Huntington man loses 180 lbs. without surgery

The Herald-Dispatch

Jeff Wise drove to the parking lot at L.A. Weight Loss three times before he worked up the nerve to go inside.

But the 41-year-old, who works as the director for Consumer Credit Counseling in Charleston, had inspiration from his two young sons. He wanted the energy to play with them more, and he wanted to ride a roller coaster with them.

He finally walked into the center in February of last year. He weight 428 pounds at the time, and since then, has lost more than 180 pounds.

No surgery, no pills.

It’s really just a balanced diet, he said of the L.A. Weight Loss program.

“Before, I didn’t know what to do, but now I do,” Wise said. “You eat 2 1/2 proteins, four vegetables, three fruits and three starches, and you keep a diary of what you eat. I’m a math person, so I like to make it all fit.”

And he knows how to fix it right, he said. He doesn’t eat as many fried foods and uses L.A. Weight Loss’s cookbook for healthy ways to prepare meals.

He’s smaller now than he was when he graduated from Ceredo-Kenova High School in 1981.

“I’m so extremely proud of him,” said Trena Wise, his wife of 17 years. “He’s worked very hard to accomplish this in the past year—it’s amazing.

“He walks better. He breathes better. He just feels better. I can tell he feels better all over.”

She’s known him for 25 years and said he’s always been a big guy.

“I always loved him—I didn’t matter,” she said. “But these past several years, I’ve been concerned about his health.

“Losing weight is something where that individual has to make the choice. I started praying for him six months to a year before he started going to L.A. Weight Loss. God answered the prayer and is still answering the prayer.”

When he started, Wise wore a knee brace and was on two blood pressure medications, arthritis medication and antidepressants. Now, he takes just one blood pressure medication, and that’s it. His knee brace is in the attic.

His wedding ring has been sized down twice. He also can fit into movie theater and plane seats and booths at restaurants without worrying about his size. He rode a roller coaster last summer at Camden Park, and his sons fought over who got to sit with him. So he rode twice.

“We like to travel,” Wise said. “If we went to the zoo, I couldn’t always ride the train. Even just getting on the floor and playing with them, I couldn’t do.”

Exercise has been part of his new lifestyle as well. He’s been going to the Huntington YMCA. And for Christmas, Trena got him five sessions with a personal trainer.

Overall, the lifestyle change hasn’t been as difficult as Wise thought, he said.

“The people (at L.A. Weight Loss), my wife and family, and my family at church—they’ve been with me all the way,” he said.