<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>For as long as I can remember </b></span><strong>I'd <i>always</i> been a "fat kid".</strong></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">"Finding fitness" was never something seriously on my radar. I <i>always</i> got made fun of, I <i>always</i> made an effort to wear loose clothes, and I was <i>never </i>really all that athletic, nor did I REALLY desire to be. Occasional efforts were made to work on it, but nothing stuck.</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In my last year of high school I made real progress. I did Weight Watchers with my mom while playing sports (football/weight lifting/shotput). With this combo, I managed to lose 70 lbs dropping to 210 (though I told people I was 205 lbs). Still overweight... but it was enough. I was...average...but not truly happy.</div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><b><img class="alignleft wp-image-509 size-medium" src="http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/41351_847720569112_2734506_n-225x300.jpg" alt="Me, Miles &amp; Julian on Bourbon Street - Delta Chi Convention" width="225" height="300" />So I went off to college.</b></span>

With the help of party school drinking plus all the garbage food I could eat... I gained it all back. <b>And then some.</b> All the healthy habits and active lifestyle behaviors I had picked up at the end of high school were gone. It didn't happen all at once, but it did happen pretty quick.

The summer before my 5th year at UMass I went to Delta Chi Convention in New Orleans, and I was pretty close to getting my own zip code. I tried to pretend I was a 42 waist, but that was super-loose fit jeans. I would estimate I was really a 44.<b></b>

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<b><span style="font-size: large;">And so it went. </span></b>

Graduation meant leaving the over-abundance of cheap food...but it didn't end the weight gain. Back home meant work at a restaurant where a send-back meant snack time on fried food. By the time I got to August 2012 it was pretty bad. I had reached the heaviest I had ever been. <b>300 lbs. </b>

<b><span style="font-size: large;">Then I hit my breaking point.</span></b><b>
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<img class="alignright wp-image-507 size-medium" src="http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/705673_10101066393515732_1982462519_o-169x300.jpg" alt="At my heaviest - about 305 lbs." width="169" height="300" />Constantly moving at the restaurant meant my legs rubbed together. <b>And wore through my work pants. </b><i style="font-weight: bold;">Every three months.</i> I was embarrassed at how frequently I had to buy more 48 waist pants. It became clear this lifestyle wasn't sustainable...and <b>I'd had enough.</b> I talked to my wife (girlfriend at the time) and we resolved to do it together.So we took our before pictures, got our gear together, and embarked on our fitness journey.

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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><img class="size-medium wp-image-508 alignleft" src="http://50.87.248.94/~sothisj4/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/1064785_10101402791037402_1587750951_o-152x300.jpg" alt="" width="152" height="300" />Oh...results? </span></b>

For the full breakdown (with pictures) check out the <a href="http://www.sothisisfitness.com/p/my-transformation.html">My Transformation page</a>. Short version? In the first 10 months I broke 100 lbs, and within a year I had dropped 125 lbs, become a runner, and become happier with my body and health than ever before.

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I went from an XXL shirt to a Medium/Small
From a 48" waist to a 31"
XL and XXL gym shorts to Medium/Small
Overweight and in danger of diabetes to fit, athletic and energetic!

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One of the most important things I figured out is - <b>You don't have to do it alone.</b> I had my wife - be sure to find <b>your</b> support system. <i>It makes a difference. </i><b><span style="font-size: large;">The journey isn't over</span></b> (it never will be), and I'm glad I took the plunge.

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