Today is one year to the day since I made the decision to live a healthier life. I've lost 140lbs in that time. I've gained confidence, self-esteem, and a beautiful wife who would have married me had I not bothered to lose a
pound.
I remember on September 1, 2008, walking into the
gym for my first workout. I remember the feelings of despair at every step along the way - feelings I still have whenever I let myself think about how much farther I still have to go, and how hard it will be to get there. But I just took it one day at a time and perservered, and you know what? 1 year seems to have gone by in a blink of an eye, and these 140lbs now seem to have melted off as easily as a snowman on a warm, winter day.
I remember before September 1, 2008. I would lay in bed every night and tell myself, tomorrow. Tomorrow I would go to the
gym. Tomorrow I would go outside for a run. Tomorrow I would go on a
diet. But tomorrow never became today. I'm writing this because I think there are people out there like me. Maybe you think you have too far to go, and it will take too long to get there. Maybe you're just waiting until tomorrow. I tell you what you've probably heard before - take it one day at a time, and don't focus on an ultimate
goal or destination. Focus on the journey, the lifestyle change. If you sit by waiting for tomorrow, tomorrow will pass you by and leave you sitting there wondering where it went. For those of you just starting out, I guarentee in 1 years time, if you persist, you'll look back wondering where the year went, and you'll be amazed how easy it seemed to make progress. You'll realize the things that felt like struggles at the time - the
diet restrictions and the workouts - really no longer feel like they were any struggle at all. Me? I've been maintaining my new lifestyle for a year now. I know that if I made it this far, I can make it through today. I'll worry about tomorrow when it gets here
So looking forward, what can I say about September 1, 2010? I don't know... thinking about it makes it seem so far away, and I still have too far to go, and I might never get there. It does cause a little despair. But this time, the past year has given me confidence, that if I just focus on getting through today, and then the next day, and then the day after that, the days, weeks, and months will pass in a blink of an eye, and when I do get there I'll be amazed how quickly the time went, and how fast I progressed.
As a final thought... Maybe you can tell that I have been doing a lot of reflection on life lately. One thing I've realized is that every new day is greater than the sum of every past day leading up to today - that the struggles of yesterday mean nothing when compared to the joy of being alive today. 1 year ago, I was afraid that I might die before I reach 50 - that my life was half spent, I would make my wife a widow, and any children I might have would have to suffer the death of a father well before they should. I would have been laying on my death bed, mumbling "tomorrow", and wondering why I never found the time to change the outcome. Today I have hope. I know the actions I have taken over the past year have given me my life back. I get through every day by knowing that by tomorrow, the pains of today will be nothing but a faded memory. When I do reach the end of my life, I want to be able to look back and know that I did everything in my power keep that day from coming - for if there is 1 thing I can do today, tomorrow or the next day that will give me 1 more day of life, well then whatever it is, it will be worth it.
Thanks for posting it. 
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