My Wife Deserves This...

OP here. My post title was "My wife deserved this..." A large number of you pointed out that I deserved this as well. I don't normally think along those lines, but I have to agree. Truthfully, I was cheating myself out of a lot of joy that can come from being capable of doing things I wouldn't have been able to do before. There were many occasions I had to tell my kids that Dad was too tired to have a snowball fight, etc. and that was just sad since the only reason was because I chose to eat too much and not exercise. There are people with legitimate reasons to not play with their kids (injuries, disabilities, etc.), but I was not one of them. Mine was the result of my choices.

I really appreciate all the replies. I know how important community and encouragement is, but I have been pretty much a lurker here on the boards up until now. I figured it was time for me to provide a little encouragement for a change.

Regarding my diet, I'm afraid I don't really do anything special. I watch my total calorie intake and largely avoid eating crap. I knew that if I started denying myself things I enjoyed, it would be more difficult to be successful. I have found that as a result of my success, I have started eating better in order to be more successful. I still eat ice cream about once a week, but only four ounces at a time. I have a soda maybe twice a month. Oddly enough, I have found that it's easier to stay under my calorie goals for the day if I start with a small breakfast rather than a large one.

I like to keep my diet private. I'm a high school teacher, so I have a policy to not post anything online that I wouldn't be completely comfortable writing on my chalkboard in my room. I'm sorry to have to be so evasive, but my professionalism is extremely important to me. I love my job and we live in too paranoid a culture for me to take my responsibilities casually.