Those who know me know that I have an active sense of humor. It was for this reason, that I joined a FaceBook group whose free and irreverent joking has made it a mainstay for several thousand users. Of the many types of jokes commonly posted on this group, are photos of naked fat guys, sitting at their computers. They put up the pictures, and we all have a good laugh, and make comments about these anonymous individuals, whose suffering is their celebrity.
Reality shows now rely on the couch potato who needs to be hoisted via crane, from her home to the doctor’s office for what must be an exercise in frustration and futility for both.
A part of me, however, finds this cavalier entertainment, quite painful. Statistics are commonplace, stating that 70% of Americans are overweight. I’m told that as much as 40% of us are actually morbidly obese – that’s almost half of the population.
From my early adulthood, up until my late 30s, I was quite athletic. My body ran like a Ferrari, and my metabolism ticked like a Breitling. After I was married, and I was bogged down in trying to run a business, I blew up like the Hindenburg. We’re talking “Orca-fat,” here. When I was 49 I was diagnosed with Diabetes, and the reality came crashing home, that I was to spend what little time I had left, as one of the old and sick.
The very people I had so arrogantly sneered at and snubbed, were now a club reserving a “gold” membership, in my name. I was “fat guy.jpg.” Maybe, I didn’t need a crane to haul my carcass to the doctor, but I did barely have the strength to make it in on my own power. A simple drive into town, park in a public lot, and walk all of two blocks to his first floor office – and it felt like I was Jesse Owens trying to single-handedly win the Olympics.
Being sick is no fun – and it’s certainly no source of pride.
Deep inside me, two figures were squaring off. A ghost and a goner were getting ready to go toe to toe in a steel-cage death-match. David the martial artist, bike messenger, speed skater, mountain climber vs. David the tub o’ guts – was on, and the purse was nothing short of my life.
Well the challenger took it in a KO. The old, fat and sick David was carried off the mat – belly up.
A few weeks ago, as I was struggling to find a worthwhile form of viable employment, and having some maintenance performed on my new “split window Corvette” of a body, an idea came to me. A way I could help my friends, and others struggling with health and well being issues – and pursue a career at the same time. I could create an e-magazine. I’ve talked about this idea in the loosest of terms, on FaceBook, and to a few select individuals in RL.
Well, the Premier issue is online. Check it out. Let me know what you think.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/49813702/N%C2%B530-Premier
Nµ30 Magazine: The multimedia e-magazine and community devoted to athleticism, eating right and living better - in midlife. Nµ30 - Where 50 is the new 30. In 2006, I was diagnosed with type II Diabetes. I weighed 205 lbs. I now weigh 150, with 8% body fat. I'm actually cured of my Diabetes - something the medical community considers impossible. I did it through diet and exercise, and want to share the information that I employed to do that. That's the purpose of Nµ30 Magazine.
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