Obesity and Employment: Remembering the Way Things Were

I was asked earlier in the summer to remember how things were before I started exercising this spring and to write them down so I'd not forget. At the time I spoke of what dramatic changes I had seen in my energy levels and my everyday physical abilities.

You may have already read that last winter I found myself confined to a bed most of the day. I was too sore, too tired, too weak to do much more. As a stay at home parent, I began to regret my lack of physical ability to give my children all the attention they deserved.

My main activity with my three-year-old daughter was to read stories in bed with her during the day while my wife worked. I didn't have much energy to look after the house either. Putting a load of dishes into the dishwasher was a big deal. I really wasn't a shining example of a stay at home dad.

What's surprising to me now is how quickly I have forgotten the details of my daily life back then even though it was just a few months ago. I really need to not forget. I'm hoping this blog will help.

As a stay at home parent, I did poorly at my "job" due to my physical limitations (that were ever-deteriorating, it seemed.) I didn't much imagine myself with an actual job, with responsibilities, long days and unable to lay in bed whenever I required.

I do work a few days a year as a comic actor in film and television. It's a long, sordid story how I became an actor, so I won't bore you with it. I don't pursue acting, but sometimes I am pursued, mostly by people I know, to do the occasional comedy acting gig in front of a camera.

Most people, even those who share my affliction, might assume that motion picture acting is perfectly doable for someone with a severe weight problem. I was starting to find that this is not the case. I was becoming less than capable of the job physically. I began to struggle with the simplest of tasks.

In the last couple of years I'd have a hard time getting out of chairs in a scene. Or walking up a flight of stairs without gasping and sweating profusely. There's a long tradition of "fat" comic actors in North American, but I was getting too big and too limited to be an appealing choice for directors.

Last year I was asked to audition for a small one-time role in a national TV show. I was asked by a friend who produced the show who thought I'd be suitable for the part. He knew my abilities as a comic actor and probably thought the audition would just be a formality. But I had to walk up four flights of stairs to get to the audition and even after a half hour of waiting in the heat, still sweating profusely, I couldn't remember my name when it came time to perform, let alone my lines. I was completely humiliated and thought I'd never act again.

In the spring of this year, just as I was starting to make changes in my life through the support of my medical clinic, I suffered another humiliation. I was asked to audition for a bank commercial that could possibly lead to further promotional work. I nailed the audition comedy-wise and was a top two finalist, but in the end, they didn't want me promoting their bank based on my physical appearance (showbiz is a cruel profession.)

Last week I performed in what was probably the largest role of my 25 year (casual) acting career, at least largest in the quantity of the part (it's a low-budget web series.) When I was hired for it in April, I did a screen test with the acquaintance who asked me to be in his project. In that screen test I worried about my ability to get up out of a chair. In fact, it was quite difficult and I struggled.

But last week, when it came time to actually make the show, I was a different man. Last week I didn't have any problems putting in a nine or ten hour day (I actually asked at the outset not to have days longer than 8 hours, which they often are.) I didn't have any problem walking three quarters of a block away to change my costume a dozen times in a day. I didn't have any problems walking up and down steps, and I didn't have any problems getting out of chairs. I couldn't have done this capably a year ago, or even a few months ago.

The truth is, when I was hired for this in the spring, I had no idea if I could actually do it due to my health. If I hadn't started getting in shape, this project would have been extremely difficult for me, I would have likely faltered and suffered further humiliation. However, as it turned out, I aced the role and my acting career will live to see another day.

But I have to remember what things were like before I started exercising. It's important to my long term success.