Being without a dad sucks! Being Overweight Sucks! Both are very true!! I don’t know if anyone reading this can relate, but here goes. In 2001, I lost my dad to cancer. I used to look back and wonder what could have been done differently, where there things that he may have put into place early in his life that set this cancer thing in motion. Maybe it was only God’s will…if so that’s fine. I can accept that. However, I can’t help believe that the way my dad would eat and being relatively sedentary was a huge cause. Growing up, we stocked the fridge with Cokes and the cabinet with Doritos. Fried this, Fried that–it was a big part of growing up in the South. I too had grown up and become a product of this lifestyle, something that may very well in the future take my life.
I wish I could say that I just had that revelation and turned and made the changes necessary, but that’s not how it happened at all. Here’s a picture of me and my oh so cute girlfriend(now wife) a couple weeks before an event happened that would change my life forever.
On Dec. 17th, 2007(my Birthday), my brother took me skiing. We were on our second run at Copper Mountain and I had the awesome idea that our skiing should take place “Out of Bounds.” As we moved down one hill in the woods to get back to the clearing we came into some thigh-deep powder. I turned left…well 90% of my fatness went left. My right leg from the knee down stayed perfectly still and let out a huge pop that sounded like someone opened one of those round can of biscuits. Boom! I went down then, my brother managed to help me back down and we left. Sorry Barry! I waited around about two months to go to have a surgeon look at it. I thought, well heck, if John Elway can play on a screwed up knee than I’m sure I will be fine. I forgot for a little bit, that Elway wasn’t a chubby monkey, as I was.
I had my surgery in early March ’08 and afterwards I remember laying around on the couch for the next week. I was so depressed with knowing that had I not been so heavy, that my knee probably wouldn’t have snapped so easy while skiing. After surgery, I was laying on the couch eating copious amounts of chocolate and drinking what I thought at the time was Nectar of the Gods(Coke) while watching TV. It was then that I had my “Aha” moment and pledged to get my life on track. There was an infomercial that came on that absolutely had me captivated. There was a room full of insane, sweat-drenched exercise mongers that were following a program called P90X. I knew that was going to be part of me getting in shape and not living the rest of my life so overweight and unhappy. I ordered it and began the program around the 1st of September in 2008. In the few months before I started the program, and while my knee began to heal, I started eating a cleaner diet and with the lack of the sodas, I lost about 20-25lbs over a couple months.
P90X was intense, for sure, but that program coupled with better nutrition helped me lose 85 lbs!!!
I made the promise that my daughter will not have to watch her dad die because of eating unhealthy or not exercising. My wife will enjoy a husband that has enough energy for work, play and to spend with her!
I am grateful for the awakening and my beautiful wife’s support(thank you for believing in me) and I definitely look forward to being able to help others experience the same joy! I’m definitely not to where I want to be yet, but I’ve got a goal and a focus that I will get there!
My Beautiful Daughter, Emma
The coolest God-Son, Dominic
ChangedMyWorld 
