Why this? Why now?

I want to take a moment to write about my experiences with weight loss and why I chose the goals that I did for this journey...

My weight has peaked 3 times that I can remember, but I have been on a yo-yo for about 7-8 years. The three peaks were a few years apart. My first and highest was in high school. I weighed in one time at 299 pounds. I assume I went over that since I didn't decide to start trying to lose weight for a month or two after that, but I also refused to look at a scale until I was sure that I was under 300 again. I had gained this weight over a long period of time by developing horrible eating habits. I remember eating 2 foot long hoagies with a six pack of soda and a full bag of dorito's for dinner on numerous occasions. When I think back on that it grosses me out. When I finally started to lose weight, I got down to 245 (ultimately 215) by joining the wrestling team (consistent workouts and accountability), and changing my eating habits.

My second peak was up to about 260 or so. I got up there in college after a bad relationship had just ended. During that relationship I had added alcohol to my regular diet and was sabotaging myself. When I met my new girlfriend, who I would ultimately marry, I had horrible habits again. I was only working out by playing team sports. I had stopped lifting weights and was binge eating and drinking regularly. It's a wonder I didn't get much higher than that. I guess the sports helped. I lost a lot of that weight after graduation because I didn't want to be a slob for my wedding. I did it by slowing down my alcohol consumption, working out regularly, and eating better and less. I think I bottomed out at 235-240 that time.

Peak number 3. Now. This time, I went back to drinking and eating like crap. Now why would that happen this time, do you think? I know exactly what happened. I got married and shortly after became depressed. About a month before I got married, I had graduated with my Master's Degree in School Counseling. I did not get a job, which I was relying on for the income to support my wife and I. The school year started and no jobs were to be had... by anybody. I had secured a position as a Behavioral Therapist for the summer, which has since turned into a full time gig, but until January of 2011, I was working part time as a therapist, kind of using my masters degree, and part time as a waiter trying to make ends meet. My wife works on weekends, but she's still finishing up a Doctoral program in physical therapy (which I am very proud of her for, by the way). Our income together was not paying the bills. Once my student loan bills started coming, that's when the shit hit the fan for me emotionally. I wanted to provide for my wife, but I couldn't do it, because I couldn't find a decent paying job. I started drinking. A LOT.

I think I went 3 weeks in a row without a day off at one point, and many weeks where I drank at least 6 of the 7 days, seriously binge drinking, even on work nights. I'm embarrassed that I did it, but everything in life is a learning experience. I slowed it down for a little while, but went right back to it eventually. Because of my work schedule, I was eating at weird hours (still am) and then drinking myself to sleep.

This leads to my goals. Water consumption, Reducing alcohol, working out, and overall weight loss. I know I said that I've peaked 3 times, but I've gone up and down many times, and every time I do it, I lose weight because of my diet and exercise. There's no trick here, folks... just good old fashioned working out and eating right. SURPRISE! Alcohol has caused me a lot of problems. I don't want to get rid of it from my life because I enjoy it A LOT. Not just the buzz, but I love the taste of good beer, good scotch, and good rum (along with mixed drinks).

I'm a behavior therapist. I write goals for kids on a regular basis and was able to write goals for myself, knowing my own behavior trends, that wouldn't allow me to take advantage of the goals. For instance, workouts don't stack by week because I know I'll take a week off or two at some point because "I can." Drinks during the week don't carry over because I'll take advantage of that too. I gave myself cheat days built in, so the goals are realistic and attainable, but also challenging.

So anyway, that's my history. I was inspired by the 90 days article because I thought if I can actually create good habits for once in my life that I can maintain a healthy life style for years and years instead of reverting back to my old ways... drinking and eating like crap.