Parade Magazine recently ran the story No More Mister Fat Guy, about the incredibly shrinking Drew Carey. Boy, I want to be like Drew! Actually, I am like Drew!
• Like Drew I am way overweight (more overweight than he was) and feel uncomfortable in my body.
• Like Drew, I got used to my gradual "bigness;" it didn't occur over night.
• Like Drew I developed Type 2 diabetes, and complications that go along with the disease.
• Like Drew, I have an active daughter who I want to keep up with. Who I want to see graduate from high school and college, and go on to have her own family.
• Like Drew, the big heart attack scare and two (instead of one) stents in my heart, were a wake-up call!
• Like Drew, my life was at a cross-roads, between health and death.
• Like Drew, I experienced exercise and healthy eating as literally "life-saving."
• Like Drew, I have come to look forward to my exercise/workouts. (I really miss them on the "off" days.)
• Like Drew, I have learned that "eating crappy food is not a reward - it's a punishment."
Of course there are differences in our experience(s). For instance, my weight loss and commitment didn't happen over night. It took me a long time to start loosing weight, and to realize that I needed to commit 100% in order to accomplish these goals. I continue to struggle with weight loss. And it took me a long time to commit to exercising more than two times a week. I also experienced considerable medical benefits early on, which thrilled me and my doctor; together we tried a lot of different remedies in the last ten years, so it was thrilling when the medical improvements started to emerge! (These medical benefits are the subject of a future blog entitled "exercise is my medicine.") And while I didn't go through a complete eating transformation - did not have a detox period, did not go cold turkey on food, did not start drinking 8 cups of water/day - I have slowly emphasized more healthy eating habits.
Personally inspiring is that Drew Carey sees "a long and healthy future" as his most profound triumph. He doesn't want to attend his own funeral at a young age. Like me, he isn't as concerned about a number on the scale or the size of his waist, or the number of fitness points on a chart, he's most concerned with his and his family's future. Just like me!
To read the article on Drew Carey click on No More Mr. Fat Guy
Submitted on Sunday, October 10, 2010.
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