This week we celebrate Andy aka BigSargeofSC as our Member of the Week.
Andy joined our site in October of 2009 and has made steady progress in his goal to lose 100 pounds.
Andy Before
AndyToday
Here is what Nira J. wrote in her submission email to us:
I want to recommend the following person - Andy A., aka BigSargeofSC.
He is optimism personified. I've known him for some time on the lose weight dare. You will be able to see him quite regularly, cheering people on, giving great words of encouragement, and just inspiring others by his presence. He has suffered a surgery for his back, and works out like a maniac despite the several restrictions he has due to his surgery. He says, "Walls are not a reason to stop, but a cause to find new direction."He has lost 50 lbs so far, and he just keeps going. I know I look forward to hearing from him, because it is always filled with enthusiasm, and optimism, and hope.
It would truly be fitting to honor him with a 'member of the week'.
Below are Andy's words of encouragement and motiviation in the Dare to Lose Weight.
In Andy’s own words:
I would like to express how humbled I am to have been nominated for Member of the Week.
In October of 2009, while attending an Oktoberfest party in Myrtle Beach, I woke up one morning with a mind-splitting headache. My face was red and I felt hot. My wife checked my blood pressure to find it at 198/97. I was a heart attack about to happen. I knew it was way past time for me to get serious about getting my weight under control and start a healthier lifestyle. My weight peeked somewhere over 350 pounds. The exact weight is not known because we had no scale available to weigh me that could measure such a heavy weight. I could hardly walk any distance without having to stop and rest or having bad back pain. I began a workout program, made changes to my diet, and made a choice that I would no long be the obese man that I had become. In December of 2010, still battling away with weight loss, I began to lose control of my left leg due to a sever disc herniation between the T-11 and T-12 disc. But, I would not be stopped in my journey. I had surgery on January 14, 2011. Prior to surgery, I told the members of my weight loss dare that I would not give up. By the end of March 2011, I was back in the gym with a vengeance against an unhealthy diet and an unhealthy lifestyle.
My sheer determination caught the attention of the members of my weight loss dare group. People began to follow my progress and became inspired to step up their determination. I make it a point, each day, to offer words of encouragement, hope, and motivation in the hopes that someone, that day, needed to read what I had posted. Perhaps no other statement I've made has had more of an impact than this one: Walls are not a reason to stop, but a cause to seek new direction. Today, August 2011, I've dropped more than 50 pounds and lost more than 14 inches from my waist. I am in much better physical shape and getting healthier and stronger. I could not have made this progress without the support of friends and the valuable information on LIVESTRONG.COM
Thank you to my LIVESTRONG.COM friends for nominating me for Member of the Week. It is an honor I will continue to strive to be found worthy by always offering support, encouragement, and motivation to those who dare to take this journey.
ROCK HARD!! LIVE STRONG!!
Congratulations Andy, you inspire us to be better.
-Susy
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