JoeBanks' Fitness Profile

JoeBanks's Journal

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  And so it begins...

  Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of my life. Isn't that what they say? Well, I guess that's true but I'd like to Tomorrow is the first day of the rest of my life pursuing a healthy Okay, let me apologize about the "Biggest Loser-esque" photo. Believe me when I say it wasn't an easy thing to do, even with the anonymity. My boobs haven't seen the sun since I was forced to be on the "skins" team in high school gym. It's embarrassing but even my wife of five years hasn't seen me without my shirt on... not in a well lit room anyway. I wonder how common that is? Her capacity for understanding amazes me. Besides wanting to lose the weight and get in great shape, my hope is that I can inspire others to do the same. That is why I'm posting agonizing "shirtless" photos of my progression. So that anyone who checks in on me can see that just a regular person, who's battled his weight and lost for most of his life, can change the direction of his life in a single day. Our future is not set for us. We are not predestined to be fat. Genetics may control our height and eye color but they do not control the choices we make about the food we put in our mouth or the physical activity we engage in. I recently lost a friend who was just a couple of years older than me, A great buddy who felt he was "cursed" to be "fire hydrant" fat just like his mother and sister. In our friendship of twenty years I never knew him to try a weight loss program or join a gym. I guess I'm a little mad at him for not fighting harder but I certainly can't lecture him. I've got high blood pressure, my cardiologist says a thickening of the heart wall, and probably fit in the morbidly obese category. But that's today... I've just written some pretty big "checks" that I intend on cashing over the next year. I hope I can find some friends online that can keep me on track and I can do the same for them. I've poked around and already seen members with pretty amazing transformations. We're all here to improve ourselves so let's get busy! But, after I go have my last bowl of ice cream for a while ;-)

  Posted about 1 year ago by JoeBanks