Lifestyle Change Award Winner Shares His Story
Monday, Sep 26, 2016 @ 9:00 AM
As a young adult, Forrest was a collegiate athlete aspiring to play professional. Now, he is a successful entrepreneur that spends the majority of his time sitting in his office. His lifestyle change tremendously affected his health and weight. Before Forrest started his lifestyle change journey over three years ago, he weighed 270 lbs. His cholesterol and blood sugar numbers were high — both are risk factors for developing cardiovascular disease. After just three months and by losing 35 lbs, Forrest’s blood sugar returned to normal. Now, he has lost over 60 lbs and has kept it off.
“I used to eat my biggest meal at night. I would eat, sit on the couch and eventually the TV would watch me until I went to bed.
The day I started my journey, I looked in the mirror and said to myself, “Your brother died at the age of 33 from a heart attack. You are overweight, diabetic, and your blood sugar is high. Do you want to be on prescription drugs for the rest of your life? I couldn’t let that happen.
I had to make a lifestyle change. I changed my unhealthy eating habits, learned to eat better, learned what and when to eat, learned to count my carbohydrates, proteins and fats. I had to learn how to not eat red meat anymore, which was really difficult. I had a lot of support from my family.
For some reason, I think mentally when I was “big” I didn’t see myself that way, but the world did. The biggest obstacle that I faced after losing the weight was ignoring the food cravings. I am very happy with what I had to do to change my life. I feel like a new person and I am very happy to say that I love life.
How did he do it?
Forrest started working out 4-5 days a week for 1-2 hours each day. He likes aerobics, walking, swimming, and weight lifting. He watches his carbohydrates and fat intake. He decreased his portion size and made healthier choices. Now, he eats 4-6 little meals a day with lunch being the largest. He no longer eats red meats.
Congratulations to Forrest from the American Heart Association!
Forrest Tuff was nominated by his sister Raegan Tuff (Marcus' twin sister) for the 2016 Lifestyle Change Award from the American Heart Association (AHA). The Lifestyle Change Award is given annually to an individual who has made positive change to improve the quality of their life and health. To learn more, visit www.heart.org/healthyliving.