How Love Helped Jan Lose 50 kg (110 lb) and Control His Diabetes

My name is Jan, I’m 39 years old and I come from Korbach, Germany. Just one year ago, I weighed more than 150 kg (330 lb). I wasn’t always overweight: about ten years ago, I started eating more and more to compensate for how miserable I was in my marriage. Food made me happy and it helped me deal with my anger and depression.

In the end, food became more and more of an addiction. Kilo by kilo, I put on a thick “protective shell” and increasingly isolated myself from real life. Due to my extreme weight gain, I eventually developed diabetes, high blood pressure and sleep apnea. I had to inject myself with insulin several times a day and take other medication on a regular basis. I finally got divorced, but the damage I had done to my body remained.

And then fate brought me the person who turned my life around: Nancy.

Nancy and I have known each other since we were young. As teenagers, we were even a couple once. But after finishing school, our paths separated for almost 20 years until Nancy found me on Facebook. We got to know each other once again and out of our deep friendship grew love. And it is this love that motivates me! Nancy backs me one hundred percent and helps me in every situation in life. Her love gives me the strength, discipline and willpower I need to lose weight and get fit.

Nancy taught me how to love myself and my body again. I decided to tackle my weight problem. I started with Nordic walking and swimming. After a few weeks, I began working out in a gym. Then I started working with a dietitian and completely changed my eating habits. Thanks to Nancy I have an active social life once again. We spend a lot of time with our family and friends.

These days I exercise five days a week, combining cardio with strength training and bodyweight workouts from the Runtastic Results app. I also attend a gym class three times a week. I use the Runtastic app to track my running training, which is a great source of motivation for me.

In the meantime, I have lost 50 kg (110 lb) and I don’t need insulin anymore. My long-term blood sugar (HbA1c) has fallen from 14.6% to 5.3% and is now in the normal range. My current blood sugar is also within the normal range.

What is my next fitness goal? I would like to lose another 10-15 kg (22-33 lb). I will probably have an operation to remove the excess skin from my extreme weight loss.

I would like to thank Nancy and Runtastic for helping me on my journey!
Have you also lost weight? We’d love to hear about it! Send your story and some before & after photos to mysuccess@runtastic.com. #strongertogether

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