When his doctor warned one overweight man how he would not live to see his grandkids grow up, Jamie Green decided he would lose 200 lbs.
And he did just that!
After his weight shot up to 375 pounds thanks to hot dogs and soft drinks, Jamie Green from Georgia was lacking in confidence.
But in 2016, it was not just the 56-year-old’s emotional and mental health that hit him. Early in the year, he was diagnosed with early stage liver failure and was informed he was diabetic.
His doctor warned him that if he did not get a handle on his weight — he would pass away before his oldest granddaughter Baylee, now eight, turned 10.
The former marine decided to launch into a strict new fitness regime and diet.
After Jamie traded his diet of six hot dogs as well as two hamburgers, to a vegetarian one — he noticed a huge difference.
Jamie’s wife, Melissa, 50, also headed to the gym with him — helping him drop 200 pounds in less than 2 years.
Jamie said:
“The company I work for, they make us do a yearly wellness exam for our insurance, which shows your BMI, blood pressure, cholesterol, liver function and other things like that.”
“At that point I was already on the maximum dosage of medication for blood pressure and cholesterol.”
“We had just gotten a new doctor that year and he told me I was pre-diabetic and also in the early stages of liver failure.”
“He asked me how old were my grandchildren and I said, ‘Six and seven.’ Then he said, ‘Well you’ll be lucky if you live until the oldest one is ten.’ “
“He made me so angry. I said, ‘You can’t just speak to people like that.’ I was furious and embarrassed.”
“But I was eating two double sausage, egg and cheese biscuits and a large Coke every single morning.”
“And for lunch I would eat six corn dogs or hot dogs. For dinner I would have two hamburgers and sometimes a whole tube of Pringles.”
Jamie is now a 32 inch waist and now, craves healthy food.
“When I went home after that doctors appointment I started to research and everything pointed to a plant-based whole foods diet,” he went on.
“That’s how I’ve done it. I’m mostly a vegetarian now but I sometimes eat fish.”
“At the beginning I really missed meat and salt. I’ve substituted table salt with organic seaweed to snack on.”
“Now I crave broccoli and Brussels sprouts. Sometimes we make vegan sushi. I couldn’t walk a mile before but now I lift weights and do cardio five days a week.”
And being more thin pointed to Jamie enjoying more time with his grandkids.
Jamie shared:
“When I was fat I was afraid to even get into the pool with the kids because I worried if they got into trouble I wasn’t mobile enough to help them. “
“I want to see those blond-haired, blue-eyed girls get married someday and I’m glad I’ve taken the steps to do that.”
Jamie even admits how his relationship with his wife has improved, saying that before he lost weight — he was jealous and insecure.
“When I was heavy I was a super jealous husband,” he said. “My wife is so loyal, but I would get paranoid she was looking at other guys. “
“It was all just paranoia that festered from my own insecurities about my weight. As the weight dropped, so did those feelings.”
Now, Jamie is so thankful for his doctor’s honesty, saying:
“My doctor is my best friend now because I went home and thought, ‘I’ll show him.'”
“After I lost 100lbs he told me that’s exactly what he wanted to do. And he was right. I was on the path to an early grave.”
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