Name something you have accomplished in your life that you are proud of. Brag about yourself,I wanna hear it.

I am proud of going from being morbidly obese to being healthy. I have lost a total of 127.8 pounds/ 58 kg over 4 years. I currently weigh less than I did at my lowest weight when I was in highschool. I gained 120 pounds/ 55 kg over a period of 5 years. I blame most of the weight gain on my active alcoholism during those years. I used to drink a litre of wine a day. A 750 ml bottle of vodka over one and a half day. My drinking was rampant and out of control. I felt like a slave to alcohol. I used to watch episodes of a show called intervention on YouTube and I would feel so envious of the addicts who went to rehab and came back 90 days sober. That seemed like such an impossibility back then. I was lost in despair,just completely disconnected from life around me. All I would do was lie in bed,drink and eat. I wasn't getting any exercise,I wasn't doing anything. I was just ballooning and self isolating with the only motivation for me to leave the house being buying alcohol. Now I walk kilometers a day. I can walk 10k in just under 2 hours. I'm physically fit and I love it. I can do cartwheels, I can squat,see my feet when I look down,tie my shoelaces without any hassle and fit comfortably in public spaces and public transport. The aesthetic benefits of weightloss are great but it's the overall healthy and light feeling that makes this so worth it. I remember going to the doctor when I was 23 and he told me my blood pressure was elevated. I felt so ashamed. It's one thing to get it due to genetic factors but it's different when you get it as a result of bad life choices. I knew I was the reason my blood pressure was elevated. I remember deciding that I had to do something but that motivation didn't last because nothing I tried to lose weight would work if I was still drinking. Weight gain is often just a symptom of a deeper psychological issue. My weight gain was tied to my drinking which was tied to an undiagnosed mental illness that I was using alcohol to self medicate. I'm grateful to have gotten help for my depression because that's what helped me outgrow alcohol as substitute for emotional regulation. No alcohol meant less calories and drunk cravings so my daily caloric intake was slashed in half.Add the daily exercise to that and the fat started to melt off. I'm proud of myself for fighting to give myself health and a better standard of living.

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unsociableAnthony

When I was in the Army I was in a hand to hand combat course to train leaders on how to teach hand to hand combat to the rest of our unit (It was not part of basic training, it was much more advanced training than this.)

During that training the instructor focused on me especially because he could tell I was not having an easy time keeping up with the rest of the group. Basically I was just getting my ass kicked.

He even stopped the lesson one day and told me to leave for my own safety. Then he asked me if he thought I could do better. I said yes. He asked if I wanted to complete the course. I said yes.

So we continued with the course. It was in the final training lesson that he really did his utmost to fail me out of the course. The final test was something called a clinch drill. It means that you cannot hit back but all the instructors will hit you. In order to make it stop you must close the distance and hug them basically.

I got knocked out 10 times during this exercise. I lost consciousness 10 times. But every time I jumped back up, angry, and tried again.

The other students started actually cheering for me. I remember they were shouting, "yes, get mad". And I was mad. I was furious and I accomplished the task many many times but was told by the instructors that it does not count. Eventually with blood all over my uniform from my nose and bear hugging one of the instructors for my life nobody could deny that I had completed the task.

This was one of the greatest experiences of my life and I never really have a chance to tell anybody about it because its just so awesome it sounds like some macho made up crap. But this is what happened.

I remember I told my wife at the time about it. Even she didnt really think much of it. I think she started talking about her flowers or some dumb shit. We divorced after I got out of the army.

Nobody cares. That's fine.

By the way I especially loved how the instructors had said before the course started that this course was about the essence of what it is to be a soldier. It was about closing the distance under attack and not being afraid. That combat veteran career NCOs had said that before I had this experience and won makes me very very proud.

But its only for me. Nobody else cares.

PinkMoon · 26-30, F

@unsociableAnthony That's an insanely inspirational badass moment. I'm imagining the whole scene in my mind and it looks Oscar worthy. I'm sad that you haven't been able to share this with someone who could appreciate just how significant that moment was for you. You broke through a wall that day,pushed yourself beyond reasonable limits until people were cheering you on. Not because you were popular but because of the respect you gained in their eyes by not giving up. Military men aren't easy to impress,what you did showed your character. Well done.