About Me

I’ve been making changes. Some things happened in the spring of 2011 that made a pretty big impact on me, including the loss of a job I enjoyed and the death of my last remaining grandparent. It was time to take stock of my life, and it was an opportunity to start recreating myself and my image. Here’s what happened:

• I enrolled full-time in GVSU’s MBA program
• I decided to postpone returning to work until after graduation
• I began losing weight in order to remake my image

That last item has involved the biggest metamorphosis I’ve made in my physical appearance and eating habits thus far in my life. When I decided to change my appearance, I assumed it was going to be a lot of work… and I was correct. Since then, I’ve been tracking my food intake and exercise using an iPhone app and web site called MyFitnessPal. My wife introduced me to the software, and I don’t know how I would’ve managed this change without it. I had already lost around 3 pounds on my own before I began using the app, but it took a while to lose those first 3 pounds, and I wasn’t sure how I would keep going. Using this app, though, has been life-changing.

Here’s where things stand so far:

My goal weight is 175 pounds, and when I get there, I will have lost over 60 pounds of fat. I’ve lost a ton of weight so far (see the ticker above), and I’m making excellent progress. I feel better, and I look healthier. Because this change happened so quickly, people comment on it all the time. The most interesting thing to me, though, is the difference in the way I’m treated by people I don’t know at all – people I’m meeting for the first time.

Being thin (well, considerably thinner, anyway) has been eye-opening. I haven’t been this thin in a long time, and I had almost forgotten what it was like. People are friendlier, more open, and more willing to do things for me when I ask. I am more actively recruited for groups, especially in my college classes. People smile at me more often. And I can have a pronounced effect on people’s behavior if I choose to be charismatic. It’s fascinating.

I promise to use these new powers for good, and not evil. Sociologically, this has been fun. But personally, I’m proud of myself and happier with my appearance than I’ve been in a long, long time. So far, so good. I do wish I would’ve made these physical changes sooner, but then again, maybe I appreciate it more after waiting so long. Life is amazing, isn’t it?