What was your "moment"?

Wow, where to start. I guess the large part of my weight gain all started in 2009. I got married in Nov 2009 and was laid off in Dec 2009. People say your first year of marriage is the hardest and we had unemployment to throw into that mix! Top that off with making the decision of getting pregnant becuase surely in 9 months time one would be able to find a job... Well Dec 2010 rolls around and still no job.

This does a lot to a man, especially one who was raised with the idea that a man should be a leader (not as in tell your wife what to do, but more of an example setter) and a provider. I felt like I was failing at both of these and all I really did was sit at home look for a job hide away into some video game and eat. Depression set in pretty hard and in the midst of everything going on my mind went to some pretty dark places. Suicide was something I thought I would never ever think about, but when you feel like a complete failure in everything and you think that death would be the best escape for the people you love it begins to some how seem to make sense. The only thing I kept thinking about though is my child that was on the way and how very much I wanted to be a father, I hung in there depressed and gaining weight.

I admit once my beautiful baby girl got here I was in love, and although I was still jobless being able to be a stay-at-home dad was pretty cool and I started to find happiness again. It was about 3 months after my daughter's birth that my old boss (the one who had to lay me off) called me and said they had a new position opening up and asked if I was still unemployed. I jumped at the opportunity and took the position. Things started to look up and about a year after being employed my wife and I decided to make the jump and bought our first house, got another dog (we got our first dog while in our old house) and things were moving forward and life was pretty good.

One thing though, I was 6'3" and 250 lbs and in pretty bad health. My doctor told me I was hypertensive, my cholestorol was high and I needed to be put on medication. He gave me some samples and told me to come back in a few months. High blood pressure!!! I was at the time 26 years old, how the hell do I have high blood pressure??? I have a wife and a child who needs their husband/father to stay around for a while. I had a daughter who needed her dad to be able to get outside and play ball and tag and dress up in pink tutus and dance ballet with her across the living room, paint nails and wear makeup, eat pretend foods and be king of the castle. I needed to stick around so I could ease her first heart break and walk her down the aisle. 160s/120s was unacceptable and being on medication was not an option for me!

So the decision was made, it was time to lose weight, be healthy and set an example for my child (soon to be children) that would last a lifetime! So the journey began, in Feb of 2012 I decided to lose weight, get fit, be healthy and strong. Not only for my kids but for my wife. I didn't want to be the kind of spouse that got comfortable with the way he looked and stop caring. I wanted my wife to look at me each and every day and think that I still got it. Two things I started, first I started counting calories and noticed that my weight started coming off, but I didn't want to be just skinny, I wanted to be in shape. So in May 2012 I downloaded the 5K runner app and worked my way up to that 5k mark, but I didn't stop there soon I was running 10ks, then a 10 miler and soon I hope to complete my first Half marathon. But running wasn't enough, sure I had some amazing cardio capacity but that came with a downside, I lost muscle as well as fat, so about 5 months ago I started weight lifting and have fallen in love with it!

With that all being said from 25 years old when I got married to 30 years old now I have seen some amazing changes in my weight, my mind set, and my life. I had lost from 250 to 194 and since have gained some weight back due to the lifting but I'm sitting comfortable at 210 and am probably in better shape than I have ever been! My BP is in the normal ranges and life is great! I'm sorry for the very long story, if you read it then a cookie for you! If not... I don't blame you

This sounds exactly like my hubby and I. We got married in May 2011 and his contract ended for a position in Nov 2011 (thought it would be longer), was unemployed until March 2012 and got laid off from that position in Aug. 2012. We struggled, had to move back in w/ my parents bc w/ my salary alone we couldn't pay off all our bills (majority student loans) and in Aug. 2013, we found out we were pregnant... and he landed a job w/in a few days of us finding out. Talk about being blessed two-fold! Now we have to stay w/ my parents until we can get some bills down a lot lower and save to buy a home. But he was very depressed, applied to jobs and hid behind the video games as well. He felt like he was holding me back, but I told him when I took those vows, I meant every word. Been down that road.. not pretty. Glad everything worked out for you and your family.

When I finished breastfeeding my triplets exercise became a way for me to get out of the house and have some me time. I've never looked back.

Wow, that's awesome! I know hard work, but still kinda cool. Grats!

Agreed!
I've breastfed three children, but not at the same time and that was hard enough haha :P