Why I Fight

What I have been doing over the past 50 days has been nothing short of a fight. A fight against what you might ask? A fight against a person with more than six years of low self-esteem, a life without risks, against a person that I grew to despise. My old self, which you can see to the left.

Someone that succumbed to a lifestyle filled with "I don't care" and "Oh well"s. That same person was fine with sitting at home playing video games and eating a large bag of potato chips all by himself. A person that at work had no qualms about eating fast food maybe twice a day.

He became sluggish, had no energy, and there came a day when he realized he had gone too far and it was time for a change.

As I mentioned in my first post, that change came around the time of my 22nd birthday. I was sitting at home, preparing for the 20lbs challenger/bet my friend and I set upon, and I was wondering how I would pull it off. That is when I stumbled on Adam Waters and his amazing transformation.

Wow! What an inspiration.

Watching Adam's "84 Days In 48 Seconds" video on Youtube filled me with an unparalleled excitement and a sense of urgency. If he could do it, I could do it too. I was filled with admiration and then more than ever I was sure I would be able to not only achieve my goal, but surpass it.

I can honestly say that I had not stopped to think about why, for who, or for what, I was going to do this. In fact, I think I didn't actually stop to ask myself that question until a couple of weeks into my transformation. The change was so rapid, the effects on my body so sudden, that I was simply propelled by the momentum. It was not until I hit my first weight loss plateau, after having shredded about 23lbs, that I began to think about my "Personal Reason Why".

The answer: I was tired. I was tired of feeling uncomfortable in my clothes. I was tired of hiding from old acquaintances because of my weight. I was tired of having a low self-esteem. I was tired of being overlooked because of how I looked. I was tired of not taking risks. I was tired of not living life to its full potential. I was tired of being ashamed of who I was.

I WAS TIRED.

Like I mentioned before, I have had everything a person could ask for, for a good while. What was missing, was confidence. A lack of which, stemmed from me being ashamed of my body. That shame shackled me in so many ways, yet it took me six years to decide to do something about it, instead of being content with being the way I was.

So I fought. I still fight. I will keep fighting. Against that person I grew to detest. The good news? This new Daniel is stronger, smarter, faster, and better, in every single way possible. My change, my fight, just like Adam's, has shown me to live life differently. I fight because when the earthquakes hit, I want to know I went down fighting, not laying in my bed eating some potato chips, playing video games, knowing that I missed many opportunities in life.

Look at the picture from my Day 1. Do you recognize that look? If you have looked at Adam's Day 1 picture, I am sure you recognize it. If YOU have a day 1 picture, I am sure you recognize it. Its the pain, shame, tears, suffering... all hiding behind those eyes.

I will never go back to that.