Henry Carlock keeps a picture of himself on his refrigerator. The man in the photo carried 335 pounds on a 6’1” frame and had a 54-inch waist. That’s the old Henry Carlock in the photo. The new Henry Carlock is still over six feet tall, but he’s at least 100 pounds lighter. The picture serves to remind him of what he used to be like, or as he said, “to make sure I don’t go back to the way I was.”

     He used to take glucophage every day. But thanks to his weight loss, he is now free of the responsibility of taking any daily medications to manage his diabetes. And that is a good feeling.  “Right now, you’d never know I was very fat,” Carlock said proudly.

 
Five years ago at age 66, Carlock visited his doctor for a routine check-up and learned that he had diabetes. Vanderbilt Diabetes Center physician, Dr. Michael Fowler, told him that he needed to change his diet and that losing some weight would definitely help. But Carlock wasn’t quite ready to change his lifestyle—and his body—that much. He loved food, and he was used to eating hamburgers and guzzling milkshakes on the job.

 
“I just never thought I could get my weight down,” Carlock admitted. “It’s harder to get it off when you’re older.” But Fowler didn’t give up on Carlock. He warned him that his diabetes could have serious repercussions on his health if he didn’t make more of an effort to control it. He warned Carlock that he would have to start taking insulin if he didn’t lose some weight.

As Carlock walked through the Diabetes Center, he saw other diabetes patients in wheelchairs. He was already finding it harder to walk and was getting more and more out of breath. He didn’t want to lose a foot or develop numbness in his fingers. He remembered the medical advice he received, and he decided to take action.

 
“Dr. Fowler is the main person who woke me up to the fact that I had to straighten up or I won’t be around here much longer,” Carlock said. He investigated diets and found a healthy meal plan that worked for him. He committed himself to regular exercise; he started riding a bicycle and working out with weights. He learned how to eat a balanced diet and to watch the size of his portions.

As soon as his weight dropped, his health began to improve. He has much more energy now.  The sluggish, out-of-breath sensation is gone.

 “You’ve got to exercise,” he said. “That makes you feel so much better.” And Carlock should know. He has enough energy to jump on his Harley and roar around middle Tennessee, exploring or just enjoying the ride. Sometimes he even takes a longer drive down the Natchez Trace to his old home in Jackson, Mississippi.

 
He still checks his blood sugar every morning. When he was overweight, his sugar would reach 160 or higher in the morning before taking his medication, but now it stays between 90 and 95. In addition, he has cut back on the blood pressure medicine he was taking prior to his weight loss. “I’m 71 years young,” Carlock said. “And I’d like to live to be at least 72 or 73. Or 74 or 75. And I want to live a quality life.”