Five years ago, in January of 2008, I created something special that had never done before, pairing weight loss with raising donations for food banks across America. It all began with my pledge to lose 230 lbs and then donate the same amount to Second Harvest Food Bank of the Lehigh Valley. Within a week, the whole thing went viral and I found myself on tv news broadcasts all over the country.
Things went great, I lost over 150 lbs and secured donation pledges of over 52,000 lbs of food and thousands of dollars in cash. I pitched the idea to the production company of a popular weight loss reality show and by the end of 2008, they were promoting their own version of it, under a different name. Thousands upon thousands of people were helped by the end of things... except me.
People make mistakes and fall down when they are dieting or trying to accomplish any goal, but I fell down one more time than I got up. I felt defeated and humiliated, my journey had come to an end. In the years since, I regained the weight, watched other people take my idea and use it for promotional gimmicks or try to claim it as their own, and somebody even bought my old website, DonateMyWeight.com, right out from under me.
I thought that was the end of the story and I would fade into oblivion, succumbing to the disabilities I incurred in my military service (I'm a disabled veteran, considered "medically retired" by the Department of Veterans Administration and compensated at the 100% level). That's when I saw the story of a fellow disabled veteran, Arthur Boorman, who had made incredible improvements in his health with the help of former three-time WCW Heavyweight Champion of the World, Diamond Dallas Page, the creator of a tremendous program called DDP YOGA.
I reached out to DDP and told him my story, explained my current situation and asked if I was too far gone. He told me it's never too late for second chances and pledged to do anything he could to help me, as long as I was willing to put in the work. I couldn't believe that a guy I had been a fan of for years, a wrestling legend, movie star and nationally-acclaimed fitness guru, would give a damn about a nobody like me.
But he did. He welcomed me to the DDP YOGA team and sent me out a ton of information to get me started. My workout pack is in the mail and I have spent the past day and a half reading through everything I already have. There’s much to learn, including an entirely new diet and workout regime that is focused on healing the body, mind and soul. DDP YOGA is the workout of choice for professional wrestlers like Chris Jericho, UFC fighters like Tito Ortiz, NFL stars like Derrick Brocks, TV and movie stars like Chuck Zito, along with scores of military veterans. Now, you can add Ben Miller to the list!
With the help of DDP and DDP YOGA, I will finally finish what I started with Donate My Weight, for me and for all those people served by the food banks. The folks who took my old website can keep it and any others are welcome to try and squeeze whatever glory they can out of the concept. I'll be busy worrying about what's important: my beautiful wife and four children, with whom I hope to spend many, many more years. Thank you to everyone who has supported me along the way, especially Lori Wilson, Bill Henley, Rachael Ray and of course, the man himself, ‘Diamond’ Dallas Page, DDP!
God bless!
Ben
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