The first day for me....

...started like any other day. It was February 25th 2012, I weighed 247lb. and had become immune to the reflection in the mirror, hardly paying any attention at all. I knew I was overweight and that I looked terrible, I just continued to tell myself that I would lose it one day.

That night after my family had gone to sleep I was stepping out of the restroom and noticed myself in the mirror. I stopped and took a long hard look. I examined my face and body, side and front views. Then I got a mirror and looked at myself from behind. Honestly, taking a few minutes to really look at myself caused it to sink in just how far I had let things go. At that moment I understood, some day wasn't soon enough. I needed to correct this starting now. I stepped out of the restroom and walked to our living room where I impromptu did 10 situps and 10 pushups. It was murder, and it occurred to me just how difficult this process was going to be.

The next day I woke up with a sense of purpose, and ignorance. I hadn't researched what I was going to do, what diet worked, what exercises to do, etc. So I started with a little common sense. I knew I had to break my habit of skipping breakfast and only eating a few heavy meals per day. So I had a modest bowl of cereal, and started the day. I grabbed a couple snacks from the pantry and a really old Lean Cuisine from the freezer to take to work. I managed a 30 min walk around my building at work and ate my snacks and lunch at appropriate times. That evening at home, I ate a smaller portion of dinner and dusted off our exercise bike and climbed on for another 30 minutes. A late evening snack made me feel guilty that night, but it was a good start.

The next five days all went very similiar save for some variety on exercising. I weighed in 3/2/12 and to my surprise I had lost 6lb! This change really served to motivate me farther. A grocery store trip was upcoming and I decided all my chips were going in the middle. I was kicking processed foods to the curb. My grocery list and meals were planned around as many single ingredient foods as possible. Over the next few weeks I kicked refined sugar to the curb, then alcohol, and finally refined grains. The alcohol was tough, and I certainly plan to enjoy beverages again, it just didn't fit with what I needed to do right now. Seemingly all the sudden, my entire family was eating healthier than ever. I bought a workout machine from Craigslist to vary my exercise even more, and the pounds just continued to melt off. I forced myself on days I didn't feel motivated and other days I attacked the plan like a madman.

On 3/16/2012 at 231lb, 16lb. lost, I started taking daily pictures. On 3/20/2012 at 229lb., I joined MFP and started journaling my exercise and diet every day. On 4/5/2012, at 220lb., I wrote this topic. I've lost 27 pounds in 40 days, and have 20 more to lose to my goal. I wrote this in case there's someone out there thinking, some day.... If that's the case, then I say to you --- Why not today? For me it started on a whim and I stuck to it and improved along the way.

Good luck to anyone taking on this journey! Some days it isn't easy, but the rewards are tremendous and the victory you feel is amazing!

-Nathan

Here is a pic from 3/16 thru 4-4, wished I had started the pics sooner!