Grateful 365 days/year…

When I think of what I am grateful for, the list is honestly endless. Gratitude is a fullness of life. The ability to see gratitude and everything – whether good or bad – is freeing. It brings the whole process of gratitude full circle, allowing us to learn and be full of gratitude in ways we never thought possible.  

I am grateful for so many things in my life that I can’t describe. Here’s just a few that come to my mind.

My wife.

My 3 girls.

My 7 grandchildren which is growing to 9 in May ’22 with my oldest daughter having twins!

My health.

My 3 son-in-laws.

My Mom and Dad.

My brother.

My friends and acquaintances.

My jobs.

My hobbies.

My skin cancer.

Life Is Grand…DO Grateful. DO Always Smile. DO Stay Happy. DO Give people hugs. Don’t Complain. DO Positive. DO Work Hard, DO Play Hard. DO Relax Harder. Say: I Love You, Please, Thank You and You’re Welcome. Laugh. Cry. Love.  Never talk about money, religion or politics. Put down your phone when driving. Listen to LOUD good music. Slow down, everything will get done. Do good for people. Leave your road rage in your residence. Let People Merge on Expressways. Use your turn signals. Life is short, enjoy everyday! Take your “ME” time daily. Call people on the phone.

Be grateful for intangible blessings such as improved health, financial stability and personal growth. Live life to the fullest. Be grateful for what you have and what you’ve earned. 

I could bore you with all the details of everything I’m grateful in my life, but I’ll just describe the most grateful thing in my life: MY WIFE!

My wife. Is the hardest working woman that I know. What she does for her family and me can’t always be talked about with words. Just witnessing with my own 2 eyes as to what she does for people is heartbreaking and rewarding. She does for others when others are not expecting something. I’ve seen her randomly give my girls and grandchildren something just to do it. She never expects anything in return. The kindness in her heart is just what she gives, She would do anything for anybody and the fanfare is not something that she publicly needs to announce to the world. I love her.

Talk / Text / Email me… Anytime.

Rick Gosser

talk or text  219-808-9888

email: gosserrick@sbcglobal.net

web: http://www.rickgosser.com

How old is old? Only as old as you feel.

I think back to when I was young, growing up and remember that first day when someone asked me How old is old? Well when you’re in your middle school years, 20 is old. When you are in your 20’s, 30 is old. When you are in your 30’s, 40 is old. When you are in your 40’s, 50 is old. You can see the pattern here. I became a runner at the young age of 51 after losing 135# during my 50th and 51st year of life. Before that I was just an average obese person who kept saying: I need to go on a diet.” For so many years I just kept buying larger clothes to fit my body as it got bigger. Nothing is worse than trying to wear clothes that are too small and feeling uncomfortable. It was just easier to keep buying the next size up thinking that I was going to lose weight and fit back into that size that was too small. When we went on vacation or visited an amusement park, it was normal (well, maybe not normal) for me to sit on a bench outside of a roller coaster and be asleep when everyone got off the ride. Oh, there is Dad… sleeping again! They would abruptly wake up me up and I’d say “I’m not sleeping, just resting my eyes.” In reality, I could sleep anywhere, anytime, anyplace and never even cared what other people thought. Like I said, it was normal for me. I was always tired. Being over 300# surely didn’t help.

In 2010, I had that light bulb click on in my head that said, enough is enough, I’m sick and tired of being, sick and tired. I weighed it at 310# when I finally decided to get serious and set a goal to lose 100#. What began at 310#, ended at my lowest weight of 175#. In 2011, I had emergency detached retina surgery and I had to have a quick physical the afternoon before my night surgery ands the doctor said I was too skinny. People kept asking me “Are you sick?, My response was YES… I was sick and tired of weighing 310# and I finally decided to do something about it.

Back to old age thing… at the young age of 51 and finally being fit, it was time to do some adventureous things that I never could do when I was fat. I losely can use the “F” word, FAT because for so many years I had been there, done that.

After I turned 51, the adventures began running and completing the 2013 Chicago Marathon. I say completing, because 1-2% of the people who start that marathon, don’t finish it. So, between 500-900 people start but don’t finish. I also never fell down, vomited, crawled or passed out… Just finished! Those were my 5 marathon goals. I clearly remember a women who told me in 2012 that I could never run a marathon. “You Can’t Do That.” I ran the 2013 Chicago Mararthon! The 18-week training program was enough to kill me, but I was committed to running it. I don’t need to run a marathon every month to say that I’m a Marathoner… One and done is fine by me, I will always be a Marathoner!

