Country Star’s Weight Loss “To Change My Life For Me”
Shay Mooney of Dan + Shay has been traveling down the same road as me lately. At the end of spring/beginning of summer, he looked in the mirror and said, “I want to change my life for me.” He then began a life-changing journey to lose weight. This weekend he documented his adventure on Instagram.
“It’s weird not recognizing yourself,” he reflects in the caption of his post. “I got to a place mentally and physically that I will never go again.” Mooney’s caption thanked “the people in my life that helped me make a change.” He also stated that he wanted the change and “never felt more alive.” Jake Owen and his bandmate Dan Smyers praised Mooney for his hard work. And I do too. This is not an easy thing to do. I can identify so much with what he says. There comes a point when you look in the mirror or see a picture and you just can’t believe what you’re seeing. Here’s the one that did it for me.
This was taken when we were doing the show in Jamaica at the end of April. What I saw here: a. Scared me -and- b. Made me say, “Enough is enough.” When you “let yourself go” like I did, you don’t pose for many pictures. Subconsciously, you know the truth they will show, and you don’t want to face it. I was once a world class athlete (played basketball overseas representing the United States when I was in high school). Who is THIS guy? Also, it reminded me that when I was my son’s age (junior in college), I almost lost my father to a massive heart attack. I was lucky, Pop is still around to enrich my life. However, I didn’t want to put Hogan through what I went through. Now, I don’t mind posing for pictures.
This one was taken just a little more than 6 months after Debbie and I began our quest to reclaim our health. Between the two of us, all that’s missing from this picture is more than 130 pounds. I recognize these two. These two are in a good place. And on the occasion of my birthday (today), like Shay Mooney, I can honestly say, “I’ve never felt more alive.”
