This seems like a positive environment! Long-term lurker, first-time poster.

[DanielWallen]

Hello, friends! My name is Dan. I've been reading this blog for over a year now and have been guilty of lurking the forums for a lot of that time, so I figured I should stop being shy and introduce myself. In short, I want to meet some positive new people. I made the mistake of joining a body-building forum or two, and let's just say there was too much testosterone/negativity contained in these forums for my liking. This whole "being a jerk is manly" thought must die, but I digress. It seems like the atmosphere here is more positive, encouraging, and fun--so I'm hoping to have a better experience here.

I'll go ahead and tell you a little about myself. I struggled with my weight for a very long time. In elementary school, I was more interested in Nintendo games than playing outside. In middle school, I was more interested in soda and fast food than sports, and as a result, ended up weighing over 200 lbs as a teenager. In high school, I discovered DDR (Dance Dance Revolution), lost a bunch of weight, but then I went to college and immediately gained it all back in 1/3 the time it took to lose it. I told myself "I was too busy to exercise," and of course having a buffet-style meal available 24/7 didn't encourage positive diet behaviors.

On my graduation day, I snapped. I looked at myself in the mirror and for the first time fully comprehended how poorly I had taken care of myself. I was very successful in academics, but I asked myself, "At what cost to my body and health?" That day, I vowed I would lose my weight and never gain it back.

The road has been long and difficult, but I kept fighting. At the start of my journey, I was 230 lbs/40 inch waist/25% body-fat.

Today I am 175 lbs/30 inch waist/12%(ish) body-fat.

It wasn't easy to get here--it took a lot of trial and error to figure out which diet and training methods work best for my body. I still have a lot of work to do, as I want to LEVEL UP and have the body of a super-hero, but I'm happy with my results so far.

My biggest take-away in all of this is that tracking your progress is monumentally important. There are certain principles that anyone should follow (I concur with the NF "Rules of the Rebellion"), but in regard to the precise specifics, I don't think there's any such thing as a "one size fits all" diet or fitness plan. If we don't track our progress, we'll never know what works and what doesn't. I wish I realized this on Day 1, as I could have accomplished a lot more by now if I did.

A few other little things about me: Batman is my favorite super-hero, and in fact has the physique I'd love to reach eventually. My favorite things to do: reading, playing with my dog (a beagle named Dixie), going on long hikes, sipping on tea in coffee-houses, and exploring new places. I'm a past member of Corporate America, and always left work dissatisfied, irritable, and unhappy. Because of this, I'm taking a leap of faith by pursuing personal training in my home-state of Tennessee. This is all very scary, but also exciting.

I've been trying to attach some progress photos so you can see my change to-date, but keep getting errors after ten minutes of attempts, so I'm just going to give you a link to them. I tried this on IE and Chrome with same issue--anyone out there know why this could be for future reference? If so, please advise. The "body progress" photos are in skivvies, so if you're at work, I'd advise you don't click those right now.

Before/After Head-Shots

Body Progress Front

Body Progress Back

Thank you for your time and I hope to meet some awesome new people here. Have a wonderful day!

[MikeyWalnuts]

Congrats on all your progress!

[Hermione Gainser]

Welcome! and congrats on all the progress!

[wreckratz]

You look great! Congrats and keep gaining experience points

[DanielWallen]

Thanks all! I've found my personal magic recipe, so I'm never gonna let myself become satisfied or stagnant. Continuous improvement is important to me!

[Niccolo]

Awesome progress, Dan!

Good for you following your dreams and what makes you happy.

[connally7]

That is some impressive progress. Kudos, Dan!

I have also been the victim of soul-sucking corporations in the past. No more, I say! Cheers for following your dreams; as terrifying as the unknown is, I'm sure you'll find success and be much happier for taking such a risky leap of faith. Best of luck in your career endeavors!

[DanielWallen]

Connally, did you find more inspiring work beyond your soul-sucking days? Maybe this could help ease some of my anxiety if you wouldn't care to share. Thank you for the well-wishes. I'm hopeful, and am doing everything I can to stay enthusiastic, motivated, and positive. Also, thank you, Niccolo.

[connally7]

Yes, and no. I haven't fully ventured out on my own yet. Not like you, though I am supremely impressed with your bravery:) right on!

The first step was breaking away from all things corporate; and even though I have definitely taken a financial hit, it's been totally worth it. It's nice to be in a more positive environment while figuring out the next step. I worked first (and still occasionally sub) as a receptionist and childcare worker at a very small, privately-owned fitness studio. I saw the owners every day since they taught the majority of the classes and even helped them with their blog and website. They knew my name and seemed genuinely interested in my life when we talked, and they were always quick to say how much they appreciated me when I did anything above or beyond my job description. It was a refreshing change from the dull, meaningless plod of the corporate world and it's complete lack of interest in me as a human being or at the very least, a non-replaceable, unique part of their team. Ugh!

I now work at a tea room where the owners sit in the corner every day to eat and I know every single person that works there: the kitchen staff, managers, servers, hostess, etc. It's not glamorous or what I want to do forever, but it's locally owned and everyone there is just upbeat and happy and fun. And having a positive work environment has been so incredible for my general well-being.

Eventually, I want to be self-employed and though I haven't figured out exactly what that looks like yet, the pieces are much clearer now than they were a year ago, while stuck in unappreciative corporate h***. Most of that clarification and inspiration comes from people like you. And a really good friend of mine that just threw her hands up and was like "Screw this being-told-how-much-I'm-worth crap! I'm outa here." She's now a certified masseuse, works her own hours, and is training for a triathlon in her free time. Basically, awesome:)

Good luck on everything! I'm sure you'll do great:) Keep me updated on how's it's going.

I am now gonna go creep on your blog. Because I am a totally hopeless blog addict.

[DanielWallen]

Connally,

Sounds like a much better existence. Finding something like that would be my "emergency fall-back plan," but I'm hoping this self-employed thing works out. Happy to hear it ended well for your friend. Been working 12 hour days on this bad boy for the last month, and it is paying off. I believe I have a lot to offer! The nuts and bolts are now, so I'm about to the point where I can almost exclusively on networking, getting media attention, all that good stuff. I appreciate you taking a look at the blog--I need as many "blog addicts" as I can get! Did you enjoy your creeping? Anything you noticed that could maybe be better?