80 MG
ALLOPURINOL 100 MG
TOPROL 50 MG
As you can see, Kevin's still in pretty bad shape and I fear he will stay that way as long as he keeps lying to himself about his weight and health. Some people criticized me for claiming people with obesity are in deep denial about their weight problem, but I've got a barely living and breathing example of this in my brother Kevin. This man who hasn't even turned 40 yet has so convinced himself that he's eating and exercising the healthy way that there's no way he could possibly do anything more for himself.
If that's NOT denial, then I don't know what is!
Furthermore, I don't believe for one second that Kevin eats just 1800 calories per day. Heck, even I eat around 2300-2500 calories daily and I'm actually LOSING weight! Then, to be off on how much he actually weighs by more than 200 pounds?! That's something everyone who gets really, really big goes through. When I started livin' la vida low-carb in January 2004, I thought I weighed about 320, but my ACTUAL weight was a whopping 410 pounds! NO SENSE OF REALITY EXISTS!!!
Then for him to say he walks 2 miles a day is completely absurd. He may "feel" like he's walked that far, but it's probably not much further than a few blocks and then he turns back around. Kevin is playing mind games with himself and not owning up to his end of taking responsibility for his weight problem. Until that happens, NOTHING changes.
And, yes, lest anyone accuses me of being inconsistent in my viewpoints, I believe Kevin does need to take personal responsiblity for his weight problem. Don't blame mom or dad for why you gained weight either because I overcame. And so can you!
While the circumstances of how he got to be 600 pounds is one thing, the truth for him and anyone else in the same circumstance is they need to make weight loss a priority and JUST DO IT! Stop your whining, stop your bellyaching about it being too hard, and for goodness sake stop pointing fingers. There's no arguing about genetics or a propensity to being fat in some people. But too many people are using those as lame excuses to wiggle out of making the right choices for themselves.
When I spoke with Kevin's roommate recently about what he had eaten that day, she told me Kevin had a bowl of oatmeal and a banana for breakfast, she didn't see him at lunch so she doesn't know, and for supper he had a big bowl of grits with eggs and sausage. Then he went out with friends and she was unaware of what he ate, but suspects he ate something. He's obviously eating way too many carbohydrates and calories still even though he is supposed to be trying to eat lower-carb and allegedly sticking to 1800 calories. PUH-LEEZE! This is frustrating me to no end!
I REALLY wish I could be in Florida with Kevin to personally watch him when he eats, walk with him for as long as he can take it, and show him practical ways to lose the weight and get healthy. That's just not a feasible option for me right now. What Kevin needs now more than ever is a major life intervention and quickly or he won't make it to the age of 40. He's been give that chances with this generous heart doctor, but I'm not so sure he's going to avail himself of this golden goose.
Continue to pray for Kevin Lee Moore that he would change his thinking about his weight. Until he comes to grips with the grave reality of his condition, he will remain morbidly obese and slowly keep chipping away at his life. The devastation of Kevin's condition that continues to happen right before my eyes keeps me focused on what I am doing to help educate, encourage and inspire others to get this part of their life headed in the right direction.
It's not my fault if people like Kevin don't listen, but it won't stop me from trying. I'll NEVER quit if for no other reason than to help spare others the pain of having to go through the drama of seeing a loved one eating his way to an early grave. If we can save just ONE person from doing that, then the tens of thousands of hours I have invested in my blog will have been all worth it!
I'll let you know if I hear anything new out of Kevin, especially if he decides to make a full commitment to improving his weight and health. I'm not confident he will, but I am hopeful for the best. THANKS again for all of your thoughts and prayers.
Labels: denial, health, Kevin, morbidly obese, obesity, weight, weight loss
posted by Jimmy Moore at
10/31/2006 04:45:00 PM
5 Comments:
THANKS for sharing your thoughts about this, Cherlita. I agree that nobody or nothing would have changed my mind when I was 410 pounds, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't want people to stop trying. And neither should Kevin.
Regarding my blog posts, I would not characterize them as "chastising" Kevin because he doesn't even surf the Internet anyway. I'm like the only person in my family actually living in the 21st Century! :D
With that said, I think it is important to get issues like this out in the open to help others dealing with the same thing. I'm merely giving a voice to what so many others are thinking and wishing they could say. If change is gonna happen, then the message has got to go through.
And, in case you missed it, I DO love and respect my brother which is why I'll NEVER EVER give up on giving him the hope that I found for a better life.
THANKS again for sharing your opinions, but I disagree with the assumptions you made about me and my handling of this situation with my brother's health. I appreciate the feedback as always!
Jimmy, I have been reading for the last few months. In fact YOU are the reason I found Kimkins and have lost 20 lbs, since starting 10/3. Thank you.
I find it a little sad though, that you would post this about your brother. What a hurtful thing to do. I don't feel that the fact that he isn't computer savvy, matters.
You should know yourself that you cannot make a person lose weight. They must make that decision on their own, or it will never happen. Posting PRIVATE information about someone, especially your own brother, on the internet is a mean thing to do. He should have some privacy and respect. How humiliating. You could at least not identify the person you are talking about, if you really want to share a story that others can relate to.
THANKS becoming_a_butterfly for sharing your opinion, but I disagree with your characterization of this post about my brother's health problems associated with his obesity.
How exactly am I being "hurtful," "mean," or "humiliating" towards Kevin by talking about what he is going through?
Perhaps I'm not very smart because I don't see anything wrong with making public a problem that so many people go through. I apologize if you were offended, but we need to get serious about this if change is ever going to come.
Because it is HIS problem, not yours. You have come a long way, and should be very proud, but should also have a little compassion. If he wanted the WORLD to know about HIS life, he can tell it. Most people I know would be highly offended to have someone tell others all about their situation, without even getting permission first. I can see that you aren't going to be swayed by what anyone else thinks, so we'll have to agree to disagree. I wonder how you would have felt at your highest weight, feeling possibly your lowest, if someone had written about you. I for one would have been humiliated. Maybe you should think about other people's feelings before posting such things in the future. You can justify it any way you want, but family should ALWAYS come before your story. I wonder if you would print your story and send it to your brother, so he can read it. After all, it's HIS life, and HIS privacy.
Jimmy, I wouldn't be so hard on your brother. While he may not be entirely forthcoming, he may not be as delusional as you think.
I was eating an 1800-2000 calorie diet daily (high carb) and was actually gaining weight...while exericising vigorously for an hour or two five days per week. I'm not saying your brother has done that, but he may also have hit the state where he's given up because when he *did* try to lose weight or was eating that much, he didn't make any progress.
They say to actually lose weight on a high carb diet, men need to eat 1500-1800 calories per day...and women 1200-1500.
I'd actually recommend you try to get him to use fitday (www.fitday.com) because that's an excellent way of keeping track of what's really going on.
I hope he comes around and is able to get better.
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