How Ed Cook changed his life through healthy living

By BOB KECSKEMETY

At 56, Ed Cook enjoys walking around in a tank top and being stopped by younger guys who want to tell him how incredible he looks. And when they ask him how old he is, Cook further enjoys the looks on their faces. Cook, however, wasn’t always so fortunate.

From the age of 37, Cook admits he had let himself go.

He was gaining weight and gave up on his appearance. He says he felt that life became too overwhelming and he gave up, claiming there wasn’t enough time. At the age of 48, he went to a doctor who told him that if he continued on this course he would end up with severe medical problems, including diabetes, heart attack and an early death.

“I knew,” said Cook, “that when I walked out that door that my life would never be the same.” His life changes included joining a gym and a low carb diet. “I just trained like hell” said Cook, who dropped 52 pounds in seven months.

While working out one day, several body builders approached Cook and told him that he should start competing. Originally, Cook was not too keen on the idea, but then got curious and went on the Internet and started checking out some of the over 50 competitions and thought he could probably do it.

Cook entered his first competition and, from that moment on, he’s been hooked. He says he loves the body building sport and loves what the sport has done for him. He also encourages others to get involved.

“It’s a statistical fact that 97 percent of people fail in their diet and fitness goals in their first year,” said Cook. “Then I asked myself why I succeeded and realized that, even though I had let my physical body go, I had been working through some very tough issues that had been bothering me throughout my life.” One of those issues was dealing with his own sexuality.

He says that in order to succeed, a person must first figure out what their goals are and what motivates them to become more fit and healthy. Without goals, you’re not going to accomplish anything. He says that many fail because of an inner struggle and that it’s just not enough not being satisfied with the way you look or feel. “It’s just like the guy who says that if he could buy a Porsche, he would be happy. But six months later, he realizes that that the Porsche is just basic transportation and not that big of a deal,” Cook said.

“You have to remember that the body is just a material thing, but it’s connected to a wonderful spirit inside. If the spirit is sick and unhappy and unhealthy, there is no way the outer-self can heal itself and become whole. To fix the body, you must mend the mind, then everything else will fall into place.”

Cook said that in order to succeed, you have to set goals that are practical and realistic. You have to put those goals in writing and create a specified work out time that doesn’t interfere with family or work.

Five years ago he found out about a social network site for body builders called Body Space and is now one of the top members. He says that he has a lot of friends and that the many messages he receives usually end up in one of two categories: messages from military personnel and messages from people who tell him what an inspiration his Body Space profile has become for them.

“This body is great and the fame is fun, and it’s good to have people pat you on the back and tell you how great you are,” says Cook. “But what it’s really about is giving back to others — which is what life is really about.”