Speaking of accomplishments, I’ve been able to do many since 2010 all after the age of 50:

Lost 135#’s

Got braces

Was on the NBC Today Show for losing over 100#’s

Had knee surgery

Had cataract eye surgery

Had emergency detached retina eye surgery

Ran 10-1/2 Marathons

Ran the 2013 Chicago Marathon 

Had my varicose veins removed in my legs in 2013

Skydived out of airplanes ✈️ at 18,000’

Did 8-Hustle Up the Hancock stair climbs

Got scuba diving certified 

Became a Triathlete 🏊‍♂️ 🚴 🏃 

Biked 🚴 numerous 100-milers all in one day

Welcomed 7 grandchildren into my life

Travel the world, thanks to my wife

Became a licensed softball and baseball umpire

Fast forward to 2021… at the young age of 62… I am once again having my varicose veins removed in my legs! I continue to watch 3/4 grandkids 3-days a week, I continue to umpire softball or baseball 5-6 nights a week (now indoors for the winter).

So, if you are down and out and think you will not, you won’t or you can’t do something in life… re-think and say YES, YOU CAN! Age set aside, everything is POSSIBLE, anything is POSSIBLE.

Talk / Text / Email me… Anytime.

Rick Gosser

talk or text  219-808-9888

email: gosserrick@sbcglobal.net

Take Care of the one thing nobody can take away from you, YOUR BODY!

Celebrate the good things in life! 

Ten years ago this year at (50 years young) I had cataract surgery in my right eye followed by emergency detached retina surgery two weeks later on the same eye. On 9/7/21 I was reminded by my Ophthalmologist Dr.  Rezaei that his warranty is still intact (LOL) with 20/20 in my right eye and 20/25 in my left eye. He said it would be okay to have the minor cataract removed in my left eye but that scary emergency detached retina surgery clearly sticks in my head like it was yesterday. He suggested a tweak in my eyeglass subscription to make up for the slight cataract would work just as well for now. On 9/9/21 I saw my regular eye doctor who confirmed and recommended that the vision in my left eye does not warrant cataract surgery right now. It’s coming within the next few years. He also said that being 10 years older also reduces any chance of detached retina. In the meantime, I ordered new glasses and frames to accommodate my left eye vision. 

At the end of September 2021, at the young age of 62, I begin the process of removing the varicose veins from my legs for the 2nd time in 8 years. Both of these things remind me of the things that my body has endured since 2010.

I could tell you the year that I had everything done but that is really irrelevant. Since 2010, I lost 135# all naturally, I was LIVE on The NBC Today Show for losing over 100#, had braces in my mouth for 18-months to fix my crooked teeth, had a knee surgery, had cataract surgery, had emergency detached retina surgery, ran 10-1/2 Marathons, ran many 5k’s, 10k’s and 15k’s, ran the 2013 Chicago Marathon (yep, 26.2 miles), skydived out of airplanes at 18,000’, successfully did 8-Hustle Up the Hancock stair climbs, became a certified scuba diver, became a Triathlete 🏊‍♂️ 🚴 🏃 3 times over, biked 🚴 numerous all in one day 100-mile bike rides, had a root canal and got a tooth crown, had skin cancer removed from my left shoulder.

I also have leg pressed 500#, deadlifted 275# and I give blood every 56 days 

My weight loss story was featured in the Joy Bauer book that was released on March 23, 2012 Joy Fit Club: Cookbook, Diet Plan & Inspiration An inspirational book, with 30 stories of ordinary people who have all lost over 100#(+) naturally and are working hard to keep it off. 

I have Never Give Up, Never Quit motto in life. Work Hard. Play Hard. Relax Harder is my best life motto!

As a baseball and softball umpire who’s gigs are mostly on the dish (behind the plate), warrants 180-240 squats every game. On a doubleheader day, that 360-480 squats in 3-hours. ON a tournament day with 4 games, it’s 720-960 squats in 6-7 hours! That’s a challenge I would ask anyone 1/2 my age to accomplish. Which one of you is ready to become an umpire?

On 8/1/21 I stepped on the scale and found myself 40# over my goal. I immediately started to begin doing something about dropping that weight. Walking daily or riding my bike and I’m down 6# in the first month and working hard to get my goal back. 

This summer I have swam pool lengths just about everyday and have seen my biceps grow larger than I have ever seen them. 

With September beginning, my goal is to hit the gym 2-3 days a week to lift weights and get back to the leg press weight and deadlift weight back I had done before. Trying to get 500m of rowing back under 1:55. Riding my bike outside as much as I can and continue my pool lengths swimming.

Nobody is stopping me from doing any or all of these things except for myself. Change begins in the mirror, so let’s go!

Bring fuel to your life. Keep doing the things that keep you alive. Mentally, physically and spiritually.

