Breaking The Family History

by Tim
(Loveland Colorado)

When my dad died he was over 300 pounds and was riddled with several different health problems: Heart disease, clogged arteries, weakened joints, poor oxygen uptake. It just seemed odd to me that when I was just a kids he was a spry, active, non-stop, lanky 6'2" 160lb man. I'm not sure why he gained so much weight but given that he went through a lot in his life, I imagine it was emotionally based. A way to protect himself, as some would say.

When I reached my mid 20's I had gone from a solid 185lb guy to a pretty out of shape 210lb guy. Then to a 230lb guy in my 30's, to finally a 252lb guy in my 50's. That's when I decided I had to do something or face ending up pushing, or exceeding 300lbs like my dad.

Long story short, I found a way to drop 52 pounds and keep it off. It started with the HCG diet, which I don't recommend if you can find an easier way to go. But I was afraid that I couldn't. It did the job and I have learned how to eat properly to help keep my weight under control. At this writing it's been 4 years since I went off the HCG diet and I have gained back only 3 pounds. But the other factor in my success has been kettlebells. I am 61 right now and I much prefer working out with kettlebells over any other piece of gym equipment. I can workout at home... indoors or outdoors. I just need a little room to use them. And there are so many exercises I can do with them. They never get boring.

As fun as it is though, it would sure be nice to find others in my age range to get together with for some kettlebell workouts. Anyway, I think this is the age when everyone should be at their peak health and conditioning. Who wants to get to the last quarter of their life and just have it all come to a grinding halt? Not me. I want to do things now with my health and fitness level I never did when I was young. I am on my way. Since I began my healthy & fit lifestyle I have gone from 30.2% body fat to 18.8%. I have gained 11 pounds of muscle and one test I had done showed my blood vessels were as healthy as a man 12 years younger than me. That's what I call breaking the family history and I'm pretty proud of that.