Losing Weight With Friends: A Better Way

This isn't a brag. It's a strategy that has worked for me. I'm sharing this in hopes it will help others.

After being overweight for decades, at 178 lbs (81 kg) I am now in the normal weight range for my height, as my body mass index (BMI) is now under 25. 

 

My wife tells me I look good and feel good. That's an even better motivator than BMI

Here's the strategy: On a camping trip in early June, two friends and I decided to lose weight. Each of us was overweight. It showed and we felt it. 

 

The next day, we sent our beginning weights in a text thread. Almost every day since then, we have continued to share our weights. Many days, it's just a number. Other days, it's a number and something humorous or encouraging....or a bad excuse for a small weight gain. 

 

We're men, so there's an element of competition here, of course. But honestly, the most valuable part of this is that we are each invested in the success of the other two. And it has worked: between the three of us we have already lost more than 60 lbs (27 kg). Each of us is approaching his goal weight. I'm down 16 lbs (7 kg) with 3 lbs (1.3 kg) to go. All of us feel better, and all are seeing health benefits.

 

How did we lose weight? Simple: we ate less and exercised more. There's all kinds of ways to go at this. I have been using Weight Watchers, and I find as a side benefit that it helps me understand good portion size and the caloric content of my usual foods. I also try to walk 8,000 steps a day.

 

But in my heart, what really made the difference was the encouragement of two friends!

University Education: Why Would We Pay for Leftist Indoctrination?

My university experience was a great time in my life. It is where I met my wife, it prepared me for a rewarding career, and it opened my eyes to new knowledge, new ways of thinking, and new ways to learn. The University of Alaska in the 1990s was very valuable to our adult children as well. 

But today, as I think about our two granddaughters, I am seriously doubting the wisdom of their future attendance at nearly any of the colleges and universities in the United States or even abroad. Most of these have left their honorable purposes to become leftist indoctrination camps. 

I am not concerned about exposure to ideas from both ends of the ideological spectrum. That’s healthy. What I AM concerned about is the overwhelming preponderance of leftist faculty and staff and a smothering teaching of “correct think”. 

Our family has poured years into our granddaughters’ healthy emotional and spiritual growth, and much money into excellent private education. For them to lose that would be a disaster for them and their family, and those that follow after them. 

Clearly, not everyone coming out of America’s colleges and universities today is steeped in neo-Marxism and nihilism, but many are, to the great dismay of their families, and to the diminishing of America. The massive college debt of many young Americans is bad, but the educational outcomes are worse. 

And speaking of debt, is a university education in many disciplines really worth what people are paying? 

So…..American colleges and universities: are you listening? I am one American father and grandfather and financial supporter of education who views you with massive distrust.