Basketball, a cruise, and GLP-1s
(I promise, it'll all make sense)
As I sat way up in the nosebleed section in the only seats I was willing to pay for, I was struck by something.
I was surrounded by Spurs fans. Obviously.
But these people were the real deal.
They were decked out in Spurs gear from head to toe. Not just cheap T-shirts, but rhinestone vests and leather biker jackets with “Go Spurs Go” plastered on the back. Spurs hats and Spurs purses.
They brought black and silver pom-poms and giant foam fingers. They had car flags and custom Spurs license plates.
They knew all the inner workings of a Spurs game that as an outsider, I could only appreciate with awe. When the announcer called out the name of the player stepping up to the free-throw line, somehow almost 20,000 people knew to shout in unison “two shots!”
They highlighted a Spurs fan who had season tickets for 32 years. Wow! I don’t know much about basketball, but I do know that they play a LOT of games. So that seems like a commitment, right?
While I sat up in the balcony at my first Spurs game ever, soaking in the view of of this wildly fascinating sub-culture that so many people have invested so much time and money into, it got me thinking.
I’ve been going about my life in San Antonio for almost 30 years and had NO IDEA this is what some people were doing with their Sunday afternoons or Tuesday nights and their life savings and their lives.
It reminds me of a lightbulb moment I had this summer when I went on the Downsized cruise. I was my mom’s plus one on a cruise with her Youtube friends who were all on GLP-1 medications.
I thought I was going to get a few days to myself to relax, but the trip didn’t turn out exactly as I planned.
First of all, I was thrown into the sub-culture of YouTube. I literally had no idea YouTube was a thing beyond typing in “How to Change the Batteries on My Kid’s Drone.”
Little did I know, people indeed do watch YouTube, they find community, and they go on cruises together!
But the most unexpected thing about this cruise was that I found my own community.
I lost 125lbs on a GLP-1. I knew exactly three people who had taken weight loss meds and really paved my own way through my journey. And much like how I gained my weight, alone, that’s how I lost it.
But when I sat down and talked to people on the cruise, I started to feel like I was sitting in an arena, looking around at all these people and realizing for the very first time that I wasn’t alone.
Just like I had NO CLUE that thousands of people were obsessively building their lives around basketball games, I had NO CLUE that my experience as a fat person who changed my life with a GLP-1 medication was one that others, many others, were also sharing.
The best part about this arena was that I knew the lingo. I knew the chants. I could do the dances!
I had never talked to anyone about my experience of gaining 75lbs in a year. Gaining that much weight takes A LOT of effort. And for the first time, I could share the story of my relationship with food and hear that story echoed back time and time again.
While we each have our own unique circumstances, the common threads that run through obesity are plentiful. IYKYK.
And that’s why I started a YouTube channel a week after stepping of that cruise. Because my wish is that each of us can find that community and shared experience and the common threads that can bind us together.
I wanted to help create another space among many already wonderful ones where my people can wander in and feel at home.
I’m sharing a video today that answers one of the questions I get asked most often: “Do you have to stay on a GLP-1 forever?”
You should definitely go watch it. But for the short answer:
Life is hard. A GLP-1 makes it easier. I’m OK choosing the easy way out. Because for me that means…
Getting to park at a Spurs game in Lot 7 which is in fact about a mile from the arena
Being able to walk up to the nosebleed section easily without getting out of breath or feeling like I couldn’t do it
Being able to sit comfortably in a tiny arena seat- I could even cross my legs!
And these are just the benefits on a random Sunday. The truth is my entire life has changed so much I can barely recognize it.
Right now, I' choose easy because that means choosing LIFE.
Until next time friends,
Meghann
P.S. Fun fact…I actually met my husband because of the Spurs! A mutual friend invited both of us to watch a Spurs playoff game at Outback Steakhouse in June 2005. Basketball isn’t my thing so I have no clue what made me say yes. But we sat next to each other and the rest is history. In 20 years, we have not watched another Spurs game together, nor have we been back to Outback Steakhouse!
P.P.S In my other life as a homeschool/parenting creator/influencer, I loved sharing my heart through emails. I had an email list of nearly 50k homeschool moms who I loved connecting with several times a week. And I’m excited to get to do that here with this new topic. I hope you’ll find encouragement and a seat in this arena because life is better when we cheer each other on. So reply to this email and introduce yourself so we’re not strangers- I’ll reply back!