Thanks Pat and Jillzy! But don't be too nice to me, I'm already way more pleased with myself than I really should be.
The real reason I decided to lose weight was because I had high blood pressure and didn't want to be "a patient" doing as I was told by a doctor and taking
drugs all my life. I also read that a side-effect of the
drugs I'd been taking could be to cause diabetes. I just stopped taking the
drugs, which was a stupid thing to do suddenly I later realised because my blood pressure initially shot through the roof, but now my blood-pressure is already back to the same level it was when taking all those pills.
I didn't expect to feel so much better as a bonus. My wife's as fit as a flea and trying not to look wasted while she raced up the hills and hoping she'd need to rest before I came to a halt wasn't good for all that pride us boys are cursed with. Now I can do the manly thing and wait for her sometimes. (Or perhaps she's just humouring me.)
Better still, without so much baggage, all those little aches I came to expect on a long walks I no longer get.
So go for it, you are going to be so proud of yourself.
