Having an Epiphany

The first time I heard the word epiphany was during the viewing of “HOOK” when Dustin Hoffman mentions the word. Since then I have often used it as a part of my vocabulary and have even had the chance to use it as a revelation about certain parts of my own life. the last time I had a major epiphany was a few years ago and I found it to be a turning point of sorts. Over the years since leaving college, I had put on weight steadily and because it was not an overnight thing, the realisation took some time to sink in that I had managed to gain a considerable amount of weight. Even then it was never a major issue since my partner never said anything and the subject was never raised. Seeing photographs of myself during that time made me think that I should go on a diet but somehow it was never made into a priority and the pounds just kept piling on. Occasionally I would start to do something about it and half heartedly make a few attempts such as trying a new diet or joining some exercise classes and at one point even joined one of the slimming clubs where you are guaranteed to lose weight if you stick to their system. This was the problem; the sticking to something for the duration or time it would take to achieve lasting results. I would give up far too easily and then find myself back at square one. The turning point came when I read an article in a magazine which was a man who had recently recovered from a heart attack and had decided on drastic measures to try and reduce his massive girth. He was the same age as me and had children the same age as mine. He said that he did not wish to leave his kids with only one parent and what he said struck enough of a chord with me to join the gym. Unlike him I did not want to go for the option of cosmetic surgery procedures such as stomach banding or liposuction to help me in the battle to lose weight. I wished to do it the old fashioned way by controlling my calorie intake and increase my activity level. This is the best method of not only losing weight but of keeping it off, which is even harder than losing it in the first place. Even a few years later on I have found it easy to maintain the routine of diet and exercise. I worked hard and even though it took me eight months of hard work and determination, I was successful in losing forty pounds. Also because I had done it the slow way by losing just over a pound per week, the weight loss did cause the skin to sag and require the need for skin rejuvenation procedures which come under the heading of cosmetic surgery or aesthetic medicine.