I had a medical condition a few years back that had an unexpected side effect -- weight gain. As a result of the medication and the treatment used to kill off the condition, I put on 30-some pounds in just a couple of months. Ughhhh!
So, once I got off the medical regimen, and once I got my strength back, I really looked like a fat old man. I thought it would just come off. Yeah, right. I was playing golf, and we were going through the moving process from Ohio to here, so I figured that should be enough exercise. Then along came some other setbacks, so the weight kinda found a home for a while. I figured the weight was better than the illness, which could have killed me (!) so I would address it later.
Well, eventually all of that had an impact on my back and knees and I went through a series of doctor visits, X-rays, and MRIs. Long story short, the last doctor I went to was a big-time hip replacement guy and he said everything was fine. He said I just had to lose some weight (he went to Yale to give me that diagnosis!) and then he came up with an aquatic therapy recommendation. OK. Why not. I started that in May of this year and worked at it for about 6 months. Really good therapists. Got to where I could RUN a mile on the in-the-water tread mill. It was pretty good stuff. When they dismissed me (at the end of October) I just kinda would hang out for a while and then decided to join a gym. Now going 2-3 times per week.
Anyhow, the bottom line is that I had set a goal back in May of getting down under 220 pounds (from 250 pounds!). I set a date of Thanksgiving to be there. Well, two days before Thanksgiving, I hit 220, and tried on my old Army uniforms to see if they would fit.
I saw this quote the other day - don't know the author, but it kinda fits this situation.
One day you will tell your story of how you overcame what you went through, and it will be someone else's survival guide.