#ThisIs62YearsYoung

Talk / Text / Email me… Anytime.

Rick Gosser

talk or text  219-808-9888

email: gosserrick@sbcglobal.net

YOU Gotta Be Having FUN Doing Your Jobs! Otherwise, Why Would You Continue To Do Them? Stop Doing Last Minute Jobs/Orders. CHANGE begins in the MIRROR!

I know I know…. I have to work my job to make money. But, if you aren’t have fun, why continue?

I don’t and never will do everything perfect. I’m not an expert in anything. I’m a guru of nothing.

I do know how to have FUN in life, work hard and do things for other people that they never expect.

The element of surprise to see people SMILE is what brings JOY to my heart!

When I’m on a softball or baseball diamond, I tell people all the time… Coaches need to have FUN, players need to have FUN, parents need to have FUN and YES, Us umpires need to have FUN. If any one of those aren’t having FUN… it’s time to find a new thing to do.

One of my fun jobs is to umpire softball and baseball and this fall I’m giving it the old college try and will begin to officiate volleyball 🏐! I get asked to accept assignments 6-9 months out on my calendar. I spend lots of time managing these gigs along with other work and life happening things. Doing things last minute, like taking a phone call from someone mid-afternoon asking if I can umpire a 6:00pm game… just isn’t going to happen. Many people have told me that I’m a very good umpire and I train hard to keep up this statue. Including clinics, on-line zoom calls, in-person discussions with umpires about “what if” scenarios and critiquing our games.

How far out do you plan your work? Are you taking jobs/orders last minute? This is where mistakes are made! This is all on you if you continue to accept last minute requests. Stick to your guns and plan ahead!

CHANGE begins in the mirror! There is no book out there that can teach you to make changes. It has to begin within! 

On July 31 2021 it felt like I was beginning to gain weight. The last time I stepped on a scale was June 1, 2021. You have to know me really well and that in 2010 when I lost 135# I used to weight myself daily. On July 31 2021, I weighed myself and had actually lost 3.2# from my last weigh-in. Still knowing that CHANGE begins in the mirror I made a conscious decision that it was CHANGE time. I decided to exercise daily. Do something that includes moving differently for at least 30-minutes a day. It could be weight lifting at my local YMCA, taking a walk around the block, riding my bicycle, swimming more consistently. I have to say I’ve successfully done some kind of exercise for 4 days.

I haven’t clipped into my road bicycle, but that day is coming. I go back to the days when I rode my bike daily, to a few days a week, to a few days a month, to now never riding. Life gets busy but it’s just an excuse to me. I will clean my bike of the cobwebs and begin riding again very soon!

I’m hoping to continue on with my daily exercising. No more excuse not to. I’m still young!

#ThisIs62YearsYoung

#IDontDoLastMinuteRequests

Talk / Text / Email me… Anytime.

Rick Gosser

talk or text  219-808-9888

email: gosserrick@sbcglobal.net

2021 Umpiring… of high school games! Let the games continue on. Have FUN!

2021 brings umpiring baseball and softball games which is exciting for all the players, coaches, parents, grandparents, friends, families, fans and YES, even the umpires! As we all know the 2020 season was a wash for those same people and the seniors of 2020.

Fast forward 1-year later and we have baseball and softball again. My 1st game was 3/25/21 and the coaches were so happy to be playing baseball again. They haven’t been on a diamond for a live game in 2 years. Think about that… not be able to really do a job you love for 2 years! The coaches hung in there and yesterday proved that they still have the fire to coach the game and the players were just as excited!

I guess I was one of the lucky umpires because I started umpiring again in June 2020 with youth and adult baseball. The plate umpiring was actually done behind the pitchers mound for a few weeks. That position made it very interesting to call a game as seeing the lines down the baselines was a guess on a ball was hit down them. It basically was a guess. Behind the plate started after the 4th of July and it felt quite good to be back there.

Umpiring continued until October 2020 outside, then we went inside a dome from December 2020 to March 2021. The last dome tournament is this weekend and then all games will be outside.

Umpiring spring high school baseball and softball can be really interesting between the early game changes because schools may not have a JV or Freshman team, the weather can be chilly, the rain can wash out a game or 2 and of course fields with no lights can hinder a full game finish.

Regardless of all of that… it’s still fun to be getting outside and calling balls and strikes on the dish. Yesterday’s baseball game started out at 50 degrees, wind, sprinkles of rain, more wind and a temperature drop to 40 degrees in less than 2 hours. The best thing about the game was each batter started with a 1-1 count and each team batted 10 per inning. No score was kept. The game was only 4 innings. It was my first time umpiring a full out scrimmage game which was FUN for all.

