"DISCIPLINE 2012" just get sick of laziness

Hey all, this is long but i hope just one person can relate and draw some sort of helpful thought process or motivation from it!

My name's Marc and I am naturally pretty lazy. I am a soon to be 26 year old (this month), I'm married, Im a website sales and developer, live in the Kansas city area, and have struggled with weight for the last 8 years or so. I have developed a procrastination habit on many things and getting fit is no exception. The tipping point in my life was near the end of 2011 when I decided the lack of self discipline was DONE. sometimes you just have to hit a point of total self disgust at your inability to make consistent good decisions before you can change your ways. This was December 2011 for me. More on that soon, lets go back first...

The Beginning

In high school I was extremely athletic, had a ridiculous metabolism, and ate anything i wanted any time i wanted to and never put on a pound........until I hurt my knee. My entire family struggles with weight, we always have. From when i was very young, i was taught to eat sweets. when i cried as a baby they'd give me something that tasted good to hush me up. so anyway, i hurt my knee and athletics was out the door and the terrible eating habits stuck with me. Wasnt long before weight slowwwly started creeping on. by graduation, i had a LITTLE extra weight, but was honestly still pretty thin weighing in at about 230 if i remember correctly. after school it just got worse, gain gain gain. after a few years i noticed it was getting out of control and tried to fix it, but just couldnt control what i ate, processed food, fast food, etc. the lack of self discipline was in control. so WEAK looking back on it now!

December 2011

Several things in my life require self discipline for success. I set my own schedule at my job and work on my own, I own my own product consulting and sales company on the side (total self motivation needed to make money with it), and especially if im ever to get back in shape it will require huge discipline as my genetics seem to count twice every bad thing i eat. So, mid december 2011 I made a decision. I wasnt disciplined with tracking my finances, my work ethic suffered, and worst of all: I had packed on almost TWO. HUNDRED. POUNDSSSSS since high school. over all the little diets and stuff i tried, none of them worked, i never lost ANY WEIGHT because my focus was off and my mind wasnt right. i made the decision that my life was about to change forever. NEVER again will I submit, i WILL be disciplined. I made the decision to start with my health. but for a guy that cant even say 'no' to a bowl of ice cream, i knew i needed to start small and take baby steps. phase 1: SAYING NO!

Saying 'NO'

The beginning of DISCIPLINE 2012 was very simple. As of 01/01/2012 completely give up some of my food vices for a whole year. learn to JUST SAY NO to the foods that control me. (YES, if you struggle to NOT eat something, its controlling you). id say at least 95% of us would admit to that food that we just have a hard time saying no to. well i have a whole LIST. so thats what i did, i made a LIST of 'do not eat' for 2012 with some big things and decided i could add on more discipline tasks throughout the year as i mastered them. the LIST: ice cream, chocolate, candy, soda, fried food, cake, cupcake, pie, dessert pastries in general, cookies.

PHASE 2: taking charge

July 15, 2012. its now been 6 and a half months saying NO to the foods on the list......and it has gotten WAYYYYYYY easier!!!! not near as tempted as i used to be, my first thought when im upset or stressed isnt to eat ice cream at that point! huge breakthrough. I decided it was time to take charge. With the help of my Inherent Health genetic test results and meeting w a friend who's a dietician, i formulated a plan for eating healthy and exercising. i know exactly what my goals are and they are personalized to me based on my DNA and they are WORKING! I track my intake with MFP, and get a minimum of 7.5 METs of exercise a week over a 3-4 day span doing activities valued between 3-6 METs.

The Goal

Obviously, I see my overall goal as now choosing to live a healthier and more self disciplined life, so I reach my goal EVERY DAY. The wonderful byproduct is losing weight. and by meeting my goal of a healthier life EVERY DAY, im going to lose 50lbs by new years and 100lbs by 8/26/2013 (my 27th birthday). At that point I will be just over 300 lbs and I WILL break back into the 200 club before the end of 2013. side note: other parts of my decision to boost self discipline in july was tracking and managing finances closer than ever. tracking every income and every expense and taking the time to budget efficiently. have been doing this about a month now and its very very rewarding as well.

as you can see, im VERY excited about this new phase in life. I attribute much of the thought process and mental strength it has taken me to make it this far this year to my wonderful friends I do some business with......they have recommended amazing books and resources on good thought processes and ways to control your mind and take control of your life.

I apologize that this post was so long, but I hope somebody can relate and draw some strength from it. Add me as a MFP buddy if you'd like. I dont blame anybody that didnt even read this all the way through....but if you are one of the few that made it this far into the post, PLEASE add me because we must have lots in common for you to read so much about me. God bless to you all!

p.s. I hit the 15 lb mark today.....another week or two and im back in the 300 club