I am approaching 70 years of age very quickly and I have been dieting since I was thirteen years old.
To look at me now you would not think that I have 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 grew up to be tall and lanky at 6 feet. I grew partly up to be short and chunky at 5 feet 5 inches.
Now younger brother is very thin and I am not. It has been said that my brother looks as though there was a famine in the land ... and I look as if I caused the famine.
I was not obese when I was thirteen years old but I was an accomplished boxer. I trained hard 7 days a week 52 weeks a year. I was fit and thin but...I was a growing boy and was always trying to "make weight" for a lower division. Not my choice but the decision of my elders who in those days did not know the damage they were doing.
I had won the schoolboys championship and the intermediate championship and could not get opponents in my weight division or age group. The opponents I did get were adults. I was a young boy of thirteen and I was fighting men whose wives and children were in the audience. I felt great about this but it was not doing me any good.
At that time you had to be 18 years old to fight professionally. So at thirteen we lied about my age and I turned professional. Within two years I became rated as the third in Australia in the flyweight division (under 98 lbs.)
When the Australian Champion retired there was to be a fight-off between the top three contenders. I was supposed to be a certainty. However, I was still a growing boy and I was going to have difficulty making the weight. I weighed 4 lbs. over the limit with a week until the weigh-in. It did not matter if I won or not if I weighed more than 98 lbs I was out of the championship.
I was then given to help me to lose weight the most dangerous instructions that could be given to a fifteen old boy.
I was to "dry out". In effect, I was to cease drinking fluids for the whole week. No water, no tea, no softdrink. I was to chew gum which would produce saliva which I was to spit out continuously. (Yuck!).
And I had a turkish bath each night. Fluids were my enemy and when I got really thirsty I was allowed to suck the juice from an orange with a hole punctured in it...and boy was I thirsty!
While this was going on I trained hard and ate little.
The weigh-in was 2 hours before the fight and I stripped naked to be weighed. I could not risk leaving my underpants on! Although the official was sympathetic no matter how he jiggled the beam he could get less than 98.5 lbs! I was given an hour to lose 8 ounces.
In normal time that would have been easy! But I had nothing to give. My bladder was empty; my bowels were empty; my body was mostly muscle and bone.
I was given an old army coat and told to run round the block ten times in an attempt to raise a sweat and then immediately put under a hot shower to keep it going..as if.
Then one of the older trainers (even people I did not know seemed to help me) spent the time remaining trying to massage some of the fat of me. The only place I seemed to have any fat was on my backside.
It seems funny now but I can still remember the embarrassment of lying in the nuddie with all sorts of people watching Johnnie Shields slap my backside for twenty minutes.
Did I make the weight? I sure did! 97 lbs. 14 ounces.
I'd give anything to say that it was all worthwhile and I won the fight and went on to become Australian Flyweight Champion. I did not!
Up until then I had never been knocked down in all my fights. A reputation I had been proud of. In Australia in those days the referee never stopped a fight just because a boxer was hurt. The only way to stop a fight before the time limit was for the corner to throw in the towel. My trainer threw in the towel towards the end of the eighth round. I had not been knocked out but I had been knocked down eight times, five of them in the eighth round, and I kept on getting up.
And here comes the tragedy. Although I felt like a mongrel dog who had let everybody down, my trainer was supportive. I was a good boxer there would be other opportunities he told me. I'd done my best and worked hard for a long time. "Take a week's holiday", he said," don't come near the gym for a week. Have a milkshake or two. Relax and enjoy yourself". And I did!
When I arrived at the gym a week later everyone mentioned how well I looked and I felt good too. I jumped on the scales and to my horror I weighed 115 lbs. a gain of 17 lbs. Everybody I tell this too says it cannot be true. But it is true. Despite my loss I was still rated in the bantam weight division but I would have to lose 10 lbs to make the weight. Even to make the feather weight division I would have to lose 2lbs.
I soldiered on for a time but my heart wasn't in it and other interests took the place of boxing.
But I am certain that the early insane attempt at weightloss set me up for a life time of diet tragedies.
Ask me sometime.
About the author
Kelvyn Peters is known for his small business consulting. He is a master at rejuvenating ailing businesses.
But he is a jack-of-all-trades having been a boxer, house painter, packer, cane cutter and town mayor.
Whatever interests him really interests him and he becomes very knowledgable about the subject.
cheap limo service Lombard .. Lockport Chicago limo O’HareIf you're thinking of going on a diet to lose... Read More
Cellulite is a condition for which cures are commonly sought.... Read More
There's nothing more fun then being creative with food and... Read More
It's been called the world's oldest medicine, the miracle fat... Read More
The vast majority of postpartum women will not return to... Read More
If I were asked, "what is the most difficult thing... Read More
When it comes to the matter of weight loss, peoples... Read More
Learning the jargon is part of the weight loss journey.... Read More
I was at the grocery store the other day, doing... Read More
Why has Phentermine stopped helping me lose weight?Many people are... Read More
Dieting is not easy. If it were, we would probably... Read More
To see the "low carb" diets on the way out... Read More
Are you sick of the hype? Wondering what diet products... Read More
Weight loss information is often confusing and misleading. The more... Read More
My first article provided steps for fast healthy weight loss.... Read More
? Can you give me an exercise that will get... Read More
If you knew when you were going to die, would... Read More
Losing weight is a tough and demanding task for most... Read More
Why Making Small Changes in Your Eating Habits Adds up... Read More
With summer completed and school back in session, it'll be... Read More
Everywhere we look in the western world we are inundated... Read More
If you are trying to lose weight you may find... Read More
Most of us are aware of the AA axiom of... Read More
Having just returned from a week of basking on a... Read More
If you want any weight loss program to work you... Read More
limo O'Hare Glen Ellyn .."I never saw it coming, how did I get so... Read More
Have You Given Up on Weight Loss? by Greg Landry,... Read More
It's a sad comment on human nature that prejudice and... Read More
You don't realize it, but in the next few minutes... Read More
Having just returned from a week of basking on a... Read More
I am so proud of you and your accomplishments. You're... Read More
Have you ever seen an overweight rock climber or yoga... Read More
Want an after dinner snack? Jealously watching your family consume... Read More
negative calorie effect in foodsWhatever food we eat,... Read More
Franchised Business Models and American Diets could be at odds.... Read More
If all we have to do is exercise to live... Read More
Are you considering a low carb diet? If so you... Read More
I do not smoke, never have, and admit to being... Read More
Calorie burn can be really enhanced if you follow a... Read More
As parents who've had gastric bypass we face many challenges... Read More
Losing weight quickly is not advisable as most of the... Read More
When you are faced with the daily challenge of trying... Read More
"Your Eyes are Bigger Than Your Stomach""Your eyes are bigger... Read More
To say that Americans are obsessed with dieting is an... Read More
There are a lot of "crash" diets out there that... Read More
Food manufacturers can easily manipulate a whole population by the... Read More
Obesity raises the risk of various types of cancer. And... Read More
You are probably familiar with the weight loss connection with... Read More
Everyone is looking for the secret to losing weight. Everyone... Read More
Now that everything from a tan to pantyhose comes in... Read More
Weight Loss |