My job was stressful, and I found it hard to detach<\/p>\n
The weight crept on. Then, when I entered the ministry, I found myself eating out a lot with the young members of the congregation. Sitting at a table together was a good way to bond and establish trust.<\/p>\n
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The only trouble was that we went to fast food places like Taco Bell <\/a>or Mexican restaurants, where you fill up on chips and salsa before the main course arrives.<\/p>\n The job was stressful because I found it difficult to detach from other people’s emotions as they dealt with bad stuff like domestic violence and sexual abuse.<\/p>\n Wallace weighed over 285 pounds at his heaviest<\/p>\n Courtesy of Lyle Wallace<\/p>\n I turned to food as an outlet and became less healthy by the month. I had terrible digestive issues and bouts of diverticulitis. I had several colonoscopies and liver biopsies in my 20s and 30s and was found to have a fatty liver.<\/p>\n They should have been warning signs, but I ignored them and stayed sedentary. I’d sit in my office studying, writing sermons, and doing paperwork. My metabolism slowed down as I got older, but I didn’t change my habits.<\/p>\n Do you have a story about dramatic weight loss? Please email Jane Ridley at jridley@insider.com<\/p>\n I had problems with tendonitis, with symptoms mimicking a heart attack<\/a>, pressure on my joints, and suffered excruciating pain from a bad back. I had spine surgery in 2019.<\/p>\n I was prescribed Metformin<\/p>\n My wife, Nicole, would be on top of me about the causes, but I didn’t face facts. It was only when I was diagnosed with diabetes in January 2023 that I became seriously worried.<\/p>\n My dad was diabetic and needed three or four insulin shots a day. I’m terrified of needles and didn’t want to go down the same route. The scale registered over 285 pounds.<\/p>\n I was prescribed Metformin<\/a>, but not given any advice about improving my lifestyle. My blood sugar levels actually increased \u2014 one of my A1C tests showed 8.0 \u2014 and I despaired.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n