Changing my lifestyle

As most of you are aware by now from my recent Facebook picture. I have been dropping some pounds since the beginning of 2014. This all started when I realized that this was my last year before I turn 30. Yes, I have had a wonderful 29 years here on this Earth, but in the past few years a lot of my thought process has changed with having 2 children. I want to live and be a good example for my children in all aspects of my life. I show and teach them as they grow to be the best that you can possibly be! Having Brinley and Landon has also made me want to experience as much as life has to offer with them. I knew that this meant that I needed to get my health under control so that there would be nothing that would keep me from experiencing life with them. I knew that this was a time in my life where I could make a lifestyle change and I would still have the ability to turn things around before my health got worse. I felt that at the rate I was going I was not going to be around, or at least not in good enough health, to enjoy Brinley and Landon's lives when they got older. I want to be there for all their milestones in life - every graduation, their wedding, and most importantly I want to meet my grandchildren someday (a long time from now). So, all of these thoughts, plus a lifetime of being overweight finally led me to decide that 2014 was going to be the year that I took control of my health.

Left picture was taken Christmas 2013 and right picture was taken on July 2, 2014.

Many of you may not truly know how bad my weight had become because I seem to not look the part so to say. I am always astonished as to how much people think that I weigh and believe me I have talked about this with many different people. When I tell people how much I actually weigh they have a hard time believing me. On January 1 of 2014 I weighed in at 292 pounds, which is the weight that I am at in the above picture to the left. A little over 6 months later on July 2 I finally got to a milestone of 50 pounds lost, which put me on the scales weighing 242. This was a huge accomplishment for me, but I still have a lot of work to do.

I don't want you to think that I put all this weight on in the past few years because this has been a culmination of 29 years of eating poorly and not exercising. So, I decided to let you in on some of my past and show some pictures of when I was younger and how I progressed to where I am today.

Here I am in my first year with my cousin Mark and sister.

Family photo when there were only 4 of us. This also looks like it is my first year.

Dressed up for Halloween in my frog outfit and pictured with my Grandpa.

Celebrating mom's birthday. I have a candy necklace on and Andrea looks thrilled.

Nothing like celebrating Christmas morning in your undies and a sweatshirt!

Andrea and I patiently waiting to meet our little brother.

My first day of Kindergarten.

Visiting Mammoth Cave.

The Heflin Men

Sunday best for Easter

Andrea and I posing in our good clothes. 

Most of you don't know, but I actually did a little modeling growing up. Not really. Please don't ever take pictures of your children that they will be embarrassed about one day!

For my entire life, that I can remember, I have also been a bigger kid. This in turn made me into a larger teenager and then an obese adult. Our culture (at least the one I grew up in) puts a lot of focus on food. I can remember the phrase growing up "clean your plate", which might just be the absolute worst thing that you can tell a child. I never had a problem with cleaning my plate as long as it was something that I liked. Some people even promise a child dessert for cleaning their plate which makes it that much worse.

Posing with my cousin Kenneth. Some family will tell you that growing up I was his mini me. 

Family photo at Mamaw's house. 

Dad looks tired! (Nice green sports coat, too!) The three of us with Whitney.

The three of us with Aunt Mildred. I also seemed to be in a sour mood when she came to visit from New York.

With our Mamaw.

Family picture. I like that I have my hands around McKinley's neck like I am choking him.

Two Indians and Davy Crockett for Halloween one year.

We all got to be a part of our very good friends Christella and Jon's wedding. 

With our Uncle Michael (my mom's youngest brother) and our cousin Gretchen

With a bunch of our cousins: Kelsey, Kasey, Kyli Jo, Amanda, Whitney, Jonathan Jr, and Morgan.

My first love of sports started with baseball. I mainly played first base and wore number 35 for my favorite player Frank Thomas who played for the Chicago White Sox.

I can also remember people saying terms to me like husky, big boned, and well fed instead of just saying that I was an overweight child. I know that self esteem is being developed in younger years, but sometimes children and their parents might just need to be told sometimes how things really are. Because believe you me their peers are sure to tell them that they are fat and pick on them. I can remember many times growing up when kids in my class poked fun of me because of my size. Yes this was very hard to hear and I can remember many times when I was in elementary school when I went on a "diet" because I no longer wanted to be made fun of. Parents are doing their children a disservice by not telling them that they are overweight. Parents are supposed to be the responsible individuals and do what is best for their children. Many health problems can be directly related to unhealthy eating habits.

Family vacation to Disney World.

McLean County Middle School Academic Team: Laura C, Tabitha H, Brad H, Ryan W, Eric B, Cassidy W, Nick J, Daniel H, Andy B, and Ryan W.

First time playing football was in middle school.

Family trip to Florida where we visited the alligator farm.

Universal Studios with Hercules and Xena. This was my style growing up with the long socks pulled up to my knees.

Celebrating my birthday one year.

