At 5'10" and 290, I'm fat. I fought being fat my entire adult life. In the Army, it was literally against regulations for me to be overweight, and I starved myself down to Army regs for four years. I put on 50 pounds after I got out of the military.

About 10 years ago, I felt the need to try again. I lost 62 pounds and kept it off for about four years. I got tired of starving, not being able to have a beer with my buddies, and doing nothing but go to the gym, go to work, and come home to sleep. It was a regimen I could only sustain for a certain amount of time.

I quit worrying about my weight and tried to make friends with being fat -- and that hasn't worked well either, but at least I no longer have to go through my entire life trying to do something that doesn't work for me.

Now you want to charge me for the privilege of living my life. I hope you'll understand that I'll vote and lobby and write and protest to keep that from happening.