This interview is based on a conversation with Lyle Wallace, 45, a Dallas pastor. Edited for length and clarity.
As a freshman in high school, he was 6 feet 3 inches tall and weighed approximately 185 pounds.
Later, in middle school and high school, he played many sports such as soccer and basketball, ate a lot of protein, and gained muscle, eventually reaching 230 pounds.
I was doing various exercises and running around, which was good because my metabolism was increasing. When I started Bible college in upstate New York, everything changed and physical health was no longer a priority.
I was so stressed out at work that it was difficult for me to step away from work.
My weight was slowly increasing. Later, when I entered the ministry, I began to often eat out with younger members of my congregation. Sitting at the table together was a good way to bond and establish trust.
The only problem was going to fast food restaurants like Taco Bell or Mexican restaurants where you filled yourself up with chips and salsa before your main course arrived.
The job was stressful because I found it difficult to detach from other people’s emotions as I dealt with terrible issues such as domestic violence and sexual abuse.
Wallace weighed over 285 pounds at his heaviest. Courtesy of Lyle Wallace
I started relying on food as an outlet and my health worsened month by month. I had severe digestive issues and a bout of diverticulitis. I had several colonoscopies and liver biopsies in my 20s and 30s, and it was discovered that I had fatty liver disease.
Those should have been red flags, but I ignored them and continued to sit. I would sit in my office studying, writing sermons, and doing paperwork. As I got older, my metabolism slowed down, but my habits didn’t change.
I had tendonitis with symptoms similar to a heart attack, pressure on my joints, and excruciating pain from lower back pain. I had spinal surgery in 2019.
Metformin was prescribed
My wife Nicole agrees with me about the cause, but I didn’t face the facts. It wasn’t until I was diagnosed with diabetes in January 2023 that I became seriously worried.
My father was diabetic and required insulin injections three or four times a day. I’m scared of needles so I didn’t want to go down the same path. The scales registered over 285 pounds.
I was prescribed metformin, but no advice was given to improve my lifestyle. My blood sugar actually went up and one of my A1C tests showed 8.0. And I was in despair.
Still, it was a wake-up call. My health insurance company recommended I sign up for an app called Twin Health, which uses AI to create a “digital twin” of my metabolism.
Wallace, who has recovered from diabetes, now weighs 215 pounds. Courtesy of Lyle Wallace
It collected my health information, including data from lab tests, smart scales, blood pressure cuffs, real-time blood sugar monitoring sensors, and more, and made personalized recommendations for nutrition, sleep, and exercise.
The app advised me what to eat and when. It turns out that eating protein and fiber before eating carbohydrates can speed up your metabolism. Nicole and I scanned barcodes at supermarkets to assess the suitability of certain foods and avoid sugar spikes.
diabetes recovered
I increased my physical activity by walking 4 miles a day without causing back pain. The other day I was chasing and passing my 8 year old daughter and cousin. they couldn’t believe it.
I currently weigh 215 pounds, which is 70 pounds lighter than before. My waist has gone from 42 inches to 36 inches and my collar size has decreased by 2.5 inches.
Best of all, I reversed my diabetes, lowered my A1C to 5.1, and went off medication. People in my congregation keep asking me how I did it. I’m not a particularly high-tech person, but AI has worked wonders for me.
