The Beginning

(2008, 265 pounds)

Why am I doing this?

In 2005 my life took a major turn. Being born with a heart problem (Transposition of the great vessels) I knew one day that my heart would need to receive help from an outside source. Growing up was hard, I was not able to do much in the way of cardio, playing sports was hard, and I could never run more than a lap around the track before becoming winded and having complications. This lead to weight gain all my life and always being obese. In 2005 I went up to Spokane, Washington to do some physical tests for a heart doctor I started seeing after having palpitations while working.

With the exercise done it was time for the bad news. My doctor had seen that while doing this stress test my heart entered dangerous ventricular tachycardia that could possibly continue into a string of them and causing heart failure. So besides just going onto a day's load of medicine it was also suggested that I obtain an ICD be placed into my heart. After three surgeries and the implantation of the device I was sent home to start my new life. Depression set in, and then one day while outside trying to do some landscaping my device went off and shocked me, knocking me back and almost to the ground.

I was 25 years old, I had a pacemaker, I couldn't do anything that required too much physical effort, and I felt trapped. How was I going to lose weight? How was I going to become healthy let alone ever raise a family? Depression set in heavy, I gained more weight than I ever had and ballooned up to 290 pounds.

At the beginning of the next year I met my wonderful wife Kate. She brought me a family to live for but I still didn't improve myself. I stayed at the weight and only slightly lost, I was content at being obese and didn't think of how my decisions affected others. Then Kate and I decided to join a gym and I decided to try and lose weight, enough was enough and I needed to change my life, for myself, for my family, and for my future.

Every time I would lose the weight it seemed that something would happen. I would get hurt, I would get into a car accident, I would gain the weight back and it felt like a never ending battle, so although I was only now down to 260 I decided that is where I wanted to stay. I was still obese, I was still eating whatever I wanted, how much I wanted, and didn't care about what it was doing to my body. I lived my life how I felt I should live it. In September 2010 I took a good look at myself, a good look at my body, and decided I hated what I saw, I hated that I gave in and decided to just accept myself for what I was. I knew that it was enough with the talking, cut the crap, and start showing people that someone with my limitations can indeed prosper and lose the weight.

With my wife's and her parents help I was able to start changing my eating habits. I decided enough was enough with the excuses, I needed to cut out all the crap of my life and live for myself, my family, and my health and to show and motivate others that they too can do it! If I wanted to help others better themselves, I had to better myself first. I want to motivate others, I want to show you that you can cut out the crap in your life and that you too can follow the same path I did and get your life back!

I am going to be posting blogs as often as I can, from what I have done to what I am doing. I want to teach those who want to listen, and help those who want to be helped. I'm not doing this to give myself a pat on the back, I'm doing this to change lives! You don't need a gym, you don't need a nutritionist, what you need is to cut out the crap! Stop making excuses, stop telling yourself you can't do this because lets be honest, you can! Since being 290 pounds I am down to 212. I have lost 78 pounds. In January of 2011 I weighed 245 and was again just coasting. In just three months I have dropped 33 pounds by cutting it all out.

Follow my blog, I'm going to keep you updated, I'm going to give you tips and let you know how I learned to prosper, I will have recipes for you to try, and exercises that will make your body feel better and you feel better. This is the beginning of your change, you are going to come out of your cocoon with me. I'm not done, and I know there are many of you out there that want to start and make yourself a better person.

Do this for you
Do this for your family
Do this for your health
Do this to improve your life and fall in love with yourself!






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