The interview pants

Back in 1997 I was graduating college. I was nervous about my future and had zero self confidence. I felt like I had to dig myself out of a hole even before an I terrier started. I had all the personality of dry wall and the first impression I gave off by appearances was equally disappointing. I needed something, anything, to spark a bit of confidence in myself. I knew my physical appearance wasn't going to win anyone over but figured the least I could do was cover myself in something decent.

At the time there was an advertisement on TV for Haggar Wrinkle Free Cotton Twills. I found the pants in a catalog but their upper size limit was one size below what I was currently wearing. I went ahead and ordered myself a pair knowing that losing the weight to wear the new pants would be a double shot of confidence I needed to get through an interview. You read that right, my confidence was riding on being able to wear a pair of khakis.

As was the case many times I tried to lose weight over the years, I failed. The pants that were going to bring me confidence were just another reminder of yet another failure. Defeated, my new pants were folded and placed in a drawer. In the past fifteen years the weight continued to climb and the waist size continued to get larger. At my worst I was 550 pounds with a 72" waist.

Fast forward to Memorial Day 2012. Sitting at home alone and depressed I finally decided I had had enough. Suicide by cheeseburger was taking to long. I decided I had had enough and was going to make a change. It all started easy enough. A salad instead of take out. A short walk instead of another hour on the Internet. A small change here, a small change there. Nothing to difficult by itself but lumped together it was making a difference in my attitude. Looking for a way to track food and exercise, I found MFP.

Since joining the site I haven't missed a day of logging. Earlier this week marked my 255 day on the site. In that time I've lost 104 pounds. While I'm extremely happy with the loss in weight, the things I've gained are far more important. The ever present dark cloud that always seemed to follow me is gone. I've gained a lust for life that I've never had before. I want to see things and do things and make up for all the time I wasted. I laugh more, smile more, and just generally have more fun. Life is great and I know tomorrow will be even better.

I'm loving life in my interview pants!

(My dog is in the old photos because that's really the only time I allowed myself to be photographed. The last one is earlier this week, the first time wearing the pants. Hopefully an elevator shot is a step up from the popular bathroom mirror shot.)