A Year of Change: Exploring Weight Loss
As the new year unfolds, the air is buzzing with the energy of fresh beginnings, and amid the myriad resolutions, a resounding commitment to health and fitness takes center stage. Gym memberships see an increase and conscious choices toward nutritious consumption become the norm. It marks the inception of a transformative mindset, a collective endeavor to seize control of one’s well-being. Yet, within the ebb and flow of resolution fervor, we encountered a remarkable individual who not only embraced this mindset shift but steadfastly adhered to it. Interestingly, our paths first crossed during our last ‘Look on the Bright Side’, last year. He shared his determination to prioritize his health, embarking on a journey to the gym. Intrigued by his commitment, we set out in search of him, eager to reveal his progress one year later. Here’s that story.
Sabreena Daly, Reporting
That was a year ago when we stumbled upon Stephen Mossiah in the hustle and bustle on Albert Street. It was there that he candidly shared his endeavor to hit the gym and taking control of his physical wellbeing. Without a health scare or a watershed, Mossiah simply felt a need for change. It was his moment to take charge of his health, and that’s exactly what he did.
Stephen Mossiah
Stephen Mossiah, Gym Enthusiast
“I mean, it’s not easy, believe me. I’ve been through it all. I take lick, pain, damage from my foot, all sorts of things I experienced from this box. Through it all, though, a year later, I’m sixty-five pounds less. I feel great. I’m two clothes sizes down from XXX to XL. So it does feel good.”
Mossiah is a tech-savvy entrepreneur, but he shared how he discovered it was time to take a few steps in the right direction.
Stephen Mossiah
“I work from home so, you know, I don’t do much. I wake up at about nine, ten every day. And I just sit around my computer, doing my work. And for years I said, I want to go to the gym, I want to get in shape. I said, you know what? I stepped on the scale and I said, ooh, 296. I said, wow, that’s almost 300 pounds. I said, I got to do something about it. And I started to feel a bit sick, low gain. In the evening I feel like, ugh. I said, no. I said, no, no, no. So I called BurnBox. I said, what is the price to join the gym? Got the price? The following week, it was like the weekend I started the gym the first, like around the 7th of December.”
A year of commitment later, Mossiah has the results to show.
Stephen Mossiah
“I didn’t notice it on my own. People started telling me you look good. You’re losing weight. You know. I said, well, I personally, I didn’t see it as much until I noticed my clothes were huge. Like, this is an XL. I had double X triple X before. I started to change my gym clothes because they were too big. They were getting big. And when I looked at my picture, I took a picture just as I came the first day, I took a picture in the mirror upstairs. And when I noticed, when I compared the picture between then, last year and this year, there was a big difference. It’s not easy even though it’s much easier than last year. Of course, I could do so many things I couldn’t do before. Push ups, I could jump on this box this high, before I couldn’t. I had to jump on that. Right? But my trainer, he taught me well. He was patient. You know, although he got cursed out a couple times, he knows me and I know him now, right? And so I’m grateful for that, you know, and like I said, it’s not easy, still not easy.”
The gym enthusiast shared that the biggest push for him was not only his own health, but seeing his loved ones fall sick to underlying health conditions. He knew he wouldn’t be far behind if he didnt make a change.
Stephen Mossiah
“I looked around and I saw many people I know. I’ve had a friend that I lost to COVID. He was a diabetic. He just died over a weekend. When I saw him on Friday, Monday, he died. I knew he had bad diabetes. And I know that I was almost 300 pounds. I knew that the lifestyle I was living at that time would definitely either get me diabetes, high blood pressure or some other thing or all of them at once. So I said, you know what, I’m chasing the money. Yes. Yeah. What about my health?”
Mossiah believes that becoming the biggest loser reversed the onset of early diabetes and any other underlying conditions that he may have been predisposed to genetically. He shares that this can be done for anyone, but it’s a decision that they have to make.
Stephen Mossiah
“I know that I have reversed, I think I reversed my onset, or early onset of diabetes, because I was feeling very sick, and I, I mean, I had a big belly, and that belly, that’s just the worst part, because of all the visceral fat, that’s bad for your organs. And so I was developing some serious, um, insulin resistance, so to speak. They will have to look at themselves seriously and say what do I want, or how do I want to live? If you have kids, um, do I want to live a life to see my kids or grandchildren, or do I want to have a quality life, you know? Not just live a life, but live a quality life. You know, where you are not always sick, some people are alive but medication they have to stock up upon, take pills every day, injection, you know, that’s not really a way to live. So, I advise anybody, your body will tell you when it needs help and if you ignore it, you’ll get the worst part of it.”
So, what’s the new goal? Mossiah’s all about building those muscles now. He’s hitting the weights for that killer tone and even dragging his buddies to the gym with him. Maybe next year we’ll check back on them too.
Looking on the Bright Side, I’m Sabreena Daly.
