Forrest is a 33 yr old Computer
Animator for a production studio
in Raleigh, NC. He currently weighs
260 pounds, but plans on losing
100 pounds in the next year. For
most of his adult life, Forrest
has fought the infamous battle of
the bulge. He’s seen pounds
come off, and he’s seen them
come back on, bringing a few uninvited
friends along with them in the process.
But in past years, Forrest has found
that when he has decided to lose
weight, he’s been able to
do it with minimal effort. By simply
cutting back on his soda intake,
reducing his fast food consumption
to just a couple meals a week, or
playing a few extra games of table
tennis, one of his passions, he
could drop a few pounds. But that
was in the past. But now that he
is in his thirties, it’s a
different story.
Not surprisingly, Forrest has
recently noticed that his metabolism
isn’t what it used to be
and his schedule certainly doesn’t
allow for a lot of extra activities.
Forrest’s job has him sitting
in front of a monitor for most
of the day, getting little to
no exercise. And when the workday
is over, his top priority is entertaining
his one year-old son, Maverick.
There are the usual hectic tasks
of life with a one year-old that
keep Forrest busy, but in addition
to that, his wife, LeAnne, suffers
from Crohn’s disease and
by the end of the day is quite
fatigued. It’s important
to Forrest to devote all the time
he can to helping her with Maverick,
and as a result he has given almost
no attention to his own health
and now at his highest weight,
he realizes that something has
to change.
But Forrest faces an additional
challenge when it comes to weight
loss: Forrest has major food issues.
He may, in fact, be the world’s
pickiest eater. For example, he
can eat vegetables raw, but not
cooked. If he is going to eat green
peppers or mushrooms on a pizza,
they must be applied AFTER the pizza
is cooked. He cannot mix food textures
of any kind, nor can he combine
hot foods with cold foods. He will
not tolerate spices, especially
pepper. Pepper, he says, makes him
feel as though “blazing volcanic
cinders are burning holes into his
tongue”. These strange food
rules prevent Forrest from trying
anything new or different. They
have turned him into a creature
of
habit, eating the same unhealthy
meals over and over again.
Forrest will begin his weight
loss journey at Duke University’s
Center For Living Executive Health
Program. This all-day assessment
will start with him meeting Dr.
Lisa Gianetto, a physician specializing
in the treatment of obesity. He
will also see a dietician who
will help him figure out how to
get around his taste bud quirks,
and a fitness expert who will
come up with his exercise plan.
He will leave the Center For Living
with a much better understanding
of what it’s going to take
to become the 160 pound man he
longs to be.
Throughout the course of the
year we’ll be spending with
Forrest, we will see this man
who has casually flirted with
weight loss over the years get
serious about his health; for
the first time in his life, he’ll
know what it feels like to live
a healthy lifestyle. Cheeseburgers,
French fries, and pizza will no
longer be options for him, and
his level of physical activity
will increase dramatically, giving
him the energy he needs to get
through a busy day.
Forrest’s story is a unique
one and will be incredibly amusing
to tell, especially considering
Forrest’s personal interest
in the show’s creative graphics-
the artistic options are endless.
But it’s Forrest’s
endearing character and loveable
charm that will truly make this
an exceptional hour of television.
His “every man” appearance
will make him relatable and his
quick wit will make him captivating.
You can’t sit in a room
with Forrest without being entertained
by him, you can’t have a
conversation with him without
being enlightened, you can’t
watch him play table tennis without
being at least a little bit impressed,
and you won’t be able to
change the channel when you hear
his story.
