Inspirations

So, what led me to this?  A few things, really. 

First, I'm really tired of being this big.  It's not healthy, and it's not who I want to be.  I have been trying to lead a more active live the last little while, and it is far from easy while carrying almost 200 extra pounds.  My brother has bought a great piece of land in North Carolina, and it's really hard to enjoy it when I have so much trouble going up and down the hills there. Sometimes I just sit in the barn and read a book or something while everyone else is up on the hill doing things. Eventually they come down and the fun resumes, but I don't want to be that guy.

Not so  many years ago, I was in really good shape.  I did martial arts regularly, had (and still have) a great mountain bike that I loved to ride, went running, lifted weights, and pretty much did anything physical that I wanted with relative ease. I was not great at any one thing, but I could do a little bit of everything.

The last time I played football I spent two days in bed. A recent series of beach volleyball games on a camping trip  had me walking like an old man for days. Hiking causes me to stop and take all kinds of breaks, which means I either end up by myself behind everyone or they all have to wait for me.  Enough.

I had three friends who have had successful weight loss surgery. Two with the Roux-en-Y procedure, and one with the Lap band.  They are all very happy with the result and have had dramatic weight loss.  This is what led me down the road of exploring this option, and I was about to go in for the surgery when I decided against for my own reasons. But I'm still really grateful to them for answering my questions and getting me to think about whether or not it was right for me.

Another inspiring guy is a blogger named Tony Posnaski.  His blog is called The Anti-Jared.  This guy lost over 200 pounds in a year by exercising and eating better.  He also considered, and rejected, weight loss surgery.  I stumbled on his stuff a while ago and have been keeping a close eye on him.  I am trying to do something similar to this, maybe a little slower, but he's been a great inspiration.