When I wake up in the morning, my first thoughts are usually about how I will trudge through the day. Feeling bogged down with school and work, I seem to have a knack for finding the negative aspects and focusing on them. The truth is that I'm the one who is bogging me down. I have done it for much of my life. Somehow, I have seemingly sabotaged whatever I set out to achieve. It's a combination of being distracted, being lazy, and being mentally weak.
No more.
It's rare that a story about sports would bring me to tears, but that is just what has happened. I was reading a story about Pirates Manager Clint Hurdle that reached out and slapped me across the face. It tells how he always seemed to be in the right place at the wrong time. It wasn't till he changed himself that everything else seemed to align itself. He had a drinking problem in the prime of his career as a player. It all changed when he realized that it wasn't about being successful, but rather being happy with yourself. You learn more from failing than winning.
I have failed many times.
Now comes the time to learn from those failures. The overwhelming theme of the article was to "Make a difference today", and so I shall. I have been edging closer to the man I want to be in the past few months. It was April 1st, I was sitting in front of the computer contemplating trying out for the TV show The Biggest Loser. It's a tough day when you realize that you are bigger than some of the contestants on the show. I topped out around 275 lbs., I smoked, and would binge eat. A horrible way to kill yourself, but that is exactly what I was doing. Maria and I got into an argument about auditioning for the TV show. I felt helpless. Maria, however, believed in me. She has always believed in me, even when I couldn't understand why. She said I didn't need the show to lose weight, that I had the strength within me to do it here, now. Not sure if I believed her that day...but I do now.
I have lost 60 lbs. and have quit smoking. I have taught myself control, but I did not do it alone. So many have inspired me to believe in myself.* It was tonight that I finally realized the last piece of the puzzle. Make every day count. So many days I just seem to "get through". Why? What the point of just "getting through"? Why not take the challenge and conquer it? I know I will most likely stumble at times, but my new goal every day it to make a difference. Not to waste a single day.
I want to share with you what I have been doing. Having wrestled for so long I knew how to work out, how to push myself when I'm tired, but I need to learn how to dedicate myself to it everyday. I needed to learn how to eat properly as well. Well thanks to Bob Harper, Jillian Michaels, and Dolvett Quince, I had a good idea how to start. I limited myself to 1600 calories a day and hitting the gym 3 times a week, which included running a 5k every time. Now I will admit I haven't been going to gym as often as I should, but there is a reason for that. It would seem that Crohn's Disease doesn't like it when you push yourself too hard. That really hasn't stopped me from doing so. As Maria would attest to, when I do something I have two speeds, stop and 5000 mph. There is no middle ground. If I'm in the gym, I go hard. There is the little voice of coach Don Henry in my head saying "if you give up now, you will give up when it counts. If your practice poorly, you will have poor results on the mat." So I go hard, even when I should pull back. At 275 lbs. my knees would ache every time I ran, bordering on pure pain at times. Running is hard for a fat man. Then when I would get home and the Crohn's would kick in and I would spend the next few agonizing hours running to the bathroom every 15 minutes or so. I pushed on. I was so sick of failing, and this I could not let myself fail. Eventually my knees felt better and better. I noticed my clothes getting looser. Eventually people started noticing. So here I sit today 215 lbs, my high school wrestling weight, but I' not done. I may never be. I know that everyday I will try my best.
Goal for Today: Make a Difference.
*I want to thank all those who have inspired me. You never know who you will affect by the example you set, be it good or bad. So remember always try to be your best, you might just inspire someone.
Deacon Dominic Cerrato, Judy Cerrato, Cindy Hoerchler, Vinny Hickerson, Michael Ventrella, Jon Calvo, Jane Malick, John R. Deller III, Danny Cahill, Darius George, Chism Cornelison, Shay Sorrells, Daniel Wright, Rulon Gardner, Jillian Michaels, Bob Harper, Dolvett Quince, Clint Hurdle, Don Henry and finally my amazing wife Maria Pierce.
Warning Graphic Pictures ahead!!!!!!!
Here are a few pictures from where I started. Roughly 275 lbs. Stomach 55 inches around at the belly button.
and here I am now about 215 lbs.43 1/2 inches at the belly button (sorry for the poor pic quality, blame Apple)
A total of 11 1/2 inches lost around my stomach.
