One year ago I went for my required D.O.T. physical to be medically re-certified to drive a commercial vehicle. At that time my blood pressure was above the maximum allowed and I was given 90 days to get it down or lose my certification to drive. My blood sugar was also borderline. 

I managed to just barely get the blood pressure under the limit and was only certified for one year instead of the normal two. That was my wake up call. 

Advance to a year later. Today I went for my D.O.T. physical and it was a totally different experience. They weighed me, measured me, poked and prodded me. They were very impressed, especially when I told them I was not on any medication. 

My weight was down over 30 lbs, my blood pressure was not just under the limit but well within the normal range, and my blood sugar was also normal. 

I had three different members of the staff ask me what I had done to get myself in such better physical shape. "Diet and exercise" was my honest reply. Even though they are medical people they still seemed skeptical of my answer. Sometimes I think they believe only drugs can achieve results. 

They did say, twice, that I should be the poster boy for what a trucker should do to get healthy. I just shrugged that off. 

I walked out of there with my two year medical certification and feeling pretty good. I easily jogged up the two flights of stairs to the main floor (something I couldn't have done a year ago), and trotted out the door. I know some of the people were giving me funny looks but I didn't care. I had just received the "big pay off" for all of my efforts of the past year. 

Of course the real pay off is being healthier and feeling better, but having such a hugely different experience during a physical after only a year really showed me it is paying off. 

Now I'm going to celebrate by eating something really unhealthy. 

Just kidding about that last part