I came to that conclusion a couple of years ago. I have steadily packed on the pounds for the last five years.

Now, I am forced to battle what millions of Americans are struggling with today – obesity. I’m no longer a minority in this overweight club, so what I have decided to do about it now that I can admit my problem is the most important decision I have ever made.

Once I thought about what action to take, it was actually an easy decision. I decided to undergo weight-loss surgery, more specifically, Lap-Band. It’s a laparoscopic gastric banding surgery that reduces the size of the stomach.

My road to losing 250 pounds in 24 months is in its third week. After steadily gaining weight over the last five years, it took one embarrassing moment in August to make me realize it was time to change or die.

Making the decision

It’s been said that life is a journey, not a destination. My life has been an incredible journey – I had a good home, played college football, married a great woman and together we are raising a loving family.

I haven’t paid enough attention to my weight. In the last five years I put on nearly 200 pounds and have become an unhappy, unhealthy, depressed, self-conscious father.

I have never felt more alone than I do now. It may appear I have a good life and am living the American dream, only without all the money, but inside I am all by myself.

And I got that way by following the standard American diet. With a busy family and a job that keeps me constantly on the move into the evenings on most nights, I ate a lot on the run – McDonald’s, Chicken Express, Wendy’s and other such food.

I remember there was a time when we ate out more than we did at home. And I remember thinking at one point that I was getting healthier because I switched to Taco Bell. At that point I was getting burritos with lettuce and cheese rather than quarter-pounders. And boy, I thought that was a huge improvement.

But deep inside I knew better. I could not stand the pain shooting up the heel of my foot or that I was out of breath walking back to the car after a football game. Better yet, I knew I was in trouble last April when I was at Odessa’s Ratliff Stadium for the regional track meet. This massive, college-size stadium has no elevator and hauling a wide load up 50 flights of stairs several times a day about gave me heart failure.

I felt doomed to die of a heart attack by the age of 32, but I didn’t know what to do. I don’t overeat so I figured eventually it would all go away. I was certain that putting on a few extra pounds was something that happens to everyone when they hit their 30s.

It hit me like a ton of bricks this year, and I have one immature, rude, disrespectful Decatur High School student to thank for it. I was at my first volleyball game of the season in late August when I walked by the student body section. I noticed in my peripheral vision as I approached the group that one boy in particular kept staring at me. Just as my family and I passed, he quickly turned to two of his buddies and said, “Did you see how fat that dude was? What a freak!”

This definitely was not the first time I was stared at because of my weight. It happens all the time. When I see others in my same position, I notice they all get the same kind of looks I get.

Those words that boy spoke back in August are still ringing in my ears. I didn’t sign up for this, nor did I ask to be overweight.

To say I didn’t cry that night as my wife slept would be a lie. What I heard come out of that boy’s mouth cut like a knife. Of all the great kids I work with at Decatur, it took one inconsiderate teenager to shake my world.

I thought about it all night, the next day, and for the next week. I wanted to change overnight before the next person made fun of me. I see it almost every day now that my eyes were opened by this one person. People look at me differently every day, it’s just I can’t read thought bubbles as they stare when I slowly pass by.

I realize now I have been hiding from my problem that just won’t go away. My negative feelings about my appearance prevented me from enjoying everyday life, like going to movies, going for walks at the park, visiting with family and friends and playing with my two small boys. I hide from cameras and I run from mirrors. I hated the way I looked, and worst of all, I hated myself.

I talked with my wife, my extended family, my boss – heck, I even had chats with our photographer. He was a good one because he has been in my place before.

After laying everything on the line, I decided it was time for drastic measures. I just could not take another minute of being this way. I wanted to change my life, not only for me but for my children. They need their father back.

I decided to have weight-loss surgery before the weight killed me.