2 weeks in, so far, so good.

cmcollins001

I have been overweight (actually considered obese, but that's such a "mean" word LOL) my whole life, almost literally. When I was younger, in elementary school, I was placed in this diet program or that exercise program, but they never really did much overall. There were a few milestones here and there, but nothing I ever got really excited about. I was still always the one picked last for any and all sports, even backyard football where weight was supposed to be an advantage.

Fast forward to high school...still fat. I went through high school feeling more or less self conscious. Never really had the nerve to ask any girl out, and when I did get up the nerve to express interest, all I got was the, "I like you as a friend," or 'I think of you as my brother." Girls...for the record...those lines suck wind!

As I got older, I became more and more comfortable with who I was, and more comfortable with my weight. I ended up getting married and had a son. The marriage didn't last too long, well not really, on paper it was 4 years but we split up and got back together more times than I care to count. We finally divorced, and I like to joke that it was because our marriage got in the way of my then wife's dating life. This didn't do much for my self esteem, but it really wasn't enough for me to be serious about weight loss. I did end up getting a "who cares" attitude, on of which I carry, for the most part, to this day.

Fast forward again, my son was twelve when I remarried. Due to my ex-wife's instability and her constant moving in with and out of boyfriends houses, and her switching school districts for my son, I took him to live with me when he was finishing 1st grade and he has lived with me ever since. So, for the longest time, it was mainly him and me with tons of help from family and friends.

When he was 12 in 2006, I married a girl with whom I had a major crush on about 15 years before. We had dated once (and according to her, it was the all time worst date she had ever been on) and she liked me, but she was going off to college and didn't want to deal with a long distance relationship. We reconnected after those many years and ended up married.

My wife had been struggling with weight since college and over the course of our marriage, I watched her start and stop diet plan after diet plan. She would talk about getting in shape and never do anything. This has been a major point of contention between the two of us, mostly because I had become of accustom to my weight, accepted it as fact even, and didn't let it bother me in the least. With her the opposite was true. So, I made a deal with her, the moment she shows me she's serious about losing the weight, and when she got over the fly by night diet fads (none of which EVER appealed to me) then I would join her. That happened about 1 1/2 months ago. She finally decided that it wasn't some diet plan or pill that would help her but good nutrition and exercise...she finally accepted that weight loss is something that will take time and it's something you have to work for.

After recently having a birthday and watching her dedication, and seeing her bust her butt on the stationary bike, along with a making much better food choices, I decided, at 41 years old, 274 lbs and 5'8", that I would kick things in to gear and join her in this quest for a better lifestyle and health. I started by quitting smoking almost 2 months ago. I'm currently still using the Nicotine patches, but I feel SO much better being able to get dressed and walk to my car without feeling winded. I started walking 1/4 mile on our treadmill a little bit each night and told myself if I could keep this up for a week or two straight, then I would start eating better. That was a little over 1 month ago. Now I'm using the fitness room at my job everyday. I'm up to 2 1/4 mile on the treadmill at 3mph everyday. I started out on my treadmill that first night doing 2 mph for that 1/4 mile. I also joined the kettlebell bandwagon with my wife...and I'm here to tell you, the kettlebell will KICK your butt!! It doesn't take much either! Which 20 cals a minute burned (according to several websites and studies I've read, including webMD) it's pretty much a no brainer. I wanted to add something with my walking routine that would help with upper body and my core, and this fit the bill nicely.

Like most people, I have some goals set along this path of a healthy lifestyle, goals and rewards. My current major goal is to sign up for, and participate in The Warrior Dash in May. http://www.warriordash.com/register2013_arkansas.php It's a 5k race that involves obstacles and mud and fire...so I figured...why not?

Yesterday, I reached 13 lbs lost. My first mini goal is to see the scale start with 25x...I don't care what number comes after the 5, I haven't be 250 some odd pounds in 20 years, and I'm looking forward to it!!!

MFP has helped my wife and myself track our progress and I love it!! It's quickly become the most used app on my phone and I don't eat anything without it. I had pretty much known about most of the proper ways to eat and exercise over my years of being obese (there's that mean word again) but I'm learning so much more now because of the forums and getting interested enough to research stuff myself.

I'm at the beginning of a long road, a journey I look forward to taking, and with a destination at the end that is better than paradise. And even more important than that....I want to be able to wear the cool pants.

Thank you all for the inspiring threads, the before and after pictures for inspiration, and the vast wealth of knowledge that makes me want to research things even more.

To sum it up...I'm becoming a fanatic.

"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject."
-Winston Churchill

coolvstar650

Great post. I love you! We are in it for life...together. I am so proud of you!