ATX 100 MEETING

We held our second orientation meeting Saturday the 17th at 10:30 am. After a very few words, Paul Carrozza leads us all on a walk. Depending how far you chose to walk anywhere from ¾ of a mile to over 2 miles. Oh yes, there was a hill involved. Those who had been part of the first meeting picked up their new shoes. Mine are still at the Navy shipyard being constructed…the price you pay for wearing size 16. Those who were attending their first meeting were measured for shoes and took part in the day.

I am overwhelmed by the response we have received. It is very inspiring to see so many people willing to take that step to a healthier life. I don’t want to be presumptuous and impose my life experiences on others. Nor make too broad a generalization regarding the challenges others face. Let me explain.

I have been over weight all my life. If you go back 30 years ago, my weight has at times seemed reasonable…245 lbs- 265 lbs. But there have been times in the last 11 years when it has been as high as 418 lbs. That is the most I have ever weighed in my entire life and that was 2 years ago. The following year and a half I made some half hearted efforts to lose weight. But it wasn’t until I went back to Weight Watchers several months ago at 410 lbs that I got serious. It wasn’t until I added in the elements I felt I needed to be successful…Exercise, Public Accountability, Eating Healthier and One Day at a Time.  

The willingness to go public through my blog has been a big help. It seems if I write it down it is real. Tracking what I eat, making weekly notes about my weigh-ins and sharing it all publicly help me to be responsible for my own health.  I have friends and family who have been supportive with their comments and actions. But it is the dozens of emails I have received from people I don’t know, that has made me realize that we are not alone.  We have common goals and challenges.

Then getting out in public and beginning to exercise.  I felt uncomfortable at times walking down the street. What would people think? What were they saying? I decided they were saying, “There goes a man who wants to get healthier.” It took courage to get out on the road and begin to walk.

Courage is what I see when I look at all the people who have joined ATX 100. I have been in this environment before and I wasn’t walking into a room full of strangers not knowing what to expect. But most of the people, who made the choice to join ATX 100 and make a difference in their life, were walking into a room full of strangers. They didn’t know what to expect but they had made the decision to make a difference in their life and take personal responsibility for their health.

COURAGE…what you all are doing, takes courage. And that is powerful, yes even a bit overwhelming.