“B” is for Before

There was a moment when everything clicked. When I finally admitted to myself that I was not happy with the way I looked and much less with the way I felt. I was tired all the time. I was clinically depressed. My cholesterol had shot through the roof. And I had been diagnosed pre-diabetic. 

“Before” spanned 10 years but it was really 2011-2013 when I did the most damage. Then I finally sought help (group and individual therapy), changed my food (started cooking), and moved more (three times a week).

This was before:

• BMI > 40 (this number alone says little but add the rest and it’s not a pretty picture)
• Clinically depressed due to unresolved grief and academic burnout
• Sleeping in average 4 hours a day, rarely at night.
• Sedentary lifestyle – the last year going out mainly to work and pick up take-out.
• Diet consisting of mainly saturated fat and carbs (chicken wings, fast food burgers, and pizza were common)

This was before:

This picture is three years old. I have very few pictures of myself from the last five to ten years; virtually none show me head to toe, not even half. In the last ten years I’m pretty sure that every picture I’ve dared to share has been enhanced with filters and careful cropping. My hand is carefully placed to cover my double-chin. WOW! The effort!

The Lesson?
Before can be anytime, anywhere.
Not happy with what’s going on now?
Seek help and change it.
#thestruggleisreal

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