Why Did I Create This Website?

The FAQ answers this question, but I thought I should expand on this topic a bit.

As mentioned in the previous post, I've had a weight problem my entire life. Back around 1996, some people I work with were doing a charity thing, climbing Mount Monadnock in New Hampshire for Habitat for Humanity. I was recently divorced, kind of lonely, thought I might meet new people. I weighed around 230 at the time, but had done a little hiking, and didn't think it would be that bad. Well, it actually wasn't that bad at all. I got about 3/4 up the mountain, and was feeling pretty okay about myself. I was quite winded, and sat down on a rock to rest. I thought to myself that I made it much further than I thought I would, and now I could go home proud. My buddy Wayne happened along at that moment and asked me why I was sitting there. I told him that was as far as I could go and I was turning back. He said, "ARE YOU CRAZY?? Look! The summit is RIGHT THERE!" and he pointed to what to me looked to be 12,000 feet away. But I got up. And I went the rest of the way. And it wasn't 12,000 feet. And when I got to the top, I started crying because I realized for the first time in my life, it was not being fat that kept me from doing stuff, it was the voices in my head telling me that I was too fat that kept me from doing stuff.

My life changed that day. I haven't turned down anything fun "because I'm too fat" since then.

So, let's flash forward to a few weeks ago. I was chatting with friends, and we were talking about what keeps us from doing stuff. We had started specifically talking about why we don't exercise, but I also realized that many times fat people just don't go out in general. It turns out that lots of us have that voice in our head, but very few of us have Wayne to tell them to get off their butt, it's just a few more feet to the summit. So, I started this web site in the hope that maybe I can convince just one or two people that it's just a few more feet to the summit, and the view is really spectacular from there. And I live in Florida now, so summits are a lot easier to reach here :-)

Comments from original blog:

(Anonymous) at 2009-11-18 17:11 (UTC) (Link)

Thanks!!

Dee, that was a great day. To accomplish what we did was remarkable. Being out there and climbing that obstacle. Refreshing to get to the top and to see the view. Great time to catch your breath and more importantly to reflect. It was not just an accomplishment for you but for me as well.

-Wayne