Nearly 700 pounds, man turns to yoga to reshape his life
POSTED 8:23 PM, APRIL 8, 2015, BY CNN WIRE
RICHMOND, Va. — Richard Widmark is on a mission. He’s an EMT trained to save lives, but he is also trying to save his own life according to sister station WTVR.
“It’s just the way I was taught; to cope with things by eating,” said Widmark.
At age 38, Widmark is extremely obese, weighing close to 700 pounds.
Growing up, he was the bully in middle school, but he dropped out in high school when he was bullied.
“As the years went by, I started losing friends, which made me have a lot more time to myself,” said Widmark. “Then, my friends are getting married, having kids and here’s me — a big failure at life.”
Widmark turned to food for comfort, and as he packed on the pounds, he was ashamed to look at himself in the mirror.
“When you hate yourself so much, you wish to die — it’s not just getting out of bed,” said Widmark.
Widmark battled with his weight. And then depression, before he hit rock bottom.
“I got a gun, loaded it. I went down to the river, down in Richmond and sat in a position where once I pulled the trigger, I would fall in the river. Hopefully, nobody would ever find me again,” said Widmark.
But Widmark’s attempted suicide failed.
Now, he is going through a life-changing experience with yoga.
It’s helped him enjoy a healthy diet, a good self-image, and hobbies like editing home movies.
And Widmark says it’s not so much about how much he loses. Instead, it’s about him being healthy.
“I feel amazing for doing it. And I hope that everybody does yoga,” said Widmark.
Widmark says he was diagnosed with diagnosed with diabetes, but after changing his diet, Widmark says he’s no longer diabetic.
Friends of Widmark have set up a GoFundMe account to help him go to Chicago to see a motivational speaker. The goal is to raise $3,000. So far, they’ve raised half that amount.
If you would like to donate, here’s the website:
www.gofundme.com/weloveyourichard.
http://fox4kc.com/2015/04/08/nearly-...hape-his-life/