Brian Flemming Drops the Weight and His Alcoholism and Depression
It is truly amazing how a certain individual can walk into your life and change everything. That is what happened to Brian Flemming. He was 625 pounds and suffered from alcoholism and depression. He manged to change all of that by meeting one person, playing a mobile game.
Brian frequently played the game called Draw Something. It is similar to Pictionary. You can play with just friends or play an open game with anyone. While playing the game, you can type messages to your opponent. That is where Jackie Eastham, from London, England came into the picture. They played the game together and messaged each other back and forth, nothing personal. That is until Brian hit rock bottom.
Brian was suffering from depression and alcoholism, which contributed to his significant weight gain. Brian explains that he was always overweight, but packed on the pounds after high school and dropping out of college. He would eat fast food and drink alcohol non stop. He would stay up all night and play video games. This created an unhealthy lifestyle, as well as, making him a social introvert. At 21 years old he became a chronic alcoholic.
When Brian hit rock bottom, he reached out to Jackie for sympathy. He did not receive any. He finally told her about his depression, alcoholism, and being overweight. Jackie, who came forward and told him about her disorder, scolded him saying, “You’re pissing your life up the wall.†This was not what Brian expected to hear.
Jackie has myotonic muscular dystrophy, which causes weakness of the voluntary muscles. She must stay healthy in order to keep her symptoms balanced. In anger, she explained how people in much worse situations are overcoming their battles, including herself. This must have snapped Brian into the right mindset. Afraid she would lose Jackie as a friend, he quit drinking that night, cold turkey. He then started exercising little by little, each day. Jackie became his cheerleader and motivator. “I think she was the right person, at the right time and she said the right things.”
Brian now weighs 235 pounds and has completed many races and events. Brian and Jackie created a Facebook group called Team 383, that has more than 6,600 members. It is a place where people can confide in each other about their health and losing weight. It goes to show, you never know what you do or say that can motivate someone.