I've gained 20 pounds since I hit my 100 pound weight loss. Am I ashamed of that? Not really. It's not the end of the world. Here's why I have that perspective: I accomplished something I never thought I could. I was nearing 400 pounds when I decided to transform my life. For 363 days, I focused on my health. I tracked my food intake, consistently exercised and pushed myself day in and day out. I grew in so many ways in those 363 days. I am now refocusing on my health and hoping to shed those 20 pounds soon. Here's what I learned through my weight loss journey.
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Lessons Learned in Episode 1 of Wisco Legacy
You Can Do It
I tried and failed time and again to lose weight. I tried all of the diets, tried getting consistent with workouts and kept failing. There were too many temptations for me. I worked an hour from home and would stop at gas stations and fast food restaurants to and from work. I would go out to lunch all of the time too. Our office was surrounded by great food options. In March of 2020, I began working at home. This changed my life. I instantly got two hours back in my day. It took me five months to take the leap of faith and start to transform my life. I took it slow, changed the way I ate and slowly added in exercise. Starting slow and being consistent were key elements in my weight loss journey. If you are struggling, take that leap of faith and transform your life.
Find Your Why
One summer night, my then 1.5 year old daughter and I were playing outside. She had just started getting more active. On this particular night, I was running around with her and was struggling to keep up with her. I was a 28 year old former three-sport athlete who couldn't keep up with his 1.5 year old. That was tough to process. I had known for years that I needed to get healthier, I just never had a why. In that moment, my why became clear. I needed to make a lifestyle change so I can be there for my daughter. I also knew that my wife and I wanted another child. I knew being nearly 400 pounds, drinking unbelievable amounts of Mountain Dew and eating unhealthy would not help us conceive. So, I set out to change my life. As I was approaching the one year mark of my weight loss, I wanted to finally set a goal. I hadn't set a goal throughout the process, but I had two big milestones coming up.
The one year mark of my weight loss journey
My second daughter was due to be born shortly after that one year mark
I hit that 100 pound weight loss two days before the one year mark and less than two weeks before my second daughter was born. Seeing that number on the scale was a truly incredible feeling!
Mental Health Matters
Look at that picture to the right. As I reflect on that time in my life, I can see that I struggled with my mental health. Was I depressed? The thought never crossed my mind but that "smile" tells a lot. I never spoke to anyone about my depression and never sought treatment, so please know that I was not diagnosed with clinical depression. However, I wasn't the best version of myself, mentally. At that time, my life was an endless circle. Get up, go to work, eat and drink terribly, hide food from my family, sit on the couch, then go to bed. I knew these things were detrimental to my health but food gave me a little pick me up. I would overeat and literally say to myself "I hate myself" after eating all of that unnecessary food. I knew people judged me and my weight. I used to be a Corporate Trainer and would occasionally speak in from of groups of up to 100 people. I saw the looks. I saw people judging me for sweating profusely while facilitating. I would have to adjust my tucked in shirt because I was self-conscious of it pulling out while I facilitated. I told myself it didn't bother me, but it really did. It bothered me because I let myself get that way. I was in control of what I put into my body and I made terrible decisions for years. Every single day, I was putting garbage into my body and it took a toll. It made the number on the scale climb, made me depressed and held me back.
As I started to input better food into my body and started to exercise regularly, the depression started to fade a bit. Taking the leap of faith to transform my life was the single greatest decision I ever made (besides marrying my wife and deciding to have kids). It truly made every facet of my life better. I became a better father, husband, son, friend, uncle, employee and person. Losing weight is more than just losing the weight. It truly transforms every facet of your life.
If you are struggling to take that leap of faith, just do it. It took me years to start, but I'm glad I did. It truly transformed my life.
If you are struggling to take that leap of faith, send me a message or email cory@wiscolegacy.com. You can transform your life, you just have to take that leap.
That's a wrap on the second article of What I Learned! If you liked this article, please fill out the subscribe form on my website to be the first to read it: Subscribe Here.
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