If you like baseball or softball, I encourage you to take in a game or 2 of your favorite high school as they want to play, see fans cheering them on and enjoy some outside weather this spring.

Talk / Text / Email me… Anytime.

Rick Gosser

talk or text  219-808-9888

email: gosserrick@sbcglobal.net

web:  Rick Gosser

How To Thrive in 2021 & Beyond!

Everyone has an opinion about everything if you just ask people. The key to a successful ’21 is to not ask. It’s not that I don’t care about people but asking them can sometimes lead to a very long one-sided conversation about them and everything going on in their life that I’ll call… The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

It’s easy to fall into that feel sorry for me trap. Focus on the good things in life. Never compare yourself to other people, just do what you think is your best!  Focus on the good things that you can control! 

We are the ones that get in our way the most, aren’t we? By Getting Out Of Your Own Way!

There are always plenty of reasons why reaching our goals may seem difficult or impossible. There are sometimes things out of our control seemingly holding us back. Let’s focus on the one thing we can control… OURSELVES!

5 ideas to Get Out of Your Own Way and THRIVE IN 2021 & Beyond!

1️⃣ Know the Deeper Meaning “Why” You Want to Reach Your Goal

Wanting to get in better shape to look good in a bikini or swim suit is not a deep enough ‘why’. Wanting to look good period, in my opinion, is not a deep enough why to keep you taking action everyday. It’s got to be deeper than that. It’s got to be about how you want to live your life, the example you want to set, and for the health of it.

2️⃣ Give Yourself Some Grace

Probably the most common reason I see so many people quit (or never start) is because they are incredibly hard on themselves.

A long term lifestyle of fitness is not about perfection. It is about making healthy habits a part of your daily life, but it doesn’t mean you are 100% all of the time.

3️⃣ Stop Procrastinating Getting Started

You are waiting for Monday, for the New Year, until life settles down, until the challenge starts.

Start now. 

What is one thing you can do right now to launch yourself into healthy habits?

4️⃣ Believe You Can

You compare. You feel like you’ve blown it. You’ve quit so many times before at different things, you are afraid you will quit again. Is it lack of belief in yourself holding you back from getting started?

This one is personal. It’s an inside job, right?

5️⃣ Get on a Plan with Accountability

You know what to do. You know how to do it. You just haven’t, right?

You need a plan. Maybe you need a coach. You need some accountability to help you develop this healthy lifestyle that will last forever.

I’m not an expert in anything, BUT MYSELF!

Contact me anytime and let’s talk either in person or virtually! 

Rick Gosser

text or talk 219-808-9888

email: gosserrick@sbcglobal.net

Web: www.rickgosser.com

Blog: https://ididityoucantwo.wordpress.com

The Struggle Is Still Real… 10 years after I lost 135#’s in 2010!

In 2010, I lost 135#’s all naturally with no pills , no potions, and no surgeries. My lowest weight was 175# in the summer of 2011. As an obese person the majority of my adult life it’s always been a struggle to lose weight and once I do lose weight, the struggle to keep it off is real. Just like a roller coaster goes up and down, up and down and up and down so does the weight on the scale of any obese person. I can only speak for myself and that’s all I can ever control and that would be myself. In 2010, I topped out the scale at 310# and decided on 1/1/10 that I was sick-n-tired of being sick-n-tired. I set a goal to lose 💯#’s by Thanksgiving 2010. I knew what I had eat and do to lose weight, but the motivation had to be within. 

The family joke was always on me because I could sleep anywhere, anytime and any place because I was a very obese man and fat. I was made fun of and laughed at by people in my own family… “there is he sleeping again in public.” I literally could just fall asleep in the middle of a theme park on a bench. I never even thought that was wrong in anyway. I just thought that was part of life. I soon realized that wasn’t natural.

On the morning of 1/1/10, I awoke and thought, I’m sick and tired of just being sick and tired. I researched it and thought I had sleep apnea. Within a week I got tested for sleep apnea where I got hooked up to wires and machines and sleep there overnight. A few days later, a lady called and said I have good news and bad news and I should probably come in. It was 1-mile away so I went. She said the good news is you don’t have sleep apnea. The bad news is you need to lose some weight. She was the size of me and another 1/2 of me put together and that round. Now keeping in mind that I weighed 310#’s at that time, so I was like WOW! I thought to myself “that sure is calling the kettle black”. My verbal response to her was, I’m happy I don’t have sleep apnea (because I had already decided that my life was gonna be on a cPap machine the rest of my life), and you’re right, I will lose weight. She said “that’s what everyone tells me”. Well, that’s the difference between me and everyone else. When I say I’m gonna do something, I’m gonna do it. 

