You may think this is crazy talk but I’ve started to work in earnest on my health by attempting to lose the extra 50 pounds that I’ve been lugging around with me for the past few years. No, that’s not the possibly crazy part. The possibly half-baked part is that I shared this information freely with more than 10,000 people. I started a series of columns about my journey from fat Joe to slim Joe.
I was inspired in part by the good work being done in that regard by my friend and colleague Patrick Johnson. But nevertheless I’ve been wrestling with this for years and it has finally come to a head in the form of my doctor telling me that my liver isn’t reacting well to all the extra me I’ve collected. Well, that does it. Tell me that I’m doing something to hurt a vital organ and you’ll get my attention. And he did.
So why am I sharing my adventure in weight loss with 10,000 people? I’m glad you asked. I have two simple answers. First, I believe I’m doing more good when I’m helping others while I’m helping myself. I think it’s the perfect combination. So if sharing my story encourages someone else to do something similar, it’s been worth the effort. And second, I need to set up a peer pressure situation for myself so that I really do follow through. Having a small city keeping my honest won’t hurt my efforts.
Maybe it’s because I’ve spent my entire adult life, so far, in the media, but I can’t feel true social pressure to follow through on something unless it’s from thousands of people all at once. My tolerance for peer pressure has risen as a result of living with at least one foot in the public eye for more than two decades. Just telling a few friends and family that I’m doing something important and that if I don’t do it I’ll run the risk of embarrassment doesn’t do it for me. I wish it did. It would make things a lot simpler.
I’ve posted the first column on the newspaper’s Web site and I’ve also put a PDF of the page online here. I’ll be tweeting about it on my Twitter profile and will be writing more on my personal blog.
If you’re attempting something to improve your life, even if it isn’t weight loss, let me know. Share your story with others on my blog. Maybe the peer pressure will help you too. You never know until you try.
Here’s to our health and to life! Le’chayim!
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Hello, i have a little offtopic question. I like the Layout of this site, can i get the template somewhere? Thank you in behind and best wishes from austria.
@PowerDrome: Sure. The Wordpress theme was free. I got it from http://www.woothemes.com/ It’s called Typebased and it’s one of their free offerings. – Joe