Reincarnation

A guy at work has returned looking a third of his original weight. He told us last January that he was taking a sabbatical and would return to his job around April/May 2009.

 Somehow, in my mind, definition of a a sabbatical – turning up for work looking a third of your original size -didn’t spring to mind.

While we had all thought of Henry as taking time off to be with his family, to plant crops in western sahara, or to irrigate land to provide water for an orphanage in Somaliland, it transpired that  Henry had instead gone under the sugreon’s knife. Trouble is, we all don’t know why. Let’s look at the evidence.

Henry, like a lot of people, was always on the larger size of life.

Tall and broad shouldered, he could hold his own in meetings, he was comfortable in his own skin, happily married with 2 wonderful boys. So we all thought. Henry had increased in girth as the months rolled on, and was settled into importing his clothes from the United States.

 In the meantime, Henry had taken a long hard look at himself in a full length mirror, the first time in over 20 years, and didn’t like what he saw.

He started a health kick, banned junk food and canned fizzy sodas,  and left behind the fried greasy foods and huge portions, exchanging them for salmon, grilled chicked and salads, and lots of water. He started running after 3 months, gradually increasing the distance, and within a year he had shed 7 stone. He had been left with a huge flap of skin hanging down from his navel, and had elected for surgery to remove it.

It’s like dropping a pebble in a stream, the ripple effect of his weight loss on the staff at work has been incredible, I see people taking the stairs instead of using the elevator, I see people going to the gym at lunch break, people who had always smoked suddenly cutting it out altogether. This has to be a good thing.

I just hope that this is a lifestyle change and not just a fleeting semblance of calm for Henry, as if he ever slips up it could all reverse itself within a matter of weeks.

For the meanwhile, his new look knocks em dead.