At 413 pounds, Bill Kessler finally had his moment of readiness to lose weight.
"You have the moments before where you think, 'I think I'm going to do it.' 'I can't do it, I can't do it,'" said Kessler. "I just knew that I was ready to commit the next two years of my life to getting the weight off."
Weight Watchers was his method of choice and he became one of their success stories.
Losing 200 pounds in two years, he swapped junk food for healthy options, exercised daily and still attends regular meetings, because he knows there's a strong mental component to keeping weight off.
"Be more conscious of what you're doing and try to get to the real reason why you may overeat or why you may eat the wrong things," said Kessler.
Kessler admits boredom was a big reason for his eating habits, something therapist Dr. Leslie Seppinni says is very common.
"People come home, they have the same routine in front of the TV or computer. They eat because they have nothing going on in their lives. They're not living their passion, they're not living their dreams, and they're fear-based," said Dr. Seppinni.
Kessler heeds the message. He's currently student-teaching in hopes of furthering his career. His new thinner self allows him to be more confident and assertive.
Both physically and mentally losing excess weight can be a wonderful thing, but once the weight is lost there can be some unforeseen challenges that most of us don't think about.
"Alternative addictions happen, excess spending, difficulty in your relationships, difficulty in friendships. Sometimes people are jealous, they feel like you've left them behind," said Dr. Seppinni.
Kessler agrees there have been challenges.
"It takes some getting used to and in all honesty some of my circles of friends have changed because of that. They can't accept the fact that this is my lifestyle," said Kessler.
But he's done the work and shares a thought for those afraid to get started.
"If it's '09 you could be sitting here in front of a camera doing an interview in 2011," said Kessler.
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