I had no grandchildren in 2010 and thought if I ever have any grandchildren I sure wanna see them and keep up with them. Today, I have 7 with the last one born on June 22, 2020!

I had done many, many diets in my past, but thought I need more than a diet, I needed a lifestyle change. 

If you ever think that’s it too late in life, you’re too old (or young in my case) to make changes in your life… think again. 

At the age of 50, I decided to really do something about it this time. Just like always I started a diet of some kind and really didn’t lose to much weight in the first 3 months of 2010. It wasn’t until I saw a picture of me taken by one of my daughters in Mexico in a red shirt in March 2010 looking really fat and miserable that I decided to make some major changes in my life. It wasn’t until August of 2010 when my wife handed me a book called “Your Inner Skinny” and said Kate and I have been using this book for a week, why don’t you try it? I said, okay and that’s the real story of my life changes for the best.

My weight over the last 3 years has been nothing but that roller coaster effect again, 258, 244, 209, 233, 246, 217, 234, 240, 238, 234.

So, to gain weight at the young age 60 in 2010 didn’t make me happy… But that was my choice to be lazy. Having a minor surgery that required 9 stitches was just enough to not allow me to exercise for 30+ days thus the weight gain. I’m not one to shy away from showing people that I too can gain weight and lose it also at my young age. It’s never too late in life EVER to start a weight loss journey. I look at my 310# “Fat Rick” picture every day because it hangs in front of me while I’m at my desk and that there reminds me to never go back there to that look. Someone said to me this morning, “Why did you post a scale picture of your weight on social media?” Some say, No picture… it didn’t happen. I just wanted to put it out there and show people that if I can lose weight at 61, turning 62 in July 2021, that anyone can do it. If it inspires just 1 person to get heathy and fit, then it worked!

Fast forward to 2021! Today 1/18/21, I’m on the scale and it reads 233.6#. That puts me 23.6# above my goal. Yesterday, someone asked me about Intermittent Fasting so today I too am beginning IF.

My additional motivation again coming from someone who told me I couldn’t something. “You can’t do that. You’re told old.”

I’m quickly reminded that my motivation comes from within me and the fact that someone tells me that is just what I needed to hear. I’m not on a mission to lose weight again and get into shape for anyone but ME! Intermittent Fasting has it’s own skeptical people but once again I don’t care what people think. Many people out there think it’s perfectly okay to tell people what they should or shouldn’t be doing. If I took everything people said to me seriously then I would never do anything in life.

I clearly remember a women who told me in 2012 that I could never run a marathon. “You Can’t Do That.” I ran the 2013 Chicago Marathon! The 18-week training program was enough to kill me, but I was committed to running it without falling down, throwing up or crawling. I’m happy to say that I accomplished all of those goals. I don’t need to run a marathon every month to say that I’m a Marathoner… One and done is fine by me, I will always be a Marathoner! 

Speaking of accomplishments, I’ve been able to do many since 2010 all after the age of 50:

Lost 135#’s

Got braces

Was LIVE on the NBC Today Show

Had knee surgery

Had detached retina surgery

Ran 10-1/2 Marathons

Ran the 2013 Chicago Marathon 

Had my varicose veins removed in my legs

Skydived out of airplanes ✈️ at 18,000’

Did 8-Hustle Up the Hancock stair climbs

Got scuba diving certified 

Became a Triathlete 🏊‍♂️ 🚴 🏃 

Biked 🚴 numerous 100-milers all in one day

Welcomed 7 grandchildren into my life

Traveled the world thanks to my wife

Became a licensed softball and baseball umpire

So, if you are down and out and think you won’t or can’t do something in life… re-think and say YES YOU CAN!

#NeverGiveUp #NeverQuit #2021isgreat #ThisIs61YearYoung

Talk / Text / Email me… Anytime.

Rick Gosser

talk or text  219-808-9888

email: gosserrick@sbcglobal.net

web:  Rick Gosser

DO LIFE, DO KIND, DO SMILE, DO HAPPY… Getting the idea yet?

When I started watching my grandchildren and spend lots of time with them, I take them with me everywhere. Sometimes I’m toting 3 of them with me. Some were walking, some were crawling and some were in a baby carrier. My point is nothing is going to stop me from doing what has to be done in a normal day. We would talk to people and DO kind to them in all facets of a day. They learned to smile as soon as they were born because if you know me at all, “I’m the selfie KING.”  LOL

Hanging with me you learn how to smile at an early age and we DO talk to everyone!