Picture with our family pet Hopper. It was a rabbit that we found in the yard that had been abandoned by its mother. We kept it in the upstairs bathtub for a few months before letting it go in the backyard. To this day every rabbit that my mother sees she calls it Hopper.

Senior Prom 2003. This was time in my life when I got to the heaviest I have ever been. I weighed 300 pounds one day and decided that I needed to get to work before heading off to college.

We have given ourselves the title of "The 3 best siblings that anyone could have."

In college I got into the best shape of my life because I was on the football team and working out almost everyday helped offset the amount of food that I was eating.

A big pet peeve of mine is when people tell me that they are going on a "diet". I am glad that people are trying to do something to better themselves, but I feel that when people begin and are sometimes successful that they often end up going back to their old ways after reaching their goal. This is why over the past 6 months I have never once started myself on a diet. I have eaten all the foods that I would normally eat but I have just eaten in moderation and I have tried to limit the amount of snacks that I consume. I know that after I reach my goal I want to be sure and maintain a healthy lifestyle. I want to be a positive role model for my children and want to see them grow up and be healthy too. Some people even do calorie counter apps on their phones, and have great success, but I have refrained from that as well because I know that it is something I don't plan on using the rest of my life.

My fiancee after graduation from Georgetown College 

Our wedding day with my family.

After I finished playing football at Georgetown I really didn't have much motivation to continue working out on a regular basis. This wouldn't have been that bad of a problem if I had cut back on eating. However, I continued to eat the same way that I did when I was practicing, running, and weightlifting 6 days a week as a member of the Georgetown Tiger Football team.

On a cruise to Mexico that we took on my last spring break ever.

This was our last vacation before we knew that we were going to be parents. We really enjoyed our 2 weeks in Australia.

Maternity pictures that we had done a few weeks before Brinley was born.

Our first family photo session.

Brinley's 1 year pictures.

Landon's newborn picture session.

I actually came in 3rd place in my age group of 21-29 year old.

With my lifestyle change I have also started running and biking. I have actually enjoyed running more than ever because I am able to take Brinley and Landon with me. This serves as a constant reminder of why I am trying to get in better shape and live a healthier lifestyle. Running has also been a way for me to stay competitive as I am always trying to beat a previous best time or run further than I ever have. This year I actually competed in my first ever 5K and a few weeks ago I participated in my first 5K with both kids in the jogging stroller. They were a lot of fun and challenging at the same time. I actually told Jennifer the other day that I might be signing up for a half marathon. Ultimately I would love one day to complete in a mini triathlon.

Don't think that it is ever too late to start. By getting up and doing some form of activity you are doing more than you had been. You just have to remain self motivated and to not get down on yourself when you have a bad day, but to make the next day an even better one. Set small goals for yourself to help you reach your bigger goals in life. Good luck as you start on your lifestyle change. Thanks for reading and God Bless!

To the beach we go!

Some people might think we are crazy, but parents with young children need to go on vacation too. We weren't quite ready to leave for a trip without Brinley and Landon, so we took them with us. Jennifer has wanted to go to the beach for a few years now, but we have always thought of a reason not to go. So, this year we decided we weren't going to make any more excuses and just head out on the road with our kids. We initially thought about Myrtle Beach because it was a shorter drive, but the week we were planning was biker week and we didn't think that would go over well. Instead we decided to head out to Gulf Shores, AL.

We decided that with a looming 12 hour drive in front of us that the best option for us would be to drive during the night. We were planning on Brinley sleeping for the majority of the trip and were just hoping to make good time on the road in between Landon waking up to eat. As it turns out, every time Landon woke up so did Brinley. A couple of times it was actually Brinley that was waking up and crying in the back seat. Every time we stopped to do anything we got both kids out so they could have a break from the car seat. A couple of the gas station attendants probably thought we were awful parents for having our kids out at such late/early morning hours. With all the stopping and walking around we still made pretty good time. The only problem was that we forgot about the time change and that it was 8 am when we arrived. We weren't able to check in to our hotel until 3 pm. We started off our trip with breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Next we made a stop at the outlet mall to look in a couple stores. I decided to test my luck and called the hotel to see if there was any way we could check in early. It was only 11 am, but I really wanted get settled into our makeshift home for the week. Thankfully they said we could head on over.

We unpacked all the things that we thought were necessary for the trip and then decided to head out to the beach. We walked around a little and Brinley instantly discovered how much she enjoyed sand. She was picking it up and just watching it fall through her fingers to the ground. We collected a few shells and even tested out the water, which was a little on the chilly side. Since we were still in our regular clothes we decided we needed to find a grocery to pick up some food for the week. While exploring around the area we decided to eat a late lunch at one of my favorite restaurant spots because of the atmosphere, Lambert's. (The rolls that they throw across the restaurant helps.) Brinley even got a chance to catch her own roll that they tossed to her. After lunch we got some groceries and then headed straight back to the beach. Brinley again loved playing in the sand. We were exhausted from the drive down so we grabbed a quick dinner at McDonald's (Brinley got her first happy meal) and laid down for bed. Only problem was that Brinley didn't think it was time to sleep. She woke up about every 2-3 hours. Finally at 5 am I took her down to the lobby to try and run off some energy and to let Jennifer and Landon try and sleep.

