First, an update. I’m down 77 pounds on the scale since I started. I’m lean, mean and a training machine. I can run forever now and not even feel winded. How did that happen? Anyway, the training is right on target and things are good.
So last week, something terrible happened. A fellow I knew (from belonging to a forum of weather enthusiasts together) was tragically killed in a car accident. Apparently he hit a deer. The last post he made in our forum happened to be in a thread I had started about taking care of yourself and getting healthier. His post is so positive and forward-thinking that I wanted to share it in here:
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Congratulations to all of you who have decided to get on the the path to good health. I’ll briefly share my story. I am 41 years old and married with 2 children. I was one of those people who ate like a maniac and never gained a pound. I ate more junk food then you could imagine. I was actually very skinny the first 25 years of my life but when I hit thirty my metabolism caught up with me and I became very much overweight. This year on March 10th I weighed in at 323 pounds (I am 6′3). The reason that date stands out is because that night I attended the wake of a co-worker who died of a heart attack at the age of 34. He was also married with two children and to see him lying in the coffin really affected me. His six year old daughter (the same age as my son) had drew some pictures that were in his coffin that said how much she really missed him and how sad she was. Besides feeling extremely sad for her and her family it woke me up in a big way. I realized that I was a prime candidate for a heart attack among other serious health illnesses. That night after I got home from the wake I decided that I was going to change my eating habits and begin to excercise more. I didn’t go on a crash diet or anything but decided that I was going make smart choices and educate myself on how best to lose the weight over time in a healthy way.
The first thing I did was to set a goal. My goal is to lose 100 lbs in one years time, or about 2 pounds per week on average. So far I’m ahead of schedule and have lost 35 pounds. I am at 288 lbs currently. I think my ideal weight will be somewhere around 200-210 pounds. Like I said I am not on a diet but these are some of the things I have been doing the last couple months.
* I cut out all fast food with exception to Subway. No McD’s, Wendy’s Taco Bell, etc. When I do go to Subway I don’t overdo it on the fatty
meats, don’t put on Mayo or oils and use only wheat bread.
* I eat oatmeal and a banana for breakfast every morning and then I eat every 3 hours of the day to keep my metabolism going.
* I cut down on my portions and I do not eat late at night at all. If I get a late night hunger crave I will allow myself to have some baby carrots.
* I am drinkiing at least a gallon of water every day.
* I am walking at least a mile a day (I think this has helped me tremendously). I have began to be more active again playing golf, tennis, basketball and riding my bike.
* I have cut down on sugar, caffeine, alcohol and carbs.
Sometimes it’s not easy and there have been a coulpe times where I probably ate more than I needed to but I don’t beat myself up about it. I just stay focused on my goals and the reasons I am doing this. I have a long way to go but this isn’t just a year long thing for me, this is a change in the way I want to live the rest of my life. Soon I will begin working out 3-4 days a week concentrating on cardio and toning up.
I will look forward to visiting this thread again and reading about all of your success stories to help inspire me and hopefully I will be able to continue to share my own progress.
Best,
Fabian
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So this whole thing has hit me pretty hard, as you might well imagine. First, it’s just a sad irony that he had reversed his thinking on health because of a situation in which a man left behind two children. And now, he’s left his own behind. But at the same time, his post made me happy that we had all been encouraging each other and that he was making positive changes for all the right reasons. It made me realize just how short and precious life really is for all of us. There are no guarantees of living a long life, that’s for sure. We need to take advantage of the time we have and make it worthwhile, that’s all I know.
I think that it is his attitude here and the way this has impacted me this week that will finally drive me to make this a permanent shift in my habits and thinking. I’ve been doing this for nearly nine months now … why not make it permanent? Fabian’s example shows me that I’m not just taking care of myself for my own sake, but for the sake of all the people around me … all the ones that my life has an impact on. I’d like to thank him for that and wish I could. I think the best way to show my gratitude at this point would be to look after my life from now on and refuse to ever look back.
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