I know how it feels. I’ve been there. I weighed 312 lbs (141.5 kg) at 5’7″ (1.7m) tall. I felt like I had passed the point of no return in regards to not only my weight, but my health. I had always been told that the only way to lose weight was through exercise and a sensible diet. Those sensible diets always left me feeling hungry, unsatisfied, and miserable. I never had any energy, and my willpower always faded quickly. As for exercise, I was never much into it. When you’re morbidly obese, just walking up stairs is a challenge, and I was not up to the task. I had felt defeated, and my sentence was an early death.

Everyone reaches a moment where they have to make a decision: live or die. For me, it was one morning when I tried to tie my shoes and couldn’t do so without holding my breath. My stomach was so large that it was physically impossible for me to breathe and bend over to tie my shoes at the same time. I felt like my life was fading quickly. I decided right then that I needed to do something. Anything. Only I didn’t know what to do. What happened, however, is that I was open to suggestions, and to being pointed in the right direction to find a way out of my despair and to improve my health and lose weight.

A few weeks later, my cousin came to visit, and she told me about Whole30 and the Paleo Diet, and my life changed forever. Could I have found Whole30 and the Paleo Diet without her? Possibly. I was already doing research and reading up on different diets when she came to visit, so when she mentioned them to me, I already had a passing knowledge of them. What really convinced me though was she had done it herself. She went through the same things I had; struggled with weight, tried exercise and the mythical sensible diet, and nothing seemed to work. We shared genetic material, so it stood to reason that a diet that worked for her would work for me. And it did.

I can’t predict what diet will work for you. I can only tell you that you need to make the decision to succeed. You don’t have to have all the answers right away. Just find the desire to make life-long changes to your lifestyle and to find a diet that works for you, whether that’s the Paleo Diet, keto, Atkins, or some other form of low-carb/high-fat diet. I honestly believe that these are the best diets for humans.

I’ve been in despair over my health and weight. I’ve been depressed over it. I thought I was doomed to die fairly soon. I know how utterly bleak it feels. But I also know how it feels to have hope, even if it’s just a tiny pin of light at the end of a tunnel. It’s amazing how that light grows brighter and brighter as you get closer to reaching your goal.

In hindsight, I feel as if I’ve been freed from prison. Sugar addiction held me back and clouded my mind and judgment for a long time. Finally getting free from that addiction has led me to the happiest place I’ve been in my life: my current self.

You are never defeated until you have no breath left in you. Until then, keep fighting. You are worth it!