The Legend

by Trevor Meek

BROOKLINE, MA — Like a majority of Specialized Housing residents, Alan Lampert had to forfeit his job when the pandemic first began. Stepping away from the beloved Boston law firm where he had spent well over a decade as a mail clerk wasn’t an easy decision, but one that he made out of concern for his  health and safety, as well as that of his housemates. However, it wasn’t long into the lockdown before Alan started to feel like his health was slipping, anyway.

“At work I would be on my feet all day and then all of a sudden I was just at home, sitting around,” Alan says. “I was already on a lot of medications, and the doctor was looking at my blood pressure and my weight. It wasn’t good.”

He started taking strolls around the neighborhood, nothing strenuous. He cut down on sugar and little by little reduced his portion sizes at meal times.  

“Before the lockdown I would say I was going to the gym, but I wasn’t really doing anything. I wasn’t exercising and I was eating a lot of sugar. But the way things worked out, staying home for a whole year actually helped me. I was able to focus on my walking and eating healthier and dropping the weight.”

Gradually, Alan extended his walks beyond his own neighborhood, and soon he was clocking in upwards of 14,000 steps per session. Or for those of us who don’t speak FitBit, Alan was walking more than six miles a day. People began to notice the change, especially at his doctor’s office.

“I’m a type 2 diabetic,” Alan says, “and the doctors said that my A1C levels [a test of how well a patient is managing their diabetes] improved so much. They’d never seen somebody’s A1C improve so much! They took me off all of the medications.  My doctor said that the changes I made, walking and eating right, have saved my life.”

Since the beginning of the pandemic Alan has lost a transformative 35 pounds and, now that he’s finally back to work, has only increased his steps per day. On his first day back at the law firm delivering the mail, Alan reports that he clocked 25,000 steps. His single day record since returning to the office is 35,000 (15 miles). That includes the early morning walks he still insists on taking before a long day’s work.

“I just turned 65. People ask me, they say, ‘Alan, aren’t you gonna slow down?  Aren’t you gonna retire?’ I tell them there’s no age limit to what I do. My grandfather was the same way, we have to stay busy. And I have no plans to retire.”

While, of course, he’s very proud of his accomplishments, Alan is quick to credit those around him who gave him the support and encouragement he needed in order to make this life changing transformation: “My whole family, the staff, my housemates, my co-workers—they were all behind me the entire way. My mother, she still talks about, ‘Look at you, Alan! You lost so much! I can’t believe it!’ She’s so proud.”

As pleased as he is with all of the weight that he’s lost during the pandemic, Alan reflects just as happily on two things that he’s gained:  “I came out of this all different—less weight, yeah—but I also grew a beard! And I also have a new nickname. My brother-in-law started calling me The Legend. I like that. The Legend.”