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healthy_blogging

It's been several months since Pete made that promise in his father's hospital room. As he looks back on it, that incident has made a lasting impression on his life. Pete's now more determined than ever to lose weight and control his diabetes. The hard work is paying off. So far Pete's lost twenty pounds, all of which he credits to a balanced diet, exercise and positive thinking. He continues to set short term goals which helps him to stay on track. Pete's branched out beyond water aerobics, adding weight lifting to his weight loss plan, and got a membership for is wife and daughter, too.

Good things can come from bad, Pete thinks to himself as he watches his wife playing with their daughter in the park, when we look for a way to make it work.

Anne flashes her husband a loving smile. "What's on your mind, honey?"

"Just thinking about you and Pamela. How fortunate I am to have you two." the big man replies as he walks over to them. His daughter raises her arms in the air, gesturing for her father to pick her up.

Pete stoops down and hoists the girl onto his shoulders. The pain is gone. His muscles are stronger now, his joints more limber. This is something that Pete has dreamt of doing for a long time. Having the energy to spend time with his wife and child, without wearing himself out.

"When I think about what happened to Dad, it just scared the heck out of me. He's doing better now which is good for him and Mom. I won't put you and Pamela through the same thing. All these years I've been overweight, not taking care of myself. Cheating myself out of what's really important to me."

Pete's face takes on a serious expression as he reflects on his former way of thinking. "For the longest time I believed that I deserved to be fat. When I didn't get picked to play games in school, I knew it was because I was fat. I made jokes about it with my friends. Everyone thought that made me the jolly fat guy, but inside I felt miserable. I should have done something about it a long time ago."

"You're doing something about it now," Anne replies,"You took action the moment the doctor gave you the news about your diabetes."

"I've got more good news: Matt's signed up for a gym membership. He told me 'If you can do it, bro, then so can I.' I'll introduce him to the other guys at the gym, get him some workout buddies. Heh, Stephen's going to be in for a shock when he next comes to town for a visit. There's no way that he's going to let his younger brothers get into shape while he stays heavy." 

At that moment Pete's attention falls upon a couple sitting on a park bench. An obese woman accompanied by a man with an average build are feeding peanuts to birds that have gathered in front of them. The woman laughs loudly as the man whispers in her ear. Pete nods at the couple and they wave at him in return.

Pete has an epiphany as he looks upon his family.  

Life'll lay you flat if you let it. But my life is better now, because I'm taking responsibility for it.

Pete's learning a very important lesson. The burden is never more than he can handle so long as he doesn't let it weigh on him.

Words to live by.

Coming soon "Don't Let It Weigh On You, Carly".

I'm living fit, healthy and happy. Are you?

**All characters depicted in this story are fictional and do not represent living or deceased persons.

Disclaimer: **"Don't Let It Weigh On You, Pete" is not affiliated with the E! Television series "What's Eating You?"

"Don't Let It Weigh On You, Pete Part X" copyright 2011 Living Fit, Healthy and Happy. All Rights Reserved.

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