A second chance,

frank1987

This is Part 1 of my Success story. In this story, I will share with you my experiences throughout my progress as well as insights and knowledge that has greatly helped me. As you take the time to read through, I hope you are able to take something valuable from it that will aide you in your progress.

It was the year 07 in the month of October. Little did I know, it was to have been the pivotal moment in my life that would forever change it. There I was, towering it at over 350 pounds. With the best of my ability, I worked toward fixing my bed. Only being able to remove half of the blanket from my bed, I fell over, exhausted, heart racing, difficult to move. A goal of mine it is to attain a sense of independence in all facets of life. If I was unable to do a simple task, what chance would I have at any form of independence or freedom?

Later that afternoon, I headed out to the emergency room where I would bring up my situation as well as have other irregularities corrected (all of which stemmed from obesity). After sixteen and a half hours waiting, everyone at the ER have become immersed in a dark aura. many have worked there for quite some time and have seen it all, but when they all learned of me, they were in disbelief. One detail that they could not understand was that I had a high blood pressure reading and was still alive. They told me that my pressure read at 217 over 120. It was so bad they forced morphine on me so that my pressure would reduce.

After all the news sunk in, it was time for me to finally do something about it, for it has gotten down to the point where I became sick and tired of being sick and tired and it was no longer a life that I wanted to carry out in the same pace as I always had. It was then when I realized that I must take those first steps so achieve a sense of resurrection; in essence, a second chance. In the beginning, I started walking for a few minutes a day. At the time, it felt like one of the most difficult things to do; the surging pain hitting me, the beating of my chest, the severe back pains that would surge through my body, the horrendous joint and shin pains. At the time, part of me felt that it was already too late, however, another part of me felt that it will be too late if it is accepted as an inevitability, I pondered to myself, what is worse, the pains that I am feeling now, or death? The decision was indeed a simple one.

It was then I realized that the arduous weight loss process is as big a mental game as it is a physical game. I learned that to labor upon correct knowledge will yield ideal results. With that in mind, I worked very hard toward educating myself with the health aspect of life to the best of my ability, like learning of the rights and wrongs of the weight loss process, as well as debunking myths and other misconceptions that many people have passed down. Another thing I learned was that in order for me or anyone to want more, they must first become more. In order for me to lose the weight that I needed to lose, I needed to become more of a person. I surrendered my aura of negativity, built up my discipline, worked hard creating both short and long term goals. Most importantly of all, I defined and to this day, have never forgotten WHY I was doing what I was doing. I have learned that in the event that we hit a mental wall, it is those whys that will keep us afloat throughout this arduous path. Another key element I learned is that it is not the error in judgment that will lead to disaster, it is, instead, the repeated error in judgment that will lead to disaster. Many people around me would shriek in horror when I would eat something they would deem as "unacceptable." However, the knowledge I have attained about the weight loss process has indeed yielded me to feel very confident in the decisions that I make when it comes to food choices.

Perspective is key. We must follow the mindset of the mighty ant. Average people work out in May to prepare for the Summer season. Above average people on the other hand, embody the mindset of the ant. A wise man said, Ants think Summer all winter, ants also think winter all summer. They do not wait until winter to prepare, they in fact, prepare on a consistent basis. My explanation is not as good so bare with me :laugh: In essence, we most consider the weight loss process as a long term process. We cannot expect to drop big amounts of weight in such a short time, it is possible, but the consequences are severe. I see what I do as a lifestyle where the byproduct is weight loss. I have carried out a simple goal: Lose 1-2 pounds a week. That is it. 20 months later is 80 weeks later. And in those 80 weeks, I have lost 75 pounds, none of which returned. Therefore it is important to consider what we do as a lifestyle because that will prevent unnecessary stress that people often induce when they do not allow themselves enough time, often leading to their weight returning.

Support is strong element when confronting weight loss. My story, however, does not have that element, yet I was still able to reach most of my goals. Often times parents and family will definitely support you with the process, however, because my family was from an impoverished part of Mexico, it has been hardwired into their minds that obesity is a sign of wealth underscored by the image of gluttony that implies having enough money to afford extra food. So throughout my process, I had family members left and right spiking my food, bringing in the worst fast food imaginable. However, being focused and realizing what was at stake, I immediately gathered the fortitude to push back every advance they carried out to hinder my performance.

20 months later, I can say with utmost confidence, the philosophies and the knowledge that I have labored upon, has yielded tremendous results. I was once 350, and am now 275; a complete loss of 75 pounds. Though my blood pressure is still deemed high, it is no longer dangerously high as it once was. It is my goal to hit 200 pounds. And from there, to gain lean muscle as well as tone everything all out.

Regardless of how far away our goals are, it is very important to recognize progress! That is why I always keep with me the largest article of clothing I have as a constant reminder of how much I have lost.

I may have rambled there, lol sorry about that. I suppose you can call it part 1 of my success story. For I have went from a Flashing Code red to a solid Code Yellow. I will consider my conquest complete when I achieve a satisfactory level of Solid Green. Upon hitting the checkered flag, I will still continue to work on myself for I believe in the philosophy of Kaizen: constant development, constant growth. Upon completion, I will work hard toward organizing all of my insights, experience, and knowledge so that others may learn and apply what I know so that they may achieve the same triumph as I have.


In a future post, I will work toward sharing my eating habits as well as physical habits. Thanks for reading!:happy:

clumsypam

Thank you for telling your story. I really liked the analogy about the ants. Your success and mindset are inspirations.

lgolden

Amazing. I look forward to your follow up posts! Thanks for sharing. :flowerforyou:

Hanni

Thank you for this. I also will look forward to your future posts :flowerforyou:

gustergirl

You need to go check out www.theantijared.com---you will totally be inspired and see similiarities in your journey. He is at the point you want to be at and I think it would be great for you to see where you can get to. The best of luck!!

bakergirl62

Yours is an awesome story of success! Keep up the good work and the great attitude!