Has your weight held you back?

Carla asks, has your weight or your health held you back from anything?

I, too, have been overweight for as long as I can remember. I broke my leg when I was six or seven and got chunky. I then crashed my mountain bike horribly when I was fifteen and got fat when I was laid up and depressed for a Summer. Since then, I’d basically stopped all outdoor activities. No more mountain biking, skiing, snowboarding, etc. I used to mountain bike 350 miles per week and that basically stopped overnight after my crash.

That’s one of the reasons I decided to lose weight…I ran across RideMonkey and forgot how much I love mountain biking. Getting back on the saddle was one of the inspirations to lose weight and get back in shape. The main reason, however, is that Kelly wanted to lose weight and needed me to go on a diet as well as support for her. It worked out for quite a while, she lost some weight and I just kept losing (down almost seventy pounds in six months, thirty pounds to go).

For the first time in almost ten years I’m able to ride continuously for ten or twenty miles as well as actually jog. Plus, I’m getting into motorsports and losing weight has done amazing things for my stamina behind the wheel when running six or ten hour rallies.

I’m also much more active with friends…losing weight has boosted my self-esteem and I fit into the trendy garbage that’s been hanging in my closet for years that I hadn’t been able to fit into. And, the cool thing is, all those clothes are no longer current and they’re now retro. Heh.

So, my weight had definitely kept me back from a lot of activities that I used to do. Luckily, with my current rate of weight loss, I won’t have any excuses to procrastinate any longer…I’m almost to my goal weight and, even now, I feel invigorated and inspired enough to try anything!