Fat Man walking – Steve Vaught
Have you heard about the “Fat Man” who decided to walk across the US in order to lose weight–leaving his family behind—and camping by the roadside? You may laugh but he’s got a publishing contract, has been on the Today Show programme and next up it is Oprah.
"That’s absolutely nuts” you say. Here is what Steve Vaught wrote about his coast-to-coast plan. "Well, maybe. But how nutty is spending a fortune on miracle weight-loss drugs or fad diets that never seem to have lasting results or dangerous surgeries that cost the same as a luxury car? Living your life without health insurance because you are considered too high-risk? What about the fact that only 3 percent of weight-loss attempts are permanently successful? What about the anxiety, depression and pain involved in everyday activities when you are fat? I don’t want to miss out on birthdays, graduations, marriages and grandkids because I chose not to take my life back. That, to me, is nuts."
His 3000 mile journey has been full of self-discovery and as much an emotional journey as a physical one.
Steve had been a marine and was in excellent shape. I was amazed when I looked at the photo’s of him in his younger days http://tinyurl.com/heakr to see that his weight had ballooned to over 420 lbs as an adult. What I was struck by as I read the article was that he was able to trace his weight gain to a specific event. When he was twenty he was in a car accident in which he struck and killed two elderly pedestrians. This lead to years of being depressed and comfort eating that resulted in massive weight gain. Along the way he got himself a job and got married and had two gorgeous kids.
The turning point for Steve in his battle with his weight was when he realised that he was out of breath walking across the supermarket. He realised that he would die if he did not do something about it. Just at the point that his kids would need him, he wouldn’t be there– ‘ what type of a coward does that’ he asked himself.
At the time of writing this in March 2006 he has completed over 2500 miles with just 500 to go, and he has lost 114lbs. But that is not his greatest victory: He has stopped taking his antidepressants and he is happy again.
When I read stories like this my role as a Total Success Coach™ comes to the fore and I try and work out why people become like this. In Steve Vaught’s case my opinion is that he stopped living since the tragic accident which was a traumatic event in his life.
The cynic might say that traumatic events like this happen to people all the time and that’s no excuse to start eating yourself to death or drinking alcohol to excess or taking drugs to numb the pain. I would have to agree, but what happens is that if people don’t have a supportive family or group of friends, it is easy to start the downward cycle into depression and self loathing. That support structure is vital in helping the individual see what it is that they are doing to themselves and hold them accountable for being the person that they are not the person they think they are because of one bad decision.
What I admire about what Steve is doing is that he is no longer refusing to play the role of victim rather he is taking charge of his life. For all the years he has felt badly about himself and what he did, he now he is adding countless positive experiences to redress the balance. I’m sure he will become a hero to many for his ability to change his life by choosing to value himself.
Where would you be in your life if you truly were able to get over all the “bad mistakes” you’ve made and were to launch forward powerfully in your life without guilt and remorse?
A worthy question isn’t it?
Gavin Allinson is a Total Success Coach™ with www.totalsuccessinstitute.com
To start moving powerfully forward in your life sign up for a Total Success Coaching™ Call test-drive at no expense to you.
« Head of the River 2006 rowing result | Home | Why your CD collection is keeping you broke! »
Leave a Comment