Salesman loses more than 100 pounds after health scare

Bill Moore is on a "relentless pursuit of good health," and wants to encourage others to follow the same path.

The former Jackson native led a healthy lifestyle in his past, but said he began to develop a more "sedentary lifestyle" in 2004 when he started a career as a medical equipment salesman.

A submitted photo of Moore at his heaviest, 318 lbs.

"I was staying in hotels four or five nights a week and traveling all the time visiting hospitals," Moore said. "So I was eating a lot of fast food or picking up something from a convenience store because it was easier."

Moore said his weight quickly escalated from 240 pounds to about 300. After years of gaining weight and eating poorly, he said the first event that led to his eventual turnaround was the onset of psoriatic arthritis, a disabling disease that combines the symptoms of arthritis and psoriasis.

"My fingers were very stiff and popping when I tried to open them," Moore said. "I went to my doctor who recommended I see a rheumatologist. By the time I got to one, some of my fingers had started locking up and curling."

The arthritis had also begun to affect his knees, toes and neck. He said his doctor told him he had "rarely seen" a 42-year-old in Moore's condition and he would be wheelchair bound in five years if his condition did not improve. Despite that statement, Moore said he still didn't change his habits.

"After that I went up to almost 320 pounds," he said. "Instead of being proactive about it, I went the other way. I was in denial and shock, and definitely downhearted. I was taking all that out by eating comfort food, wondering why or how this happened to me when I had always been healthy."

Bill Moore strikes a pose inside the Southeast Missourian studio, Thursday, July 18, 2013. (Laura Simon)

For the next two years, Moore said his condition continued to deteriorate until he couldn't do even the smallest tasks. Tying shoes, buttoning shirts and even twisting off the gas cap on his truck became nearly impossible tasks.

His real wake up call came later when he found himself on the floor of his home and unable to pull himself back up. Retrieving aspirin for his arthritic pain from a dresser in his walk-in closet, Moore got down on his hands and knees to retrieve the bottle after it fell and rolled under the dresser.

He said he was forced to crawl to his bedroom where he tried to use his bed to pull himself up.

"My wife was about to be home and I wanted to get up before she could see me, but I just couldn't," he said. "Before I knew it, 45 minutes had passed and she came home to find me on the floor, sobbing, and that was my wake-up call."

After that, Moore said he began losing up to 5 to 10 pounds each month. He started small, cutting back on junk food and incorporating healthier foods into his diet, but quickly realized he would have to do something radical to avoid his doctor's prediction.

After having more joint trouble in December, this time in his knees and elbows, Moore decided to eliminate gluten, dairy and sugars from his diet.

"I did it in intervals," he said. "First I cut out gluten, then in about two weeks I cut out dairy, then in another two weeks I cut out about 90 percent of my sugar intake."

Moore also began to lift weights and work out. He placed his weight bench in the only room in the house with enough space: the walk-in closet, right next to that drawer where he once kept his aspirin.

His workout routine is simple and mostly consists of dumbbell exercises, he said, but the battle is truly won in the kitchen.

"Healthy eating is a lifestyle, and working out is just a supplement to that," he explained. "Eating is what put me in that condition."

Moore said he stopped filling his body with "empty calories" and began adding more meat and produce to his grocery list, which has helped him trim down to his current weight of about 208 pounds. He said there were moments when he relapsed and started to reach for a candy bar, but now he's maintaining a healthy lifestyle not only for himself but for others who are battling to achieve the same goal.

Moore has made efforts to share his story with others and encourages anyone who needs help taking that first step to reach out to him.

"I like inspiring people," he said. "People need to see it can be done because if they believe someone else was able to do it, they'll start believing in themselves too. So this has gone from a 'me' thing to being about others -- it's what keeps me going."

Moore, who resides near the Mountain View, Mo., but is moving back to the Cape Girardeau area, said anyone interested in learning more about his diet or exercise routine may email him at sweetestvictoryfitness@gmail.com.

srinehart@semissourian.com

388-3641

Pertinent address: Jackson, MO