American Legion Ohio Posts

“My doctor had been on me for quite a while about my weight,” he said. “I knew I was creeping back up to dangerous levels of my weight where I should not have been. I’ve had blood pressure issues, been a borderline diabetic and my doctor had mentioned the possibility of bariatric surgery.”

During the summer, his blood pressure medicine, which is made in China, had been delayed by production and delivery issues related to the pandemic. “At one point, I went without the blood pressure meds for three weeks and it spiked pretty good,” he said. “When Commander Oxford put out that challenge, I said, ‘I can do that.’”

The former high school cross-country runner broke out his stationary bike and put in front of the TV for an hour each morning.

He’s averaging between 14 and 15 miles a day.

Just over halfway into the challenge, Motter could feel the difference. “I feel great. My clothes are looser. I have more energy. My mood has changed for the better.”

Motter, who celebrated his 61st birthday earlier in October by biking and hiking 20 miles, noted that his father passed away at age 62. Neither of his grandfathers made it to age 60.

“It’s a personal thing,” said Motter, who has set goals of logging 1,200 miles and losing 35 pounds during the challenge. “It was a very opportune time in my life personally for this challenge to come out. I’m going to continue this to hit my weight loss goal and then keep going to maintain it.”