What I Wouldn't Do For a Klondike Bar...

Well, what wouldn't I do for a Klondike Bar? Geez...that's a tough question. I suppose I wouldn't kidnap a relative, harm a midget, cheat on a free-survey, cut in line at the DMV, use a turn signal in California, hit on an Armenian girl, wear sworts (sweat-pant-shorts), do Yoga in public, put EggNog in a camelbak and hike Mt. Kilimanjaro, be the guy that says "$1" on the Price is Right, mud wrestle an Episcopalian Priest, take one for the team (on any level), wear a blue-tooth in public while holding my phone in my hand, watch Fever Pitch 2 in English or Spanish, chug Mayo, eat Korean food in Korea, hand feed a cheetah, try out for Olympic Javelin Catching, be a meter-maid, change the channel when my sister is watching Ricki Lake, date a woman who prefers the 6hr British version of 'Pride & Prejudice', battle rap someone on Venice Beach, be a USC fan (any sport), and that about tops it I think...

I also wouldn't leave California. As in, move away. You know, like when you pack your bags and bounce outtie 5000 to a whole new plateau; trade in these moccasins for another man's (aka-move.) I am too stubborn. Even when I see things falling apart I refuse to run. I'm like Harry Truman, understanding of the danger but caring less about its destructive abilities; so long as I finish what I started. I've always had a knack for competing things; even if they were things I should have left alone in the first damn place. For instance, stealing a box of baseball cards from the 7-11 as a 12 year old boy; I didn't just steal the cards, I unwrapped them in the parking lot and got caught.

I love how Franklin D. Roosevelt looked at the idea of giving up; "When you come to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on..." Their is something to be said about perseverance. Their is also something to be said about being stubborn. Friedrich Nietzsche said that, "...many are stubborn in pursuit of the path they have chosen, few in pursuit of the goal..." I love how stubbornness is defined, "...obstinately unmoving, difficult to manage or suppress, stiff, tenaciously unwilling, perversely unyielding, bullheaded..." Their are a plethora of terms I wouldn't mind being defined by; however, none of them are listed in the previous sentence. I feel like I've allowed a mundane-learning-curve to define me with such terms on multiple levels instead of pressing through to embrace humility, the true antidote to stubbornness.

Everyone has a gift. Everyone has a curse. I don't mean a curse like the ones you see on documentaries about Ancient Rome or in a Magic the Gathering Card Game. I'm just attempting to profess the reality of us all having apparent strengths and weaknesses; and we need not fear our weaknesses, but moreover, embrace them. I understand that in my life I've been mightily slothful in several areas, most specifically, finances and health. Those seem to be two major areas. It's not like I just said spelling & knitting, I said finances and health people! So, as of the last five months I've been on those two areas like Ugz on a Cougar (not the animal...).

It has been a total life transformation; but not like the Tony Little one. Same idea, different hair. Less awkward I suppose? It was a weird feeling. I remember just looking in the mirror one day and feeling like I didn't like the person I saw, and felt genuinely that I'd lost complete control of my life. I wasn't being smart with my money; blowing it on eating out all day every day. I wasn't taking care of my body; struggling to do mundane tasks as my weight was starting to take over and skyrocket. I was the heaviest I'd ever been at 337, and I was the unhappiest I'd been in years. It is one thing to be unhappy with appearance, it's a whole different thing to feel like your out of control; struggling to regain some direction in life.

So, here I am, some five months later and I've bounced back like the economy. Okay, maybe that was a bad example. I've bounced back like Brett Farve's career? Well, lets just say I've bounced back, and leave it at that. I'm down as of today from 337 to 272. That's 65 pounds of awesomeness gone from this still 'pearish' figure. Going slowly from ashy to classy and working dilligently and not only losing weight, but losing stubborness. I'm still learning how to trade in my bad habits for the good ones. I've learned most importantly how to be an extremist for good habits as opposed to an advocate for bad ones. I'm incredibly thankful to friends and family and God for the support that has been unwaveringly-concrete during this immensely transformational time in my life. I look forward to embarking on many a greater journey's in the future, but, for now, this is the path I'm on and I'll continue on it faithfully until the next challenge arises.


So, one day I just woke up and decided it was about that time. I started hitting the gym up 5 days a week, 2 hours a day, and doing an online calorie counter to stay beneath 2,500 calories a day. I started adding swimming & running in the evening for an hour. I practically stopped soda, candy, fast-food, cold turkey. I gave up those desires to binge eat on foods that were destroying me and started to rebuild what I knew was a severely unhealthy interior; pounding down the veggies and fruits. I started to become more educated on the dangers of greasy and fatty foods, aspartame, and various other processed foods. Attempting vigorously to go practically alkaline in my dietary structure-with a healthy dose of meat mixed in throughout. I began after a mere week or two to notice a boost of energy and a much stronger desire to stay disciplined.

It's been about 4 1/2 - 5 months and here I sit at Starbucks. I feel like a changed man. I've gone from a 46 to a 38. I've dropped from 337 to 282. I feel like above all, I've lost my stubbornness. I no longer feel like the guy who wants to live selfishly; eating what I want, spending what I want, doing what I want. It seems that by developing some healthy habits of discipline I've become a much more thankful person; as well as a much more gracious person. I can't say I'm more humble, because boy would that be an ironic statement; I think just saying that would make me unhumble? I've realized that losing weight and staying healthy is much more a science than an art. It seemed like algebra for me for years; I couldn't figure out why I was getting bigger. Although it seems obvious looking back, you can't eat 8,000 calories a day and run once a month and lose weight; trust me, I tried!

So, I'm a little over halfway to my goal of 100 in a year. I haven't publicized much of this journey as I didn't want to make it something it's not. I didn't do this for peoples approval. I did it because I don't want to die young. I've watched family drop like flies due to heart related disease and knew my ticker was going to expire sooner than later if I kept up my reckless lifestyle. So, here I am, typing away at Starbucks, feeling lighter and embedded with a true thankfulness to God's grace and provision in these past four or five months. I am more appreciative now then I've ever been and understand fully that every day is a gift, and I want to make sure I 'act accordingly.'