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.

dancingtongue · 80-89, M

Let's see: I went from no indoor plumbing, electricity, or telephone and a wood stove for both cooking and heating to two baths and full kitchen, electricity, landline and cellphone, full HVAC and electric stove, convection oven, and microwave.

I went from living on ranches and farms, picking cotton and cutting cots, to a college educated executive who helped grow a small regional non-profit health care delivery system into the largest in the country.

I went from a clueless shy adolescent with no idea how to relate to my peers, particularly those of the opposite sex, to a marriage of 43 years and raising two successful, independent sons, and an additional 10 year partnership (losing both wife and partner to death)

But most importantly, imho, I went from a sickly kid who spent four years in bed rest (and limited activity for a couple of years after that) with the expectation I would need some level of care during a limited life span through two years of active duty in the Army to be still alive and active at age 83.

PinkMoon · 26-30, F

@dancingtongue All that and you're 83? You sir have lived! Congratulations on improving your life so drastically over the course of your life.

dancingtongue · 80-89, M

@PinkMoon Thank you. I have no complaints, and I also will be the first to acknowledge that I didn't do it alone. A lot of helping hands who gave encouragement, guidance, and most importantly, opportunities along the way. It truly takes a village.