Six Month Check-Up
Last week I went in to my physician’s office for a six month check-up in a 1 1/2 year struggle with depression. At the start of my battle, I was 45 lbs over weight (230 lbs), my wife was on the verge of leaving me, and my business was failing. Suffice it to say I knew something had to happen.
When I first went in to my physician’s office a year ago, he suggested I take things in this order-
Health, Family, Everything else. Be healthy and family life will become easier to be happy. Happy home life will lead to positive outcomes in everything. Good advice, right?
So running I went. I hate running. Not running to get somewhere quickly, or running between C.O.P.’s, or running from lions and tigers and bears (oh my!). But I hate running 3-5 miles for exercise. It is mind-numbingly boring. Even music doesn’t help anymore. I just get so bored!
Between a little running and eating better, I was able to lose 11 lbs from June to November of 2014, but I still didn’t feel good. I was tired all the time and things between my wife and I still weren’t great. I needed something more, but we were out of ideas. Then God jumped in.
In November of 2014 I saw the “This is F3” video when it was presented at our church men’s group. God elbowed me in the ribs and said, “This is what you need.” And boy was he right. Being an athlete my whole life, teams are what I thrive on. Comradery, competition, accountability, success. All parts of being on a team. When I saw that video that’s exactly what I thought of. A sports team. A group of guys challenging each other to do their best. Men pushing other men. Iron sharpening iron.
When F3 North Augusta launched, there wasn’t a chance in Hades I would miss it. (As a matter of fact, there were several of us so excited about it that we began getting together for “unofficial” workouts 3 weeks before the launch!) Although our initial workouts were tough, the launch was insane. Our eyes were opened wide to the possibilities of F3. And it’s EXACTLY what I needed.
Workout after workout (and recovery after recovery), changes started happening for me. I felt better everyday. I had more energy and stamina than I’d had in years. And my everyday mood improved dramatically. I only missed a handful of workouts in the first few months, and I knew things were getting better.
Now here’s the funny part. When I went to my physician in December (right when F3 North Augusta launched), I weighed 219 lbs. Still overweight, but on the right track. When I went in for my check-up six months later, I weighed exactly 219 lbs. What??? My first thought was that I was being punked. Any minute now someone I knew was going to jump out and say “HaHa!” But no, that was it. Six months of hard work and I hadn’t lost a pound. Ouch!
But was that my goal? Was losing weight going to fix all my problems? It didn’t take long for me to answer those questions. My goal had nothing to do with weight. It had to do with health. It had to do with happiness. Then I started asking other questions-
How do I look? Great.
How do my clothes fit? Better.
Can I climb more than 2 flights of stairs without getting winded? Yes
Can I do more push-ups than I ever could? Uh, yeah!
Am I happier? More than I’ve been in years.
Does my wife notice a change? Big time.
So what’s the problem? Am I really all that worried about losing weight? Heck no. What I was concerned about was getting better. Being better. And that is exactly what’s happening.
Now I could easily be negative and say, “All that hard work and I’m not losing weight? I’d be better off to quit this idiotic stuff and join Weight Watchers.” But that won’t make me happier, or improve my fitness. The bottom line is that I KNOW I’m better now than I was six months ago. I can feel it. My wife can see it. And my happiness shows it.
Thank you to F3Nation and especially the Pax of F3 North Augusta. And thank you to all you HIM’s that fight the #fartsack with me every week. It’s because of you that men like me can #GetBetter.
With all love and respect,
Crab Legs
Buff Waters
F3 North Augusta