If you haven't been to this place then you are definitely missing out! 

Brinley's first happy meal. (Hasn't had another one since.)

Brinley enjoyed the balcony that we had at the hotel.

Brinley loves being a "bucket head". She puts all kinds of things on her head, except for hairbows.

Brinley loved picking up the sand and having it run out of her fingers.

Brinley was my sandcastle buddy.

Brinley's first time in the Gulf of Mexico.

Brinley and Jennifer playing in the sand.

Heading out for a day at the beach.

We decided to try and do a few other things besides hanging out on the beach all day long. We looked into all the attractions in the area and a few things seemed do able with 2 young kids. One was the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo. Brinley loves animals so this was an easy choice. The zoo was small, but had quite a few animals. We enjoyed having Brinley tell us what noises all the animals made. Another place we thought would be fun was mini golf. This proved to be quite the adventure since the course was not stroller friendly and we had to carry it up and down many sets of stairs. Also one day we decided to take a stroll down the pier. We got to see many fish below the pier and a few up close that some of the fishermen had caught.

My girls ready to visit the zoo.

Brinley really wanted to pet this little baby deer.

Landon loves his mommy!

I have never been more upset in my life in such a quick moment. I had been watching Brinley closely to make sure that she wasn't close enough to the ducks. (I am right out of view behind Brinley in this picture.) The duck lunged through the fence and bit her shirt.

We drove to Florida one afternoon and had a picnic on a boardwalk overlooking the gulf.

Brinley didn't really care about eating lunch she just wanted to run around and explore.

Dinner one night was at the Original Oyster House. Brinley really enjoyed this large alligator.

Brinley also decided to try out a little deep sea diving.

Beautiful sunrise from our hotel balcony.

We took a little trip to walk around and look off the pier. We spotted a pack of dolphins. We got a picture, but we are not too sure that Brinley was able to see them even though she said that she did.

Brinley and I taking a peek over the side. I had to hold on tight because Brinley would have loved to jump into the water.

Brinley posed with this big fish that this boy caught on the pier.

Family picture on the pier.

Sea turtle statue at the end of the pier. This picture was taken right before Brinley decided to get down by herself and took a nose dive into the sand.

We spent a lot of time on the beach and because it was October we practically had the beach to ourselves.

Brinley practicing her numbers and the year.

Brinley loves her mommy.

We decided to take the kids to play mini golf. We thought that maybe they would take a nap so we brought the stroller on the course. Brinley loved it, but if you look closely you will see all the chocolate around her face where she was kept happy with M&MS.

Landon however did not enjoy golfing and did not get any candy.

Brinley being taught how to putt by mommy.

Most of our time though was spent on the beach. We should have known from the drive down with Brinley not sleeping well that it was going to be a interesting vacation. Brinley's teeth chose the worst possible week to come in. She was up a couple of times every night because her mouth was hurting. She was also very miserable at times on the beach. She was very crabby and we finally got things under control with alternating tylenol and ibuprofen. Some times on the beach there was nothing that we could find that would console her. One day I knew that she needed a nap and after attempting everything that had worked other times I found something new. We watched videos on my phone that I had recorded of her. This was one of the calmest times I have ever seen her. It was funny too, because she didn't want to watch any unless that were of her. Any that were of Landon she would swipe the screen to find another video. 

Our little shaded area for Landon. 

Brinley and I building a sandcastle.

Even though the water was cold Brinley really enjoyed being in the Gulf of Mexico.

We had spotted a few jellyfish close to shore so I started digging out a little splash pool for Brinley. This proved to be a continuous battle because the waves would quickly come and wash away all my work.

Brinley and my finished sandcastle. This actually held strong for three days after we built it.

Little Landon enjoyed the shaded area. We did have a lot of trouble with the umbrella because the wind kept turning it inside out.

Brinley is definitely a little beach baby. She loved playing in the sand.

Jennifer and Landon just hanging out on the beach.

I would even say that the water was cold, so I know that Brinley had to be freezing, but she just loved the water so much.

I also dug a big hole in the sand. Brinley didn't like it too much because she was unable to get out.

Brinley finally attacked out sandcastle on our last day on the beach.

Landon just got a brief time in the water. 

Jennifer and Landon right before we left for home.

Brinley and I right before we started off on the trip home. We actually had an accident while I was packing up the car. Brinley walked out onto the balcony to see me and tripped and busted her lip open. Jennifer picked her up and said that she was bleeding all over the place. I rushed back up to the room and we looked in her mouth and decided that it was just a small little cut from where her teeth hit the inside of her gums. Her bunny was all bloody because after the fall she immediately put bunny up to her face. 

Our first family beach vacation proved to be a very interesting and fun adventure. I can't wait until the kids get older and can enjoy the beach and water even more. Thanks for reading and God Bless!