What Jesse Ding and his family were able to do for their health and bodies together in six months is inspiring. (Photo: Instagram/xyjesse)
Jesse Ding is a 32-year-old photographer who lives with his family in Xiamen, in the southeast of China. Until a few days ago, one might have believed he was a typical 30-something in China, learning to live with his parents once again after they moved in to help out during his wife’s pregnancy. But it was that move that inspired Jesse to do something that would catapult him and his family into their own version of internet fame.
When his parents moved in, Jesse realized his father’s alcohol intake, beer belly, and mental health needed attention. He suggested the two of them begin an exercise regime together.
As Ding told Insider.com in an email interview, “I noticed that his health was declining and this made me sad … I wanted to help him to get healthy again, so I purposely put on 10kg so that we could take the journey together.”
The younger Ding also thought it would be beneficial if he used his photography skills to document their progress. Little did they know at the time that the entire family would join in and undergo stunning and inspiring results — within 6 months.
Their regime started, according to Ding, with speed-walking, and moved on to jogging. Eventually, they took their workouts into the gym. After seeing the father-son progress, Ding’s mother joined in — and his wife did as well, to lose baby weight after giving birth to their son. As you can see from the photos Ding shared on social media, the results were impressive.
Working out together — as a family or a couple — has been shown to help maximize effectiveness of your exercise as well as strengthen emotional bonds. The Ding family seems to prove these findings.
It wasn’t just exercise that helped the family transform themselves so dramatically. Working out together, tracking their progress, and making a full commitment clearly made a difference, but also living with a healthy diet and eating together seemed to have helped keep the family going for so long. And they all say they’ll stick to this lifestyle forever.
If you need some inspiration for 2018, look no further than this happy, healthy family.