Jeff Blogs

One of the most interesting aspects of my weight loss journey has been people’s reaction when they see me for the first time in a while. The groups of people fall into two distinct categories. The first group attempts to be nonchalant about their observation not really wanting to mention the obvious changes that have occurred. While they may think I look different they don’t really dare ask for fear that they could be wrong.

These people wait hoping someone else asks whether I have lost weight or not. It’s funny, once the subject is broached they are very inquisitive asking all kinds of questions such as how much weight I lost and more importantly how did I do it.

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The opening of baseball season is not just another day around our house; it is a national holiday. To say I may be obsessed with baseball would be the understatement of the year. I think my favorite T-shirt put it most accurately, “Baseball is not a sport; it’s life.”

This year as last the Major League Baseball season did not start on a traditional Monday but rather started mid-week for some. Truthfully I am not exactly sure what day was Opening Day since the Oakland Athletics and Seattle Mariners started in Japan with a regular season game in March while other teams were still playing Spring Training Baseball.

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Never has the old adage “a picture is worth a 1,000 words” echoed so loudly as when you are trying to lose weight. Before I began this journey to become healthier I tried my best to stay away from cameras. It is said that a camera will add 5-10 pounds to a person’s looks. I felt it was more like 20-30 pounds.

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On January 13th 2012 I made the decision that I needed to be healthier. My weight had progressively risen over the years to a point where I now weighed 210.5 pounds. My Body Mass Index (BMI) was 27.7, which was at the high end of the overweight category nearing obesity. I was taking two medications for high blood pressure and even with the help of daily pills my ratings were 146/95. My health was deteriorating and I felt miserable.

A recent visit to my doctor was a wake-up call. I had two cancer scares and the doctor explained that unless I changed my lifestyle and took better care of myself I would likely not be around very long. One of the first suggestions he made was to lose some weight and begin an exercise program.

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One important aspect of losing or maintaining your weight is to be more active. Society today is filled with all manner of devices to make our lives easier. With that ease comes consequences, we don’t have to work as hard and in many cases we have less movement.

Before beginning this diet I knew that I had become much less active than I was earlier in my life. But with five kids going in different directions, a job requiring long hours in front of the computer, and not enough time in the day to complete any to-do list I could not possibly be expected to find time in my day to go to the gym.

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