Suck It Up, Buttercup: A Health and Fitness Journey

Suck It Up, Buttercup: A Health and Fitness Journey

by Bob Watts, Vice President

I was lucky in my health journey in many ways. A weight problem had developed over the years, and when I broke my leg in early 2022, I really ballooned—up to 252 pounds with a BMI of 37.2. Diets failed me, and I was too exhausted for meaningful exercise. I hated seeing photos of myself and had to prop my feet up on a chair just to tie my shoes. My sleep apnea was extreme, and I was pre-diabetic, with Type 2 diabetes running in my family. To jump to the end: today I’m about 176 pounds, having lost roughly 30% of my body weight in 18 months. The only thing my PCP nags me about now is a Vitamin D deficiency.

My wife, Linda, was patient, but she’d already embarked on her own weight-loss and fitness journey, showing good results. She came home from her wellness clinic in May 2024 with my intake appointment card in hand. I faced the music. The whole-body scan readout wasn’t pretty. The NP said I needed to get under control and promised help. She prescribed Zepbound, but the real wake-up call came from the nutritionist: 1,200 calories a day ad infinitum, no carbs (even ruling out veggies I thought were safe), strict limits on fruit and meat. Ugh.

To me, Zepbound (tirzipatide like Mounjaro) was a miracle drug. It slashed my cravings and appetite. I charted meals, counting calories and protein, and the weight started dropping rapidly. I felt better fast, and those early successes supercharged my willpower to keep going.

Frankly, I’d quit drinking years earlier when it became a problem—an occupational hazard fueled by my diplomatic career’s social scene. You can stop booze cold, but you can’t just stop eating. I leaned on the same mental mindset, the 12 Steps of weight loss. One day at a time. Single malt Scotch? Fine for the other guys, not me. French fries? Pie? Treats for skinny folks.

We live two blocks from the JCC of Northern Virginia, with top-notch exercise facilities. We also work out with a personal trainer—a woman in her early 60s in phenomenal shape. On Shabbat mornings, she’s a nice Jewish lady in services who does hagbah. In the gym? A retired Marine Lt. Colonel paratrooper (no joke) who say things like, “Suck it up, buttercup.” Linda and I train together with her, and I won’t even snag a cookie at kiddush—she might be watching!

I’ve stuck to the diet and exercise regimen, and it’s paid off. In December 2024, I visited the Abayudaya Jews in Uganda: tons of walking, rappelling off a waterfall, , hiking a national park teeming with beasts. Before? No chance. I went on stage at the FJMC Convention, gave a toast at our son’s July wedding without fearing the photos.

Today, I’m holding steady in the mid-170s, with way more energy, vastly improved sleep apnea, and progressively tougher workouts. Never imagined baggy clothes would be an issue, but weekly, more hits the thrift store pile.

I was lucky: a partner on the same path, insurance covering meds and consults, prime access to fitness resources. But the journey demands more—support plus rock-solid habits. Fit marathon-running MDs, DOs, and NPs, etc., can hand out best-practice lists, but you also need mental health pros to help you internalize them for sustainability. Above all, your whole community—family, friends—must get your challenges and cheer you on. Weight loss and health improvement are best practiced as a team
sport and I’m on a winning team!