I wish I didn’t have to write this blog entry, but I am glad that I am. I am significantly overweight, and I am tired of it. I will turn 60 in August. We are halfway through 2024. I am tired of being tired, and while I know part of that comes with age, being more than 100 pounds overweight makes me sick and tired in many ways. It also makes me extremely angry yet determined. I don’t know my exact weight, and the last time I weighed myself many months ago (I don’t own a scale, but it is on its way from Amazon), I weighed 281 pounds on a five-foot-nine-inch frame. That is too much, no matter how you cut it. I’m tired of squeezing into suits when I need to wear one, I’m tired of feeling and (probably) looking uncomfortable and unattractive, I’m tired of not being able to go on 10-mile hikes, canoeing, and kayaking trips in this beautiful area I live because I am too out of shape (I do walk a mile daily – which also tires me), I’m sick and tired of being on many costly medications, even with a drug plan, because of various chronic conditions – most of which are the result of being the author of my misfortune– but can be reversed and removed with weight loss. I’m tired of the chronic fatigue that comes with being obese and the self-flagellation because of my low self-esteem and lack of confidence.
I am not too old to lose weight – there are dozens of stories of people my age and older who have lost and kept off well over a hundred pounds. There are stories of 70-year-old men and women climbing Mount Everest, etc. I want to and will be one of them (well, maybe not climbing Mount Everest, but at least the ability to hike many miles in a mountain range). I will not delve into my history at this time, perhaps in future entries. Although I will say I am an emotional eater, I am not going to blame my background, my history, my problems, my work, or anything or anyone else. I did this to myself, and the buck stops here. I put copious amounts of food in my mouth; I made the choices. I ate when I wasn’t hungry; I ate when I was bored; I ate when I was frustrated; I ate when I was angry; I ate when I was happy; I ate when I was stressed; I ate and ate and ate some more. Well, no more. Yes, there are a million programs and diet and exercise plans to help you lose weight, but it all comes down to eating less and better (80 percent of the battle) and exercising. I aim to lose 120 pounds in the next eighteen months, 1.53 pounds a week. That is it; that is all I have to say about it right now.
John Berkovich Talks 