I remember when I first started my job, I often saw many of my colleagues and leaders around me with big bellies, and I envied them so much. I thought to myself, how wonderful it would be if I were that chubby too. So, I started eating like crazy. But strangely, no matter how much I ate, I just wouldn’t gain any weight. As time passed, I gradually forgot about it—after all, no matter how much I ate, I stayed skinny, so I let it be. After getting married, due to work requirements, I was sent to work in Inner Mongolia for two years. Unexpectedly, Inner Mongolia turned out to be incredibly nourishing—I gained twenty pounds in those two years, going from 120 pounds to 140. I was overjoyed; finally, I was putting on some weight. Later, I was transferred to work in Northern Shaanxi for another two years. Northern Shaanxi is a revolutionary base area, and back then, it was the millet from this region that nourished our Liberation Army soldiers, helping to liberate all of China. So, the millet of Northern Shaanxi played an indispensable role. During those two years working there, I deeply understood Chairman Mao’s strategic wisdom in choosing this place as a revolutionary base. Once again, it was the millet of Northern Shaanxi that helped me gain another twenty pounds, bringing my weight up to 160. By then, my "beer belly" had become quite prominent, and my face had transformed from an angular one to a round one. People often commented, “You’ve put on a lot of weight—you look more prosperous now.” Whenever I heard such remarks, I felt a sense of satisfaction. However, my joy didn’t last long before I started noticing changes in my body. First came shortness of breath, followed by frequent palpitations, chest tightness, and discomfort. At the time, I didn’t pay much attention and continued to eat and drink excessively. My weight once even approached 180 pounds, and my body kept sending me warning signals. I remember one evening after dinner, as I took a walk downstairs, my heart suddenly began to skip beats intermittently. I sat on the curb by the roadside, drenched in cold sweat, utterly weak and powerless. The next day, I went to see a specialist at the hospital and underwent a full medical check-up. The results showed that nearly all my health indicators were abnormal, especially my triglycerides, which were severely elevated, and there were early signs of coronary heart disease. I was stunned. The specialist gave me two options: first, medication—but as they said, “all medicine has side effects,” and it could harm my body to some extent. Second, dietary control combined with exercise for weight loss, which required long-term commitment to be effective. After much deliberation, I ultimately chose the specialist’s second recommendation: diet control and exercise-based weight loss therapy. From that moment on, the obesity I had once envied plummeted in my estimation—it turned out obesity wasn’t an angel but a demon. I was determined to get rid of it.
Diet Control and Exercise-Based Weight Loss Therapy: I first set a few rules for myself. First, my diet would primarily consist of light, non-greasy foods. I would avoid meat as much as possible, and I made a firm rule never to eat to fullness—always leaving myself feeling like I could still eat a few more bites. Second, I needed to exercise more: I committed to power-walking three kilometers every morning and another three kilometers an hour after dinner. Third, while I couldn’t completely quit smoking or drinking, I would smoke less if I couldn’t quit entirely, and I’d avoid alcohol or drink only minimally.
