Startup Flavor

I’ve had back problems for a long time. In fact, I was born with one less vertebrae. That means a couple of things. I could have been an inch or two taller and maybe I wouldn’t have back problems if said missing vertebrae wasn’t actually missing. But, it is what it is, right? In the last five years or so my health has really gone south. I gained a lot of weight and stopped all serious exercise. Much of the lack of exercise was not by choice. It hurt too badly or I simply could not do it. Some of it was laziness and lack of effort or desire as well. So, after years of pain and difficulty, I finally succumbed to the surgeons scalpel. So far I think it was a pretty good decision. Actually, it really wasn’t much of a decision at all but rather my final and only option.

In May of 2012, after fully recovering from surgery and searching high and low for the right exercise options, I decided I’d had enough. I used to be an athlete (played every sport, and some half decently) and I was always active, so being out of shape was not cool for me. It definitely wasn’t healthy. I joked about eating poorly, I joked about not exercising, I joked about my back — but really I was just bummed out about my slow and steady decline into inactivity. So I made a very conscious decision to do something about it. Since that time (the picture on the right), I’ve riden my road bike nearly 4,000 miles. I’ve lost about 30 pounds (the photo on the left). And I’m just getting started!

If you are out of shape, for any reason, I think you should join me in the battle to be healthy again. And for me, it is a battle. A daily one.

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