"You no longer have to love yourself to get to 800 pounds": this obese Quebecer has lost nearly 500 pounds

A 41-year-old man who had become disabled due to his morbid obesity has achieved the feat of losing nearly 500 pounds. He is now finding a “new life” after a stay in a CHSLD, where he had to reside because he could no longer take care of himself.

“I had no more control. You don’t have to love each other to get to 800 pounds, says Martin Methot Leblond without embarrassment. I hit rock bottom not nearly.

Extra cheese pizzas and poutines, mountains of chicken wings, all-you-can-eat buffets: nothing stopped the 41-year-old man when he was hungry.

Photo provided by Martin Methot Leblond

Martin Methot Leblond at his heaviest, his weight reached 803 pounds.

“I didn’t have a time or a schedule,” admits the man who swallowed up to seven meals a day.

An example of a snack? “A big jar of Nutella with a sliced bread and a pint of milk in front of the TV”.

In 2020, at only 39 years old, the man was even sent to a long-term care center (CHSLD) in Joliette, for a year. Weighing over 700 pounds, he could no longer take care of himself.

“I was ashamed”

“I could hardly walk, I couldn’t bend over, or wash standing up,” he recalls. I didn’t feel well, I was ashamed. I had no business there.”

For the past month, Mr. Methot Leblond has taken his life back in hand, after more than three years spent in residences for non-autonomous people. Proud of his journey, he agreed to tell his story to the Journal to send a message of hope to obese people.

Photo provided by Manon Laliberté

In 2019 Martin Methot Leblond (left), before undergoing bariatric surgery. He weighed over 700 pounds at the time. With him, in the photo, his cousin Patrick Leblond.

“When I think about where I come from, I made the right choice. I don’t want to go back there. I experienced it once, I will not experience it twice,” he swears.

Originally from Sainte-Julienne, in Lanaudière, the man was not always obese. However, after therapy for drug addiction in 2007, everything changed. In a few years, he more than tripled his weight, going from 250 to 803 pounds.

“The extra cheese pizza, the extra cheese poutine…I was drowning in that. My sorrows, my joys, as soon as things were going well, I ate. If it didn’t go well, I ate,” he admits, realizing this transference in food.

“Feelings, emotions, I had trouble with that. Today, things are better”, he encourages himself.

suffering problems

Sleep apnea, diabetes, fatigue: health problems have accumulated over the years. Since 2014, he has also suffered from significant lymphedema in his left leg (swelling caused by the accumulation of fluid), which is causing him pain. He should have surgery this year.

Passionate about automobiles, he could no longer sit in a vehicle. He had become downright disabled and depended on his father to care for him.

“I was no longer able to get up to go to the bathroom. It was made serious.”

PHOTO AGENCE QMI, MARCEL TREMBLAY

The 41-year-old has lost nearly 500 pounds since 2018, including through bariatric surgery. He shows an old pair of size 6 XL shorts he wore before he lost weight. He now wears 2 XL.

In February 2018, the man hit a wall: he suffered a heart attack. Because of his weight, the paramedics had to equip themselves with a bariatric stretcher to transport him. And they were six.

“And I folded the stretcher in half!” says Mr. Methot Leblond with a smile.

Too big to undergo bariatric surgery (stomach reduction), the 803-pound patient needed to reach 650 pounds to be eligible. In 2019, her father who was her caregiver passed away.

Thus, Martin Methot Leblond had no choice but to go and live in an intermediate residence (RI), which accommodates people who are not autonomous. There, he was given a condition to stay: he had to lose at least 10 pounds a month.

“They threatened to kick me out if I didn’t lose enough weight,” he recalls. I always managed to lose just enough to stay, but not enough for my operation objective.

The shock at the CHSLD

In the spring of 2020, another shock: the COVID-19 pandemic hit Quebec, and Martin Leblond Methot was transferred to CHSLD Sylvie-Lespérance, in Joliette. Upon his arrival, the 700-pound man, who was just 39, marked the staff.

“I didn’t have the profile at all! They were in shock. They said, ‘what are we going to do with him?’ he recalls. It was quite a challenge for me to be wiped by a woman.

Surrounded by demented and elderly people, the young resident often stayed in his room, and did not even dare to eat in the cafeteria. Thanks to his efforts and the support of employees, Martin Methot Leblond regained enough autonomy to be transferred to another IR in March 2021. In September 2021, he was finally able to undergo bariatric surgery.

“I was ready to have a quality of life. Being able to work, having a social life, being able to go somewhere.”

Since last January, he has finally been able to leave this residence synonymous with bad memories, and is staying with a relative in Mauricie, where he is starting a “new life”.

“When I came out of there, I had my head held high,” he said. It is a very great pride.”

No regrets

In shape, the 330-pound man wants to find a job in the field of paving … And hopes to find love. He also hopes to exceed his initial weight goal, at 280 pounds. Her great weight loss could also mean another surgery to remove excess skin.