[observer987]

I woke up one day just after turning 40 and shortly after separating from my wife feeling quite miserable. I had wallowed in the depths of depression and indulged in self medicating with lots of alcohol. The alcohol consumption led to hangovers, not only of the transient headache variety, but also of the “I can’t fit in my pants” variety. Anyway, I woke up, went to the mirror, looked at myself ans decided that wasn’t the way I wanted to continue on. So, I decided to start a couch to 5K… It really sucked the first couple of times I went out to run, but I was determined to continue. Each week I got a bit better, and each week I lost a bit of weight. I also noticed that my mood was dramatically better after a run. Finally, it was time for my 5K - and it didn’t suck! I actually did a decent job for my age group. Fast forward a few years where I have continued down this path of doing 5k, 10k, 1/2 marathons and I find myself down 11 kilos in weight and up 60 kilos in a new partner - in part due to being in a better state of mind due to regular exercise.