Little did I know, just as I started my weight loss journey, I realized how incredibly difficult it was to stick to these self-imposed rules. Eating meals with my family every day, I could only watch the meat on the table and sadly nibble on a few mouthfuls of vegetables—the agony was indescribable. Especially since I was never full, by nighttime my stomach would start growling loudly in protest, and I’d often fall asleep in misery after enduring the discomfort. As for exercise, evenings were manageable, but mornings were a different story—I really didn’t want to get out of bed. It took countless internal struggles before I could force myself out from under the covers. After sticking with it for a few days, one morning during my power walk, I happened to run into a woman from my workplace who had taken a buyout. We walked and chatted together. When I mentioned that even though I was power walking, I still wasn’t sweating much, she suggested a method for me to try: wrapping my stomach with plastic wrap before exercising and removing it afterward when I got home. To my surprise, this method actually worked wonders—the area that sweated the most was my stomach. After a month, I had lost ten pounds, and I was secretly thrilled. In the second month, I continued with a light diet and switched from power walking to jogging. At first, jogging was incredibly uncomfortable—the jiggling of all my excess fat, especially around my chest, was downright unpleasant. With no other options, I had to jog while holding my chest with my hands. Sometimes, my daughter would joke with me, saying, “Dad, if you wear a sports bra next time you run, you’ll be fine.” I could only manage a wry smile. I stuck with it for another month, and this time I lost fifteen pounds. By then, I could clearly feel that my body had become lighter, and symptoms like shortness of breath and palpitations had almost disappeared entirely. So, I went in for another medical check-up, and nearly all my lab results had returned to normal. My previously sky-high triglycerides were now within the healthy range. Seeing these results, I was overjoyed—the hard work of the past two months hadn’t been in vain, and it gave me a tremendous boost of confidence to keep going. In the third month, I maintained my light diet and slightly increased both the distance and pace of my jogging—from the previous three kilometers in the morning and evening to five kilometers. Since I usually ran around my residential community, and there were always many people strolling around during those times, it didn’t feel conducive to serious running. So, I started going to the riverfront sports stadium instead. During that month of running at the stadium, I met many fellow runners who, like me, were committed to their fitness goals. Their perseverance greatly inspired me to keep going. By the end of the month, all my excess fat had vanished, and I had lost thirteen more pounds. My weight dropped from 178 to 140, and I felt refreshed and energized. For the first time in years, I could even see four distinct abs forming on my abdomen. While I was exhilarated, a question popped into my mind: now that the weight is off, will you keep going? Without hesitation, I answered myself: yes, I must keep going. Because I had come to understand one crucial truth—no matter how much money you have or how high your position may be, without good health, everything else is meaningless. I’m already in my forties, not particularly wealthy, nor have I reached any high-ranking position. If I don’t have good health, then I truly haven’t lived life to the fullest. The only thing I can do now is to maintain a strong and healthy body, so committing to running is my only choice. By a stroke of luck, I got to know my current running group, the “Happy Run Club of Hejian.” From then on, I moved my runs from the sports stadium to the outer ring road and development zones of Hejian. My running distance increased dramatically—from five kilometers to ten or even fifteen kilometers. I also met many more passionate teammates, and I was no longer running alone. From them, I learned a lot of new knowledge and gained a deeper appreciation for running. However, due to my long-term light diet and significantly increased running volume, I often felt fatigued and dizzy. At that point, Captain Wang Ping promptly pointed out the cause to me. After adjusting my diet to include more meat and other nutrients, the fatigue and dizziness disappeared. I’m truly grateful to our captain and all the teammates. You taught me the proper warm-up and cool-down stretches to prevent injuries, shared invaluable advice for long-distance running, helped me become stronger and more confident, and encouraged me with your support whenever I felt like giving up. Thank you, thank you to all my like-minded teammates. I think this is what it means to be part of a team.
The Beijing International Marathon—something I never dared to dream of before. It was only with the encouragement of Captain Ping and my teammates that I mustered the courage (though still lacking confidence) to sign up. To ensure I could finish the race smoothly, Captain Ping created a detailed training plan for me. For this marathon, I silently vowed to complete it no matter what. I strictly followed Captain Ping’s training regimen. No matter how grueling or exhausting it got, I faced it head-on because I knew that running a marathon wouldn’t just train and relax my body—it would also purify and calm my mind.
I’ll always remember something our running club’s Teacher Han once said: “Every step you take toward your goal brings you closer to your destination.” That sentence kept me going and helped me complete my very first marathon. In the end, I crossed the finish line in four hours and twenty-one minutes. While the time wasn’t outstanding, it marked the first time I had challenged myself. Though I don’t know how many more steps I’ll need to take to reach future goals, I’m certain that as long as I keep running, those goals will keep getting closer...