Your true wage
Weight Loss & Health
It's been awhile since everybody posted about their own weight loss challenge and how it has affected them.
Today I got news that made me thank my lucky stars that I started losing some weight. My cousin Darren, who was only 44, died of a heart attack last week. In many ways, physically, he was like me. Slim throughout high school, muscular and strong throughout his early twenties, but then gained a lot of weight.
Now, part of his problem was that he popped a lot of pills he had for a bad back and that partly contributed to the problem as did his family history of heart problems (his father - my aunt's husband died of a heart attack).
It puts things in perspective. For those that don't know, I gained a considerable amount of weight. Thankfully, since I am 6'2, I carried it well and when I would tell people how much I weighed, they didn't believe me. However, since January 11, when I started my lifestyle change (it's not just a diet), I've lost about 40 pounds and I still have some more to go before I get to where I want to be.
I am also playing racquetball 4-5 times a week as well as walking/running and lifting weights. I feel great. My cousin's death (no need for sympathy comments or emails folks. We weren't close and I haven't seen him or talked to him for over 10 years) is just another reminder of how short life is. He had gotten remarried over the last few years and had a 3 year old . In addition, his own mother is going to outlive him. No parent should have to bury their own .
In any case, that's just more motivation. It's funny now because people I saw every day noticed the weight loss, but people I haven't seen in some time are almost shocked when they see me, which just prompts me to think, "My God, did I look that bad??" It's funny and sad at the same time.