In 2012, when I started traveling for work, I was 500+ pounds. Needless to say, airplane seating was a challenge. I flew to Mexico and Israel and both times I required 2 extra seat-belts in order to be safely fastened into my seat. This was required for a couple years.
When I changed roles, after having done some major fat reduction, I was able to get away with only the one extra seat-belt. So, I would say this was how I traveled from 2016 -2019.
Over time, I kept testing to see how close I was to being able to fasten the normal seat-belt. When I traveled in December of last year, I was probably 2 inches from just touching the metal of the buckles together.
Today is the first time I’ve traveled in 2019. The day stared off as I would have expected it to. The first plane was small and I figured I would need an extra seat-belt. This was indeed the case, as the seats were so small it was like fitting a normal sized adult into a child safety seat.
Upon boarding the plan for the second leg of my trip I asked for a seat-belt extension. The flight attendant said that she thought I wouldn’t need one. Of course, she provided the extension as requested and said I could give it back, should I not need it.
I walked back to my seat, as I normally would and sat down. Of course I was reluctant to accept that I’d only be wearing the one seat-belt, so I placed the second on the seat next to me, instead of leaving it in my pocket.
I grabbed both ends of the belt, placing my hand a bit lower on the “male” end, so I wouldn’t prevent the belt from locking. On the initial attempt the metal touched. This alone was a major milestone. So, I pressed on and after a little bit of effort, I was wearing only the seat-belt attached to the seat.
Needless to say, I am very happy about this. I have been checking the distances between the buckle pieces for the last 5 years and I finally made it. Here's a picture of the seat-belt I did not put on today.