Some of my grandchildren are what I call “social lights”, just like me and that is perfectly fine. DO kind and DO talk to all people is OK. It’s healthy, fun and makes us all learn about people.

One of my granddaughters is especially social as she waves, smiles and is always saying Hi and Goodbye to everyone. She has learned to not be afraid of anyone or anything. She was jumping into a swimming pool when she was a little over 1 when I was in the pool and sometimes she just stepped in thinking that someone would be there to pull her out of the water. I always got to her, but she did go underwater many times.

Teach young children how to DO kind & social… DO ALL IN! Have “NO FEAR”

So many people want change, but they are afraid to begin make those changes. They fear the outcome. Stop complaining about stuff you can’t change. Worrying about something that may never happen is not healthy. The majority of those things never ever happen. Live life to the fullest and just appreciate all that you have

DO HAVE FUN. 

DO KIND.

DO LAUGH MORE.

DO LOVE.  

DO SMILE. 

DO HAPPY.

DO EXERCISE. 

DO TAKE VACATIONS. 

DO YOU. 

DO LIVE LIFE. 

DO WORK HARD. 

DO PLAY HARD.

DO RELAX HARDER. 

DO YOU! INSPIRE YOURSELF #NoExcuses #NeverGiveUp #NeverQuit

Rick Gosser

talk or text   219-808-9888

email:  gosserrick@sbcglobal.net 

web: Rick Gosser

KIDS MAKE THE RULES…

I played sandlot baseball quite a bit when I was kid. Kids played sandlot baseball to do something when not in school. We walked around our neighborhoods carrying a baseball, a mitt and a baseball bat knocking on doors. Can Timmy come out and play baseball? As we gathered up more kids to play walking around knocking on doors, the goal was to get 13 players so that 4 could bat and there were 9 fielders at all times. If we had less than 13, then right field was out! If the batter, hit the ball to right field it was an automatic out. Knowing that it turned us all into pull hitters. If you did hit it to right field, your were out. You would grab your mitt and go play a position so that another kid could go hit. That position player became a batter and then the game would continue. You kept batting until you made an out. Life should be that way! Keep going until you get an out in your own mind!

Everyone had a favorite position in sandlot baseball. Mine was first base and catcher. I was a pudgy boy so being a catcher was a good place for me, very little running. All the fatter kids caught! lol  First base was just as good, very little moving. All I had to do was catch the ball from the stud infielders. Cell phones weren’t a thing in the 1970’s when I was a kid. My parents had a rotary phone hanging on the wall with a 50′ cord so that we could take our private conversations into different rooms and talk.

We didn’t carry around cell phones in our back pockets because they didn’t exist in 1970’s so we didn’t have to worry about falling down or sliding wrong and smashing our phones. We just had to deal with a beat up body from falling and bruised butt cheeks from sliding incorrectly. When we hit the ball and ran we might have to slide so cell phones wouldn’t of worked in our back pocket anyways. None of the kids wanted to make an out! They just wanted to keep batting so they did just about did anything to never make an out. Bunt, hit it hard and hope the line drive made it to the outfield where an outfielder couldn’t catch it. Hits in-between the outfielders were the best because the possibility of stretching that single into a double was always on the mind as soon as you knew the baseball got past the infielder. 

It was a time in my life where adults weren’t involved with sandlot baseball, kids made the rules. If one of the kids didn’t do something right like touch 2nd base on a home run, we would stop the game and ask,. “Hey, did you touch 2nd base on that home run?” Most of the time the player knew if he touched 2nd base or not and nobody called him out, made fun of him, gave him a hard time or said anything negative to him. The runners would return to where they started before that batter hit the baseball and the player who hit the home run but forgot to touch 2nd base would return to home plate for a batting re-do. Now they have instant replay in baseball. Back in the 1970’s it was honesty. The player would get questioned by someone in the field and that was the 70’s replay. There never was a wrong or right answer. If the batter honestly admitted he missed 2nd base then it was a re-do. If the batter said, yep I touched every base then that answer was acceptable and the game went on. It truly would be nice if life was that way today. Accept the answer that someone says and move on. Re-set your mind, body and soul and start all over again. Dwelling on something that someone says and not letting it go can only be stressful and not healthy for the person. Kids just move onto to something else and they don’t look back or hold grudges. Let’s all start living our lives like kids with a kids make the rules attitude in life.

Talk / Text / Email me… Anytime.

Rick Gosser

talk or text  219-808-9888

email: gosserrick@sbcglobal.net

web:  Rick Gosser

My Inner Motivation… life, weight, grandchildren, adventures, relaxation

November 2020: I recently signed up to do a new adventure and the person I told I wanted to do it told me “You Can’t Do It.” Apparently they don’t know me well enough because that’s exactly the words I like to hear from people because that’s what motivates my inner self.

