Little Guy in a Large Body

cj2075

This is the second time that I have used MFP. The first time I was able to lose 65 lbs in a 8 month period. Unfortunately I lost sight of the need to put myself first and have since gained the weight back and then some.

I have found that most of this journey is a mental game, and less of a physical one. While exercise is important, keeping yourself mentally focused on keeping yourself a priority in your life is even more important. For most of my life, my own health was just not something that I had as a priority or really even thought about to be honest. I took being healthy for granted, and as I became less and less healthy my complete lack of focus on myself allowed my health too deteriorate to the point where I then felt it was a lost cause to try.

Anyone who has been significantly overweight can attest to the fact that you can get down on yourself just for being down on yourself. You start thinking why not eat another piece of chocolate cake, I am already fat so what should it matter now? Ridiculous when you actually type it out and read it, but at the time it sounds so logical inside your head.

But all of this was before I first used MFP and tried to make a change in my life. Things went great for me and I was religious about tracking everything I did down to logging Tic Tac's, which are less than 2 calories.. I even started to really notice a difference with my energy levels and many of the pains that I endured for so long started to actually subside. But things changed when I got a new job and relocated. I stopped paying attention to my needs and shifted my focus towards the job and its priorities instead of myself and my priorities. Over the next year I gained back most of what I had lost and then started doubting myself and any potential for living a healthy life.

A lot has changed since that first go round. I decided that I wanted to make a career change in my life. I had been a salesperson for over 15+ years and found no satisfaction in my career. So I went back to school and completed a masters degree in Information Systems and Technology Management. I have always been a techie and I wanted to be apart of something that was greater than myself and meant more than just increasing the bottom line. Completing my masters helped to show me once again that if I put my mind to something and focus on getting the result I want, I can achieve my goals.

So now that I have completed the mental goal of gaining more knowledge through education, I knew that I needed to keep the focus on myself and once again focus on the physical goal of improving my health and losing the weight that I have wanted to shed for such a long time. I have a long way to go as I am over twice the weight that a normal man should be at my height and age, but I am not deterred. I was able to lose a significant amount before so I should be able to do it again. The key is to not lose focus as I did in the past.

Just like last time, I will also keep track of my progress in a blog I created online. It is a great way for me to see my progress along the way as well as keep my feet to the fire by holding myself accountable to myself and those that read it. Feel free to read my blog, follow along, or comment if you think I am slacking. It isn't all about weight-loss this time around, but a large majority of it definitely will be. Just follow the link below.

Shivs Paradigm

I am also accepting friend requests from motivated individuals like myself who what to share this journey with me so feel free to add me if you feel inclined.