RefreshedBlurb: 2013

Seems it's been nearly a year since I wrote a blog post. I'm not going to say I'll write them more often, because I know I've said that before, and look where we are. Granted, there are some posts that I wrote but never actually posted, but that's besides the point.

I believe I wrote a blog post about this a while ago, but I can't be bothered to go back and look to see what I wrote, I'm sure it's there somewhere though.

Going through high school, there were a few kids (I'd say maybe 3-4) that would, on a daily basis, always bully me about my weight. Yeah, I was a bigger kid, but I was also active and played soccer, always had a PE class going.. but I loved my food. Clearly I didn't know anything about ratios and self control when it came to limiting my portions, but then again, what kid in high school really does? Perhaps times have changed since then, gone are the days of getting together with friends to play a random game of road hockey, or hide & seek in the middle of the night. It's now all about the latest video games or something of the like.

My "largest" I think was about 2-3 years ago. I was hovering around the 250lb mark. I knew I had to lose weight, but I wasn't motivated and didn't have the determination to keep onto a diet and exercise on a regular basis despite always telling people I would. I was wearing size 38 jeans, and one moment I remember was being handed a pair of pants that were too big for someone and they said they may fit me. They were a size 42. Lucky for me they didn't fit, but just the fact that someone thought that they'd fit me was a blow to me and put things into perspective.

Though I never really got into a full time exercise regime, I at least started to eat a bit healthier and go for a run every now and then. Wasn't before long that I started to see some weight come off (I mean, you go from eating anything and everything in whatever portion you want to being more strict with yourself and just the decreased caloric intake is enough to slowly lose weight). I believe when I first started to date Lindsey I was around 248, that was October 2011. For the last year or so I've always hovered around the 218-230 mark. Not a huge loss by any means, but at least it was going in the right direction, for the first time in a long time, I was able to fit into size 36 jeans. Amazing!

Within the last few months I've become more motivated to actually get in better shape, be someone who can run 10k without an issue. Have a body where I'm able to take my shirt off around other people without feeling bad about my body. I've been back at the gym on a daily basis. Been pretty strict with my diet and doing my best to stay in the right zone for calories and make sure I'm eating food that is actually good for me, and not just a filler.

Back in October, I was going to the gym 5-6 days a week. It's slowed since then, but I'm at least getting back to 3-4 times a week and planning on increasing that to 5-6 days again.

A few weeks ago, I realized that the jeans and belt I was wearing were getting a bit big. If I didn't have a belt on, I could easily pull out the waist on my jeans and be a couple inches of space. If I wore a belt, it would basically bunch up my jeans and look horrible. Decided it was time to buy some new jeans, thinking the ones I had just stretched themselves out and no amount of washing could bring them back to a size 36.

Well.. I was wrong.

I decided to try on a size 34 just for shits and giggles (I've always used the excuse of having large thighs from soccer for being the reason I couldn't fit into smaller jeans) and um... they fit me. A size 34 fits me.. and there's actually a little bit of room still there. I was in the dressing room, looking at myself in these jeans and was like "wtf... you're not suppose to fit into a size 34". I honestly don't remember the last time I wore a size 34 pair of jeans. I never thought I would wear a size 34.

For the longest time, I've always kind of plateaued at 218 with my weight. No matter what I did, I could never get past that mark. I had set up a goal to be 210 by the time I went to Hawaii in Oct. I missed that goal and believe I was still around 218-220 when Hawaii happened. So I extended my goal of 210 to the end of the year.

I'm happy to say that as of a couple days ago. I've reached, and past my goal. I'm currently sitting at 208 lbs. I'm not done yet though. I still need to lose more, I know that. Especially with having surgery on my ankle, any extra weight is just more stress to it and more prone to another injury. Perhaps by my next trip, wherever that may be, I'll be below 200. It's hard to even imagine me being less than 200..

It never really hit me as to just how much weight I had lost until I was looking at some old pictures on Facebook last night. I believe this is the part where I upload some photos for comparison sake. Well.. that isn't working right now, I'll upload them when I get home. But there is a difference, I promise!

Before:

Right meow :

Honestly, where did 2012 go? It seems like it went by in an instant... Yet when I look back, a lot has happened.

The highlights of 2012 :

Ashley getting married.

Oma passing away.

Hawaii with Lindsey and the family.

Celebrating 1 year with Lindsey.

Taking over the company.

Dad having a heart attack.

I've written blog posts about a lot of these things so there's no purpose for me to go into detail about them all here. All there is to say, is that 2012 has had its ups and downs. There's been days where I've woken up and wished the day was already over, and then there were the days that I wish never ended.

I've smiled and frowned. I've cried, both in joy and in pain. I've had to say goodbye to a loved one and hello to the beginning of a new family (Ash/Jon). There's been days where I've felt on top of the world, and there's been days where I felt like I was backed into a corner.

But in the end. With everything that has happened, it has still made me a better person. I've learned lessons about life and about myself. I've improved myself as a whole and day by day grow more respect for myself. I've been doing my best to be a better son, a better brother, a better boyfriend, a better friend, and a better person to everyone I come across in life.

Life is a blessing. It's something that can be taken away at a moments notice without a warning. I've been doing my best to enjoy life as much as I can. Not turning down adventures, living life to the fullest and not letting the small things get the best of me.

So what does 2013 have to bring?

Who knows.

I have my goals, my dreams, and my aspirations I hope to achieve this year, but it's the surprise of random things coming your way that is always exciting.

I'm hoping to travel more this year, both for business and personal reasons. I really hope I get the opportunity to bring Linds to Japan with me. Also doing a long weekend down to California to go to Disneyland so we can experience the magical feeling we always get together.

I need to pay more attention to myself, and what I do to my body. Healthier eating, more physical activity. Need to be more determined and keep my eye on the end goal. I'm not getting any younger.