THE FINAL SAY
By Zach McCrite
A WEIGHT LOSS
JOURNEY I’M
AFRAID TO SHARE
Date
Date
50 EXTOL : JUNE/JULY 2018
MY NAME IS ZACH MCCRITE and I
am an addict.
I’m the same sort of addict as one you probably
know or are related to or might even be yourself.
I’m no different from the guy who can’t kick the
crack habit or the gal who just can’t stop smoking
or the one who bellies up to the bar night after
night after night.
I’m just like those people. I’m just like you.
I’m an addict. My addiction is food. And it
always will be.
Since November 2017, I’ve lost 80 pounds. Now,
I’m proud, don’t get me wrong. But I hesitate to
talk about it. Much less celebrate it.
Please forgive me for this different kind of
weight loss story. A lot of this piece will probably
be all of the hesitations that I feel about sharing
the story in the first place.
For instance, when our fearless editor-in-chief
insisted that this would be a good topic to swing
at in the latest issue of the best publication in
the Metro (pardon the brown on my nose), I
hesitated… again (you will see a growing theme).
In the end, I reluctantly said I would. I hope
she still feels good about her insistence now that
I’ve written it.
Regardless, I hope it resonates, because my
hope is that this space is more a tale about the
successes and failures we all endure in our lives
– both health-related and otherwise – and how
we deal with them.
That said, the hesitations to share my story
are plentiful.
I FEEL GUILT, EVEN WHEN I LOSE WEIGHT
Partly because it opens old wounds. Talking
about it opens up the pain that I know others
share about not being looked at like the “rest of
the crowd,” but becoming so used to it, you joke
with others about it.
Hesitation also comes partly because I feel
guilty for how my weight affects the people who
choose (or, in my family’s case, have no choice but)
to include me in their lives, but have to rearrange
their cars, houses, weekend activities, big ticket
purchases, vacations, etc. to accommodate “the
big guy.”
And even more hesitation because – and I know
this is backwards, but – I had found a personality
inside this humongous frame that I thought some