I’ve never been the fittest and I’ve never been the fastest...

I’ve never been the fittest and I’ve never been the fastest. Here’s proof. I’ve been somewhat of an avid runner for the past 10 years and it’s been a great improvement to my life. But no matter how much I ran, I could never lose the weight that I wanted. I always thought of myself as ‘big boned’ because that’s what I grew up hearing. I was conditioned to believe that I would always be big. There was one serious inhibitor that kept me from losing weight: my lifestyle. I, like many Americans, especially Texans, started consuming alcohol at an early age. At first, it was a fun way to spice up my life and be the life of the party. I was always that guy. But I was also the guy who would wake up with unforgiving hangovers every Saturday and Sunday morning, and I was also that guy who made poor decisions while intoxicated, which landed me in the slammer a few times — something I’m not proud of. Fast forward to the last few years — the last 2.5 years have been the best years of my life due to the conscious decision I’ve made to live a healthy life. Being healthy is much more than doing one thing to improve your health. Many people don’t drink, but they’re still unhealthy because they eat processed foods daily. Many people eat a clean diet but drink on the weekends — still unhealthy. The only way you can achieve real health and an improved quality-of-life is by better aligning your entire life. What does this mean exactly? It means removing all negativity and toxicity from your life; i.e, processed foods, toxic people (even toxic family members — we all have them), drama-filled television or websites, and then replacing those with positive impressions, like eating Whole Foods, meditating/praying, exercising, and here’s the biggest one, drinking only water. Please understanding I’m not preaching to you or anyone else. I believe in live-and-let-live, but I’ve also be bombarded with these types of questions, and I also had the same questions prior to me achieving a healthy lifestyle (I thought it was impossible for me). I want you to be the best you possible, and I know within each of us lies the strength to overcome any adversity, including drugs and alcohol. I’ve been there, trust me. And now being on the other side of addiction I can look in the rear view mirror with pride and amusement and recognize that I overcame something that I thought would haunt me forever and even lead to an early death. That same strength is in you, friend. In fact, you’re probably more strong-willed than I am. So, if you’re reading this message thinking ‘wtf is this guy talking about’, it’s obviously not for you. But if you find a thread of evidence reflecting your own life, I really hope that you will further look into yourself. Introspection can be daunting, but it’s necessary to fix the root causes that are making you not happy and unhealthy. I now live my life to help others because I feel like I’ve had many experiences that people can relate with. If you feel the need to reach out to me, my DMs are always open. I would love to hear from you. My conversations are always confidential, as well. These pics are from this morning. I’ve been slacking for the last few months so this run really hurt, but it’s necessary. I look forward to hearing about your progress! MrP