Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/52522
NEW HEALTH PROGRAM Truckers News is launching a yearlong, goal-oriented health program. Go for the Goal is multifaceted program that includes features and updates on drivers like Richie Neh- rings who are working to improve their health and fitness with well-defined objectives, an interactive online community, daily health tips and a wealth of health- and fitness- related resources. Please join us on this exciting road to better health. For more information about the program, visit www.Truckers4aGoal.com. it wasn't until I walked out of the store without buying the bigger jeans that I realized I had to stop putting off what needed to be done." Appearance was not Nehrings' only worry. "My health was compro- mised," he says, "and if things didn't change, I feared the new FMCSA rules would impact my driving career." Things had never seemed so bleak. His doctor, who had to order bigger scales to weigh him, had been telling him to lose weight. His highest blood pressure reading was 170/105, and his doctor was extremely worried about his heart health, sleep apnea and potential for developing diabetes. His father died after his seventh heart attack, and still, he balked at taking the first steps. That's when Richie Acosta of Acosta Trucking stepped in to help. Acosta's mission is to help truckers lead a healthier life. The two had been friends and coworkers for years, and now Nehrings was ready for help. "I sat on my back porch and wrote down every morsel of food I ate in a day, I was appalled by the sheer quantity of the list that included bags of candy, crates of soda and huge portions of fast food, and [I was] worried about what Richie Acosta was going to think." Acosta was unfazed. He evaluated Nehrings' diet and of U.S. adults are obese 34% "I had a lot of 'aha' moments, but it wasn't until I walked out of the store without buying the bigger jeans that I realized I had to stop putting off what needed to be done." 86% of truckers are overweight HALF classified as obese of those are VITAL STATS NAME: Richard (Richie) Nehrings AGE: 41 WIFE: Kim LOCATION: Hawthorne, N.J. COMPANY: Acosta Trucking STARTING WEIGHT: 372 pounds CURRENT WEIGHT: 318 pounds DESIRED WEIGHT: 250 pounds HEIGHT: 6 feet HIGHEST BLOOD PRESSURE: 170/105 CURRENT BLOOD PRESSURE: 120/78 JANUARY 2012 TRUCKERS NEWS 19