![\"Dusty](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/man-weight-loss-walking-trash-mh-06-10022026-23037a.png\")
Dusty Stilwell before his weight loss.Courtesy Dusty Stilwell<\/p>\nCurtis \u201cDusty\u201d Stilwell estimates he used to eat 10,000 calories a day with a diet of donuts, candy, fast food, soda and huge dinners.<\/p>\n
He was also leading a sedentary lifestyle that consisted of just working, eating and playing video games. His weight reached 520 pounds.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve always been big. I\u2019ve always overeaten. I\u2019ve always not exercised,\u201d Stilwell, 39, who lives in Newalla, Oklahoma, tells TODAY.com.<\/p>\n
But last December, he decided he\u2019d had enough. He was separating from his wife and thought about his two young daughters.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow can I be a good dad if I\u2019m this giant man?\u201d he recalls, yearning to be a good role model for the girls, who are now 5 and 10 years old.<\/p>\n
Dusty Stilwell before his weight loss.Courtesy Dusty Stilwell<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re really healthy, but eventually they would probably pick up on a lot of my habits of overeating \u2026 so I decided to get healthy and get control of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Like many people, Stilwell just started walking<\/a>. But there\u2019s a twist: He started picking up trash along the way, cleaning up the routes where he regularly walks.<\/p>\n It\u2019s now part of his exercise routine, which also includes weightlifting. The daily walking combined with the trash pick-up mission gives him an extra sense of purpose, accomplishment and motivation to keep going. Walking outdoors boosts his mental health<\/a>. He\u2019s changed his diet and has lost 135 pounds, aiming to lose even more.<\/p>\n Stilwell wears a \u201ccustom trash can backpack\u201d on his walks to collect the garbage he comes across and invites people to send him to places that need cleaning up via his website<\/a> and social media<\/a> pages.<\/p>\n Weight Gain<\/p>\n Stilwell\u2019s weight kept rising over the years.<\/p>\n When he was at his biggest, his typical day\u2019s menu was \u201cembarrassing,\u201d he says, noting he\u2019d start the day with five donuts, then eat candy as a mid-morning snack. Lunch would be two McDoubles, two McChickens, and large fries at McDonald\u2019s, followed by a \u201creally ridiculous\u201d afternoon snack. He\u2019d finish the day with a huge dinner and some sweets. <\/p>\n Standing 6 feet, 8 inches tall, Stilwell weighed 520 pounds last year and felt \u201cterrible.\u201d That\u2019s when he decided to make a change. He calls overeating his coping mechanism for severe depression.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was just an endless cycle of like, \u2018Oh, now I feel bad, but all right, now I\u2019m going to overeat. That\u2019ll make me feel good for 10 seconds,\u2019 and then I do it again,\u201d he recalls.<\/p>\n Stilwell started going to therapy for the first time six months ago and calls it a big help.<\/p>\n Walking and Picking Up Trash<\/p>\n The dad started walking in December 2025 when he and his wife separated. He averages 4 miles a day, or at least 10,000 steps, though he sometimes walks up to 8 miles. <\/p>\n Along the way, he got tired of seeing all the trash.<\/p>\n \u201cI was like, somebody should do something about this. This is ridiculous. And then something just told me, \u2018You could be doing something. Why don\u2019t you do something?\u2019\u201d he recalls.<\/p>\n So he started picking up the trash, eventually using what his daughters call \u201coversized chopsticks\u201d to grab it and toss it into his \u201ccustom trash can backpack.\u201d It\u2019s a regular trash can with backpack straps attached and pool noodles added to the back for comfort.<\/p>\n Picking up trash is therapeutic \u2014 Stilwell sees the difference he\u2019s making, and it makes him feel good. He works as a pool cleaner and his schedule can change, so he describes his walking routine as \u201cinconsistently consistent.\u201d Every week is different, but he makes time to walk every day.<\/p>\n Besides Stilwell\u2019s daily walks, he\u2019s also cleaned up places suggested by people who contact him on social media, including parks, school grounds and neighborhoods. His daughters often come along. The 10-year-old does artwork for his webpage.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m just being more involved with my community. I want to connect with people,\u201d the dad says.<\/p>\n Stilwell\u2019s exercise routine also includes lifting \u201csuper heavy\u201d weights several times a week.<\/p>\n \u201cI love lifting big weights, so that\u2019ll always be a part of what I do,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n Diet Changes<\/p>\n Stilwell is now trying to stay under 3,500 calories a day and eat more whole foods like oatmeal, sweet potatoes and chicken.<\/p>\n He avoids ice cream, cakes and donuts: \u201cI haven\u2019t eaten them in forever. I\u2019ve cut out a lot of stuff,\u201d the dad says.<\/p>\n He now weighs 385 pounds and hopes to get to under 300, with a goal weight of 260 pounds. The dad wants to connect with a dietitian to guide his next steps. Stilwell once considered taking a GLP-1 weight-loss drug but decided he wanted to lose the weight on his own.<\/p>\n The big focus is walking, lifting weights, counting calories and boosting his mental health.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m tired sometimes, but I feel so driven right now, and I don\u2019t want to feel tired,\u201d he says. \u201cI feel great. I feel amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Curtis \u201cDusty\u201d Stilwell estimates he used to eat 10,000 calories a day with a diet of donuts, candy,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":868814,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[62],"tags":[337,97],"class_list":["post-868813","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fitness","tag-fitness","tag-health"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868813","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=868813"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868813\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/868814"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=868813"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=868813"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=868813"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Stilwell](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/man-weight-loss-walking-trash-mh-04-10022026-4b306a.png\")
Stilwell estimates he used to eat 10,000 calories a day before taking control of his health.Courtesy Dusty Stilwell<\/p>\n![\"Stilwell,](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/man-weight-loss-walking-trash-mh-02-10022026-9908ec.jpg\")
Stilwell, right, picks up trash on one of his outings.Courtesy Dusty Stilwell<\/p>\n![\"One](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/man-weight-loss-walking-trash-mh-03-10022026-64638f.jpg\")
One of his daughter’s drawings of her dad.Courtesy Dusty Stilwell<\/p>\n![\"Stilwell](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/man-weight-loss-walking-trash-mh-05-10022026-c6bd30.jpg\")
Stilwell is eager to continue his health journey.Courtesy Dusty Stilwell<\/p>\n