The picture above is of my old belt, banana included for scale. Over the last 6 months I went from the belt hole three in from the left by the banana stem all the way to the holes I carved into it on the left of the picture. I’ve lost count of the number of pounds and the inches lost and I’m happier that way.

In the past whenever I lost weight it was for a reason. I was getting ready for a sport I was playing, or I was doing it for a girl, or I was getting ready to go away to college and wanted to make a good impression. As long as I had that goal, that target weight or that date I was hoping for, I would stay strong. As soon as I reached my goal, I would begin to slide back into old habits. I would relax my discipline. I would stop working out as much, get complacent, satisfied with where I was. In a few years I would be back where I started again, barely able to understand what had happened.

Now, I have no goal weight or thing I want to accomplish. I just want to be in better shape because I believe it will help me be a better version of myself. I want to live as long as I can to be able to enjoy as much of this world as I can. Ultimately, I view it as a journey, not a battle. A battle is designed to wear you down and make you miserable. All battles end. A journey is a way to enjoy yourself on your way to where you would like to be.