“The past is over, the future hasn’t happened yet… there is only today”. This may be Dustin Brown’s code to live by.
20 years ago, Dustin weighed over 400 pounds and had to struggle with agoraphobia and compulsive eating. He felt not only trapped by his own body but also helpless to do anything about it.
The year 2004 was a turning point for Dustin when his father died from cancer. Dustin held his father’s hand as he slipped away and promised to do something about his weight in order to avoid health problems of his own. Dustin threw himself into boxing, weight lifting, and walking.
Between 2006 and 2009, Dustin managed to drop a staggering 250 pounds!
Unfortunately, he went about the weight loss incorrectly, and his new diet just wasn’t sustainable. As a result, he gained almost all of the weight back. The year 2017 was a breaking point and he resolved to lose the weight in a healthy way this time.
He managed to put aside his past failures and start over. He got up each day and put one foot in front of the other. One step at a time, one day at a time!
“Today was the only day I had to conquer,” he said in a video. “What are you doing today?”
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In 2023, Dustin’s friend Alexus organized a GoFundMe to help him afford surgery to remove the excess skin he has from his extreme weight loss.
“He has lost 285 pounds on his own without surgery and has been left with a massive amount of loose skin,”
Alexus shared. “It affects him physically (rashes, limited mobility, chaffing, back pain) and mentally. Dustin has fought hard to regain his health and life and wants nothing more than to feel comfortable in his own skin.”
The fund reached almost $52,000, and Dustin is thrilled to finally take this next, life-changing step in his journey!
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