Ryan and Kim Smith were real "partners in crime" when it came to eating unhealthy food – and they grew more and more as a result. Until they drew a successful line.
How Ryan lost over 50 pounds twice in his life
Anyone who sees Ryan Smith and his wife Kim today would never think that the couple had to go a long way for a healthy life. Ryan suffered from his weight as a child: "I've always been too fat. I was a sad and scared child and hated physical education as much as buying new pants," he told lovewhatmatters.com.
A lonely childhood
And the thicker he got the more he withdrew. "I felt like an outsider in my own life. As if everyone else had a secret that nobody wanted to tell me." While peers enjoyed themselves in their spare time, Ryan hid in the shade, sure he wasn't one of them.
When overweight children become fat adults
Ryan grew older and fatter until he eventually weighed 140 kg. "My life was all about how I avoided other people and when I could eat next time." Until a call from his family doctor changed everything: His blood sugar was 300, the risk of diabetes complications was massive. "I woke up fat, sad and lonely almost every day of my life, but after that phone call I became even more afraid. For example, before going to sleep and never waking up, dying alone in my apartment without anyone knowing it . "
For the first time in his life, Ryan drew a line: His fears of all things motivated him to To lose 60 kilos through vegetarian food. And shortly afterwards his life changed completely: in a further training program he met his dream woman Kim, whom he married after only a few months. The couple had two children. Ryan: "I thought all my problems were over and our future life would be beautiful and simple. Man, I was wrong."
Studies show: Most people increase in relationships. It was the same with Ryan and his wife: Although Kim had no weight problems until her marriage, the couple suddenly turned to eating, as Ryan knows today. "It quickly became clear that we both had emotional ballast in the relationship. I felt I didn't deserve so much luck, so I sabotaged it."
A relationship like a roller coaster ride
Through all the pressure and stress, Ryan started stuffing everything into himself indiscriminately and came back to his starting weight. Kim became his "partner in crime" – and fed. She gained about 40 kilos, felt like the "fat mother" when she picked up her children from school, while Ryan felt guilty about pulling them down. "I knew we both used food as an outlet for untreated anxiety and depression, but we couldn't get out of the vicious cycle."
At some point, the couple decided to finally lose weight – however, both used other methods for this. Ryan: "I lost almost 60 kilos again, this time through low-carb, which was almost the opposite of my last change in diet." Again he felt like he had defeated his inner demons – without understanding that he made the same mistakes as last time. "Again I treated the symptom – the food selection – instead of the cause: my inability to deal with my emotions without burying them under a mountain of food."
His wife Kim called this time their "semi-successful fight" because they both lost weight, but completely different nutritional concepts followed. "It was difficult to eat together and we started cheating on our plans again." The result: both increased again. It went on like this for several years.
Help through intermittent fasting
In 2017, Kim finally came across the book "Delay Don't Deny: Living an Intermittent Fasting Lifestyle" by Gin Stephens (www.ginstephens.com) doing a research on Pinterest. The couple was thrilled: by intermittent fasting, they could both eat what they wanted and only had to watch the time. "We only ate in a three to five hour window." The extra pounds melted quickly.
Ryan did during his long journey lost a total of 52 kilos and now weighs 75, Kim lost 43 kilos and now weighs 66. But that is not the only success of the couple: "Food is no longer what determines our everyday lives. In addition, we are finally facing up to our suppressed feelings and constructively dealing with them." The couple not only has a completely new attitude to life physically, as Ryan emphasizes: "Our fears have been replaced by peace and happiness – we finally feel free."
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