Tell Me How!!

So, the motivation behind me starting up this blog again is that after I posted the pics of my transformation, I received a ton of messages, texts and emails from people. I was BLOWN AWAY at the repsonse that my pictures had, and it really threw me for a loop when many of the emails and messages were ones asking me "How did you do it"? Unless you're a friend of mine that's only gotten to know me in the past year, you know what I used to look like, and you know that not to far in my distant past, I really had no interest in athletics. So how does the fat, band geek turn out to be running a triathlon in his mid-40's?!?! Unfortunlately, I can't really pinpoint how it started or why it started, but as to the why, it has become something amazing. The how, yea, that's pretty crazy too. There's not really a clear reason why I started working out. When I weighed 335 pounds on our wedding day, I don't really think I thought a lot about my weight. I knew I was heavy and I knew that I had to always shop at big and tall mens' stores. It bugged me, but I think somehow, I got over it, and I just shopped there. From time to time I would try to watch what I ate (while it was going in my mouth mostly), but I never changed diet habits too much. There were times earlier in my life that I thought that my appearance was preventing me from dating anyone, but I was huge when I met and married Julie, and she loved me just the same. She never brought up the topic or anything, so I felt really, that for the first time, I was completely loved for exactly who I was. Perhaps that was what gave me the comfort to try, because after Katherine was born, I remember looking at pictures of me with her, and realizing how big I really was. So, for the next few years, I did a lot of things, and some of them worked. In 2003, I dropped 80 pounds with Weight Watchers. I began exercising some - mostly running through our neighborhood. But in '04, with two little kids, my exercise and diet got lost in the mix. I bounced around with various "no carb" diets, losing 15-20 pounds, gaining 20-30 pounds, losing 20-30 pounds, etc., but nothing really stuck. It wasn't becoming part of who I was. This got a little better in 2010. I started doing a "boot camp" at the local rec center, and started actually counting calories. The thing was, even as I counted them, the weight never seemed to shed. I got a little more energized with running in 2011, and started running 5K races. They were fun, and between boot camp and running, I really thought things would change, but they didn't. Then, the bottom fell out. In late 2011 and early 2012, I started working with a trainer, but at the same time, started having worse and worse back pain issues. I found myself frustrated because just as I would seem to hit my stride, something would trigger some lower back pain and I'd fall off the wagon. I often found myself eating when the frustration of back pain happened. Then, as is often the case, just when it seems the worst, God used the frustration and anger to point me in the right direction. I was referred to a chiropractor - Dr. Matt Lytle - who in turn, pulled me out of the training I was doing and pointed me in the direction of Emerge Fitness. In June, 2012, when I set foot in Emerge, I had no idea of the path the Lord had put me on. It may seem weird to say that God put me on this path, but I do believe it's true. I believe that I ended up at Emerge for a reason, and that reason wasn't only to improve my own health, but to open my mind mentally and emotionally, and also my heart spirituatlly. After spending the first 3 months at Emerge focusing on improving my core strength and my glutes, I turned to exercising more seriously, and I found myself looking at a 10K instead of just a 5K. My trainer, Adam, also was a great advocate of good nutrition, and slowly but surely I began to consider that aspect. I began making smoothies for breakfast - fruit, veggies and protein powder. They were good too! Then I began realizing some little habits that might need to go - the constant Coke Zero I drank - the late evening muches of potato chips because I was still hungry. Little things... I decided to challenge myself (and Adam challenged me too), to taking 6 weeks to changing the habits. I committed to cutting back pop, eliminating potato chips, cutting out late night snacking and finally - committing to "clean" eating all but 2-3 meals per week. Focusing on that, as well as focusing on some serious strength training was the key. All of a sudden, I began to lose weight like never before. I was dropping about 10 pounds per month for about 5 months. Adam challenged me to set some short, mid and long term goals, and all of a sudden, I began to see that I could do that. My first goal was to get down to 247 pounds - the least I had weighed while on Weight Watchers. And that goal came and went. Then, I decided to set the year end goal of 225 pounds, and I did that too. I began to set other goals - learning how to do a pull-up, committing to another 10K and signing up for an obstacle run. The pull-up goal eluded me for months. Every week I would work on them at the gym, and although I'd hoped to have them down by December, 2013, it wasn't until April, 2014 that I did my first pull-up. Then I did more, and more, and more. It was so exciting to see the goals getting accomplished. I found myself dreaming bigger and bigger - and felt that along with the pounds, a fog had litterally lifted from my mind. I felt more comfortable in sitautions, more confident in speaking with others openly about my faith, and more confident in my work as well. It was amazing!! So, the transformation has been much more than physical, but I want to stop here. I feel like I've rambled, but I think it's important to have the background in place as I move forward. The end ideal of this sitaution is that things can happen - amazing things - if you simply decide to make the changes that those goals require. God gives us wisdom and God gives us the ability to make some choices (not intending to start a religious debate with that), and I think we need to make sure that we grab hold of those abilities and opportunities. They can be blessings beyond all measure - and they can be encouragements and inspirations to so many around us - Grab Hold!! Go Forward!!