The First Tragedy Of A Life Of Diet And Weight Loss

I'm nearing 70 years of age very quickly and I've been dieting since I was thirteen years old.

A look at me now I could not think I've been a professional boxer or a marathon runner.

My younger brother and I were often mistaken for twins when we were ten years old. He became tall and lanky 6 feet. I grew up in part to be short and thickness of 5 feet 5 inches.

Now the younger brother is very thin and I'm not. It has been said that my brother seems to have been a famine in the land ... and hopefully if I caused the famine.

It was obese when I was thirteen, but I was a boxer. I trained hard 7 days a week 52 weeks a year. I was fit and thin, but ... I was a growing child and was always trying to "make weight" of a lower division. Not my choice, but my biggest decision in those days did not know the damage they were doing.

I had won the tournament championship in school and middle and could not get the opponents in my weight division or age group. Opponents who obtained were adults. I was a boy of thirteen and was fighting men whose wives and children were in the audience. I felt very good about this, but I was no good.

At that time there must be 18 years to fight professionally. So the thirteen years that I lied about my age and turned professional. Within two years he became ranked third in Australia in the flyweight division (under 98 lbs.)

When the Australian champion retired there would be a fight-off between the three main contenders. He was supposed to be a certainty. However, I was still a growing child and would have difficulty making the weight. I weighed 4 lbs. above the limit with a week until weigh-in. No matter whether he won or not, if I weighed over 98 pounds that was out of the championship.

Then I got to help me lose weight more dangerous instructions could be given to a boy fifteen years.

I was a "dry." In fact, I had to stop drinking fluids throughout the week. No water, no tea or soft drinks. I was chewing gum to produce saliva, which would spit continuously. (Yuck!).

And I had a Turkish bath every night. Liquids were my enemy and when I got thirsty I was allowed to suck the juice of an orange with a hole drilled in it ... and boy was I thirsty!

While this was happening I trained hard and ate little.

The weighing was 2 hours before the fight and was stripped naked to be weighed. I could not risk leaving my underwear! Although the staff was understanding, no matter how you shake the beam could reach less than 98.5 pounds! I was given an hour to lose 8 ounces.

In normal times would have been easy! But I had nothing to give. My bladder was empty, my intestines were empty, my body was mostly muscle and bone.

I got an old army coat and said he was held throughout the block ten times in an attempt to raise a sweat and immediately placed under a hot shower to keep it going .. as if.

Then one of the older coaches (including people who could not seem to help me) spent the rest of the time trying to massage some of the fat on me. The only place that seemed to have no fat was in my back.

It seems funny now, but I can still remember the shame of lying in nuddie with all kinds of people watching Johnnie Shields slap on the butt for twenty minutes.

I make the weight? Yes! 97 lbs. 14 ounces.

I'd give anything to say that everything was worth it and I won the fight and became flyweight champion Australia. I did not!

I had never been stopped in all my fights. A reputation that had been proud. In Australia, in those days, never the referee stopped a fight because the fighter was injured. The only way to stop a fight before the term was in the corner to throw in the towel. My coach threw in the towel towards the end of the eighth round. I had not been knocked out, but had been knocked down eight times, five in the eighth assault, and was rising.

And here comes the tragedy. Although I felt like a mongrel dog that had left everyone down, my coach was supportive. I was a good boxer does not have other opportunities, he said. I had done my best and worked hard for a long time. "Take a week off," he said, "do not go near the gym for a week. Having a shake or two. Relax and enjoy." And I did!

When I arrived at the gym a week later everyone mentioned how good I looked and felt good too. I jumped on the scales and to my horror weighed 115 pounds. a gain of 17 pounds. Everyone say it also says it can not be true. But it is true. Despite my loss I was still classified in the bantamweight division, but would have to lose 10 pounds to make weight. Even for the featherweight division would have to lose two pounds.

Lisa Beverley writes highly informative and researched articles for end consumers about a variety of Diet and Weight including remedies, diets for weight loss and weight loss, slimming, weight loss products, bodybuilding supplements and diet tips.

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