Answering this question requires a step back into the recent past. The night of the 25th of August 2017 to be exact. I had just left my daughter’s kinder fundraiser in excruciating pain, to this day the worst pain I’ve experienced. I was in “emergency mode” although in retrospect I shouldn’t have been driving through the pain. I took the car and left my wife with both kids behind because I knew something was very wrong. I raced to my doctor and he diagnosed that I was experiencing gallstones. I was given a dose of painkillers (queue nausea) and told to lie down - I wouldn’t be driving again tonight. While this was going on, my wife had to organise someone to mind the kids so she could come to pick me up.

Now let's pause for a moment. This situation was entirely my own creation. I had poor diet and didn’t get out to exercise. At the time I was 33 years old and 120Kgs (265 pounds for those in the US). Much too young to have my gallbladder out but no surprise given my weight.

I was poked and prodded and met with specialists. I had a little under two months to try and drop some weight for the surgery. I adjusted what I was eating and I cut my portions down. I was booked to have my gallbladder out and by mid October it was gone.

Along the way I was given some more insightful information. I think of them as the three key takeaways the surgeon gave me: I was still carrying so much fat the surgery was progressed with difficulty, almost switching from keyhole to open surgery I was presenting as borderline for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease Without a gallbladder to help break down excessive fats, I’m now at higher risk of bowel cancer if I keep eating the way I was.

Well, that was a wake up!

Not only was I putting my own health at risk I was putting my kids at risk. I had to stop and ask what kind of father I want to be. What kind of role model am I? My behaviour was setting my kids up to follow in my footsteps.

Something had to change and so here we are.

Today I range between 90 and 95 Kgs (198 and 209 pounds). Still heavier than where I want to be but a significant step in the right direction. I’ve changed my diet, I’ve increased my activity.

The most important shift however has been to change lifestyles. My objective is to be outside as much as possible and to let the kids be outside as much as possible. That’s what this whole site is about. Our story of keeping not just ourselves but our kids active and taking advantage of the inherent love of the outdoors that almost all kids have.

It’s not to say my children never watch TV or spend days indoors but our objective has been to make outdoor time a preference over the temptation of screens or shiny gadgets. We’re trying to build healthy active habits now so they’re not having to relearn behaviours in their 30s.

So this is our journey. We’ve had some major successes but we’ve also had times where things just don’t work. We’re here to share what we’ve learned and hopefully to inspire others to do the same.