Flashback to early 2010 when I was tested for sleep apnea. I got tested for sleep apnea where I got hooked up to wires and machines and sleep there overnight. A few days later, a lady called and said I have good news and bad news and I need to come in. It was 1–mile away so I went. She said the good news is you don’t have sleep apnea. The bad news is you need to lose some weight. She was a the same size as me and I was fat. I thought to myself “that sure is calling the kettle black”. My response to her was, I’m happy I don’t have sleep apnea (because I had already decided that my life was gonna be on a cPap machine the rest of my life), and you’re right I will lose weight. She said “that’s what everyone tells me”. Well, that’s the difference between me and everyone else. When I say I’m gonna do something, I’m gonna do it. 

I stepped on the scale and weighed 310#. I decided I wanted to change my life. I got serious on 8-1-10 at 310#’s and on 11-1-10, I weighed 205#. With no pills, no potions and no surgeries… I lost 135# all naturally in 4 months and eventually got my weight down to 175#! 

That was the beginning of many things in my life that I never could do when I weighed 310#.

Here are just a few POSITIVE things that has CHANGED my life in the past 10 years

Life of Rick Gosser = CHANGE!!!

Before 2010 – 310# and no grandchildren 

Since 2010… All after the young age of 50 and now 7 grandchildren in 2020!

2010 – (50/51) Got braces. (On for 19-months). Lost 135# in 4 months all naturally. Had 2 knee surgeries. 11-29-10 on the NBC Today Show see: www.RickGosser.com

2011 – (51/52) – Became a runner at 50. I had emergency detached retina eye surgery (June 2011). I began my streak of running 10-1/2 marathons and too many 5K, 10K and 15K to remember.

2012 – (52/53) Joy Bauer featured me in her March 23, 2012 book Joy Fit Club: Cookbook, Diet Plan & Inspiration An inspirational book, with 30 stories of ordinary people who have all lost over 100#(+) naturally and are working hard to keep it off. 

2013 (53/54) – I had my varicose veins removed at 54. I ran the Chicago Marathon in 2013 (My 1st ever). Skydived for my very first time 2 weeks after running the marathon. My Uncle Bob passed away.

2014 – (54/55) My running miles: Jan-June 342. End of August 500. End of December total of 660.

2015 – (55/56) I starting biking at 56. 6,000 miles or 400 hours on 2-wheels. And just started biking lots because it was fun and I enjoyed it. 1st and 2nd grandchildren were born.

2016 – (56/57) I got certified in scuba diving. Accomplished my 1st Triathlon at 56. 1/4 mile swim, 13 miles bike, 3.1 mile run (now done 2). Took handgun shooting classes and got my license to carry gun permit. 3rd grandchild born.

2017 – (57/58) I climbed the stairs for the 8th time at the Hustle Up The Hancock in Chicago. 812 stairs and 52 floors. I biked my 2nd 100-mile ride all in one day in Three Oaks, MI. I was literally pedaling for 8-hours! I visited Glacier National Park with most of my family and hiked the Highline Trail with one of my son-in-laws. It was a 13-mile hike in the mountains. I vacationed in Switzerland, France, Germany and Netherlands, Florida, Boston I no longer have to take cholesterol medicine! Woot! Woot! No meds for me! One of my brother-in-laws passed away after fighting cancer for 3 years. 4th and 5th grandchildren born.

2018 – (58/59) The thought of doing a triathlon this year came to me on the night after we returned from a European vacation as I was swimming in my pool on July 14, 2018. I knew there was a local one coming up in August. I went online in between swims and signed up for the LaPorte, IN Triathlon on August 4th. I immediately thought I need to start swimming every day until that day. I completed my 2nd Triathlon this year.

Things to say about KOZ, My Father-In-Law who passed away 2-days after Christmas 2018. 41 years ago when I met my wife Jolynn’s Dad, I knew he was a very special man because he said “Yes to me marrying his oldest daughter.” My wife, Jolynn has lost her “LIFE ROCK.” 👼 I always loved his willingness to become the referee or umpire from the stands in a heartbeat! In my early years of marriage when I coached LL baseball (b4 my girls) he was thrown out of the stands by an umpire just being a fan. Koz didn’t like what the umpire was saying about me and he was defending me. To this day I can remember that like it was yesterday! The KOZ Family Patriarch has gone to heaven and will again be with my brother-in-law, Bill. I can hear KOZ saying to Bill: “What’s the good word?

