BEFORE
165kg or 363 lbs
|
|
My Story
Hello! My name is Matt.
As a high school student in 1994, I had been on the school cricket, soccer, and rugby teams. Our teams played at championship level in a number of sports syndicates.
During a rugby game in October 1994, the semi-finals, it began to rain, and the game continued. The field turned to mud.
I was tackled, and while still in motion, the other player slipped in the mud, causing us both to lose our balance and fall to the ground.
I fell on my side, and the other player landed on top of me.
The combined force of the two impacts - me hitting the ground, and the other player landing on top of me, I sustained multiple injuries.
These included:
- badly damaged knee
- hip fractured in 3 places
- hip broken in one place
I was in a lot of pain and unable to move, half covered in mud.
After realising I was badly injured, the sports masters arranged for medical attention and while waiting for an ambulance, decided to move me off the field.
Four men lifted me, one on each limb, at which point I heard and felt a lot of crunching inside. I was put back down on the ground until the ambulance arrived.
My next memory is waking in hospital, being told by a nurse that I would need to be in hospital for several months. |
What came next was so shocking I could hardly believe it.
Next, the nurse detailed a series of treatments that basically meant I would be in hospital for a long time - almost 12 months in fact. This included repairing my broken bones, spinal realignment surgery, rehabilitation, as well as regaining balance and learning to walk again.
When I was lifted off the ground, the extent of the breakages were amplified, becoming twisted and separating.
The major damage was to my hip and lower back. Growth plates on my hips were torn and separated, and my hip had been rotated in its fractured and broken state.
Several surgeries later, after being bolted, realigned, cast, and recast, I entered a rehabilitation and physical therapy routine to begin walking again.
During this few months, I had begun to put on weight, and this continued after being discharged from hospital. I was on crutches for another 5 months, and had limited mobility. It was during this time that my weight increased over 100kg ( 230 lbs ), and became an impediment to proper recovery.
I realise that I allowed myself to fall into this pattern of eating behaviour, and that this was my own doing.
I was told by medical professionals that my weight was affecting my recovery from injury and surgery, and that I would need to lose weight. This was no easy task when still being pinned and having limited range of movement.
I tried many programs, and my weight fluctuated up and down for some time.
After two years of trying a range of different diet and exercise options, I convinced myself my situation was never going to change....
This was a mistake. This self-fulfilling prophecy kept me overweight between 1996 and 2006.
This photo was taken at Analeise's birthday in January 2005. It gives you some idea how large I had become.
January 2005 - Matt at about 160kg or 352 lbs
Here's What Changed My Outlook:
In January 2005, I passed out at work. I am a computer programmer. I don't remember it, but my co-workers tell me that I suddenly slumped forward, and was out for about 15 minutes. Medical tests were unable to find the cause.
A few weeks later, in February 2005, I was alone in our work area at the office and passed out again. No-one is sure how long I was out. The only recallection I have is being woken up by a paramedic.
These two incidents made me realise that I could be anywhere - home, work, outdoors - and possibly collapse or become unconscious - even in a situation where there was no-one close by to call for help.
I made the decision to change my health.
I again started on the trail of diet and excercise, with mixed results. Sometimes my weight would go down, but soon back up again.
Then, I was introduced to a program that worked for me.
