508 lb. farmer plows toward weight loss goal

Today Greg Thompson is celebrating the one-year anniversary of the day he joined L A Weight Loss, and began a journey that led to a new body and a new life.

You can listen to his story here.



Here's the scoop: Greg is down to 301 pounds from his starting weight of 508 pounds (!!!). He says he feels like a new man. He no longer has high blood pressure or headaches, and is more physically active.

But one year ago, Greg wasn't sure he'd even be alive today. Greg owns Dun-Bar Farms, his family's farm in Northwestern Wisconsin. At 508 pounds, he struggled to operate equipment, and climb in and out of the tractor.

He had virtually no energy to perform simple daily tasks, and could walk only short distances before gasping for air. Greg suffered chest pains, high blood pressure, and head aches.

Sometimes when he went grocery shopping, he couldn't even sum up the strength to get out of of truck and walk into the store! He'd hit the fast food drive-thru instead, and when he got home, he'd indulge in chocolates and sweets—his biggest temptations.

Greg says he was slowly killing himself. Every night he went to bed fearing he wouldn't wake up in the morning.

His saving grace came over the radio waves on his favorite music station, Moose Country 106.7. DJ Jay Moore was losing weight on the L A Weight Loss program, and talked about his experience every day. Jay's success inspired Greg, and he finally made a phone call to the Eau Claire, Wis., L A Weight Loss center.

Now, down over 200 pounds, Greg is pulling calves, mowing lawns, and cutting wood with relative ease.

When he goes grocery shopping, he parks in the furtherest parking spot. He avoids the candy aisle and goes straight for the fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy, chicken, turkey, and fish that his counselor, Christina, recommends.

Last June, Greg rewarded himself with a trip to Montana to visit his sister. He's planning another "reward trip" to Montana again when he reaches his goal weight of 208 pounds. And we'll be sure to post a follow-up when he gets there.

You're on the right track, Greg! Keep going, you're almost there!

Here's Greg one year ago, at 508 pounds:



Greg now, at 301 pounds. AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



FAST FACTS

Name: Greg Thompson
Hometown: Ridgeland, Wis.
Age: 43

Starting weight: 508 pounds
Goal weight: 208 pounds
Current weight: 301 pounds
Program start date: Jan. 9, 2006

Biggest temptation: Russell Stover chocolates.

Biggest motivator: Christina, his personal L A Weight Loss counselor at the Eau Claire, Wis., center.

Biggest obstacle: Finding a weight loss plan that worked for him.

Old eating philosophy: Krispy Kreme donuts for breakfast, McDonald's for lunch, and pizza for dinner.

New eating philosophy: Fresh fruit and toast for breakfast; low-fat dairy, salad, and grilled chicken or cod for lunch and dinner.

Best thing about losing weight: Having a lot of get-up-and-go makes moving around and working on the farm a hundred times easier.

Best weight loss secret learned: Keep a food diary. Without one, you quickly forget what you eat and end up overindulging.