2019 – (59/60) I took IMPROV classes with a friend of mine. I started lifting weights & deadlifted 260#, leg pressed 560#. 6th grandchild born. Celebrated our 40th Wedding Anniversary in Hawaii with our entire family in a house that slept all 16 of us!

2020 – (60/61) My wife & I vacationed in Puerta Vallerta, Mexico and saw Lizzo and Shaed perform live 50′ away from our faces in Feb 2020. March… Say no more, COVID. It has changed everyone’s life. All vacations cancelled and many life things shut down. Both my wife and myself tested negative for the virus. 7th grandchild born. December 2020, planning a vacation to DisneyWorld. Booked a vacation to the Galapagos Island in 2022. Booked a vacation to Egypt for 2021. Booked a vacation to Oktoberfest in Germany 2021.

I ride 💯 miles in day on my bike just for fun!

My rollercoaster of weight:

2017: 1/30/17….. 258 12/31/17… 209.8. Down 48.2#’s

2018 – 1/1/18… 209 12/1/18… 233 Up 24#

2019 – 1/1/19… 246 4/16… 240 8/16… 217.8

2020 – 1/1/20… 234 11/1/20… 224.6 My goal is to weight 200# again!

Flashback to 1.10.10: I was in DisneyWorld with my wife and my 3 daughters and I was awoken by the sound of loud music on Saturday morning around 5:30 a.m. My response was “what the hell” and who is playing that music so LOUD! I lumbered my fat ass (all 310#) of it out of bed and took a walk because now I was awake. Come to find out it was just a bunch of people doing some kind of a run. I thought at 5:30 in the frickin’ morning? As I think back on that day… I told my wife when I returned to the room, it was just a bunch of people doing a run. Couldn’t they do it at a decent time when the rest of us was awake?

I told my wife that would be fun to do if I was a runner, not sure if I would run it at 5:30 a.m., but it would be fun to do if I could do it. Fast forward to 1.10.13… And that day 3 years ago was actually the first day of my transformation and I didn’t even know it. I mean I was actually on a diet that I had started on 1.1.10, but never knew that I would actually be running what I now know as the DisneyWorld 1/2 Marathon let alone be taking my entire family… wife, girls, 2 husbands and 1 fiancée on this trip.

I wrote the following on 1.11.13!

As of today 11.1.10 I have lost 105# and weigh 205#. What? That is crazy! On 11.26.10, I was on the NBC Today Show with Hoda, Kathy Lee and Joy Bauer as I was inducted into the Joy Fit Club for losing that 105#. I flew from Chicago to New York City, walked around Rockefeller Plaza, went on TV, saw Michael Bubbla, the Kardasian sisters, and met the entire NBC Today Show staff and flew home all in 24 hours. I felt like a rock star. 2 weeks later I spoke to 3,500 people and 40,000+ via skype about my weight loss as I created this blog, a PowerPoint presentation about my fat life, and showed my video during a lunch and learn. People were actually shoving their food aside when my video was playing. How funny? The video shows me eating more calories a day than you could imagine. How do you think I maintained those 310#? I was wrote about in the local newspaper 2 times and was given an accommodation by the Mayor Uran of the City of Crown Point for my accomplishment. I surely did not lose all of this weight for this kind of attention, but I was riding the wave. In the months to follow, I spoke to many groups, organizations and church weight loss groups about Been There, Done That! My focus turned from Look at Me to I want to inspire YOU! 

In Feb 2011, I did my first extreme adventure thing… I ran up the stairwell of the John Hancock Building in Chicago with a friend of mine, Janet and 6 other people. I had no idea what to expect other than I wanted to do it (52 floors, over 812 stairs) in 15 minutes. I actually did it in 11:41. Awesome. I did that same stairwell in 2012, which I now know is Hustle Up Hancock in 10:17. My 2013 goal is 10:00 flat.

It’s been an amazing 3 years, as I have inspired many people to lose weight any way that they can, because if I can lose 135# at the age of 51, now 53… Anybody can do it. I am super stoked about running the DisneyWorld 1/2 Marathon on 1.12.13 and I will be one of the ones waking other people in the park this year. And yes, I will catch the bus at Animal Kingdom at 4:00 a.m. to get to my corral by 5:00 a.m. to start the race at 5:30 a.m. Remember, what I said in paragraph one: Couldn’t they do it at a decent time when the rest of us was awake? Written 1.11.13

Life is good! I’m now able to do any adventure that my body allows me to do! I’m looking forward to many more fun life things, better weight management, spending quality time with my 7 grandchildren, more adventures, life relaxation.

Talk / Text / Email me… Anytime.

Rick Gosser

talk or text  219-808-9888

email: gosserrick@sbcglobal.net

web:  Rick Gosser