Determined To Succeed

It’s not often we get to time travel. No, you didn’t read that wrong. I did say time travel…a mix between the H.G. Wells kind and the “Flash Forward” kind.

Let me explain…yesterday I had the absolute honor of speaking with the first person to sign up for my personal one-on-one weight loss motivation sessions using Skype. While we were talking he told me about how he connected with me because, in me, he saw himself. He said looking at me let him know there was someone just like him who went through the exact same thing with the almost exact same set of circumstances. We discussed foods (including our likes for certain fast foods), clothing (and the need to shop in certain stores that carry that size) and the emotions we feel – about how being overweight can act as a shield to protect us from being hurt by the stinging words of others.

While I was listening to him and his story I felt a kinship to him, too. And this is where the time travel bit comes into play. As much as he saw me as the man he wants to be in terms of clothing sizes (I now wear a large t-shirt and have a size 36 waist) I saw how far I’d come (we wears the exact same size clothes I used to wear). It was like he and I both looked into a double mirror of sorts – him peering into his future and me into the past.

It was a remarkable conversation and made me think back to a few things…

…like the fact that if my current self went back to talk to my past 400-pound self I don’t think I could have believed I would have been able to lose that much weight.

…like the fact I needed to take a good, long look at myself and see me as other saw me, the big 400-pound man I had become – the first time in years I faced reality and the cold, hard and bitter truth.

…like the fact it took me bottoming out and saying “I won’t ever be heavier than this ever again” after taking a good, long stare at my aquarium photo to really begin my weight loss journey.

…like the fact I had to say “I want to be thinner more than I want that plate and/or kind of food,” and really stick to it pushing through the temptations to reach my goal (again, applying the Zen principle of removing clutter to best see the goal).

It was also a remarkable conversation because it made me think about the present and appreciating what I’ve already accomplished and, again, how Zen I need to be about all this. I have really and irrevocably changed my lifestyle for the better and it will be that way for the rest of my life. And while I still have to make choices every day about exercise and eating right, I don’t just know the path…I am walking the path. Thank you for reminding me of that, my friend.

So today’s weight loss blog is dedicated to my new friend, my new brother on this weight loss journey. Dude, you did a brave thing yesterday opening up and talking, and now you need to take that next, brave step and look at yourself and be honest with you about how much you weigh and how you look. It will hurt but it will be OK. It will be because you got a glimpse at the future. The future you want. The size you want to be. There will be stumbling blocks, too. I guarantee that. But how you deal with them will determine your success. If you stumble get right back up. It’s OK. I’ve stumbled and I’ve gotten right back up, too. Hell, I continue to stumble (as you read here in these virtual pages) but I still get up and back on track. You are so worth the pain, effort and commitment this will take. Trust me.

I’ve always said to everyone on a weight loss journey “we are all in this together.” And my friend, we are, and you will never have to feel alone again. I got you.