There was a story in my local paper this morning about this guy but I couldn't find it online so here's the story from the San Antonio paper:
Cyclist delivers a healthy message
Web Posted: 04/25/2007 03:31 AM CDT
Wendy Rigby
KENS 5 Eyewitness News Seth Margolies is a California bariatric surgery patient who is bike-riding across the country to spread his message of healthy living.
He's riding his bicycle more than 3,000 miles from La Jolla, Calif., to St. Augustine, Fla. He stopped in San Antonio Tuesday.
To see Margolies on a bike, you'd think he's been an athlete all his life and you'd be wrong.
In 2003, he tipped the scales at 406 pounds. All of that weight was on a frame of 5 feet 7 inches. After bariatric surgery, to shrink his stomach, and a new exercise regimen, he lost more than 200 pounds.
"My options were pretty limited with the co-morbidities. It was either die before you're 40 (years old), or choose life, and I chose life," Margolies said.
Seth had laparoscopic surgery. San Antonio bariatric surgeon Dr. Sonny Cavazos calls it a "tool" for weight loss that's safer and less intimidating than it was just a few years ago. On average, 20 to 30 of the operations are done each month at Northeast Baptist Hospital alone.
"America is just becoming more and more obese. More people are faced with surgery as an only realistic option to lose weight and keep it off indefinitely," Cavazos said.
At 42 years old, Margolies is in the best shape of his life. He's already more than halfway across America on his two-wheel journey. His message for everyone is simple, he said, exercise is key to a healthy life.
"If I can take two months out of my life, and literally put my life on hold to do this fitness activity, they can take 30 minutes a day to make their lives better," Margolies said.
Margolies started his journey March 25 in California. He plans to bike 75 to 100 miles a day and finish up in Florida on May 18. You can keep track of Margolies on his blog at
www.wlslifestyles.com.
Here's his blog. It says he's a regular contributor to
WLS (Weight Loss Surgery)
Lifestyles Magazine.
... and another
link...