My, how time flies and old habits return!

It has been a little under seven years since my last official post in Ideal Protein Wannabe.  I wish that I could say that I stayed true to the weight loss journey I started.  Sadly, the work took a nose dive and I fell into old eating habits, stress management techniques, and in the past seven years have put on all of the weight I lost and added thirty pounds.  Today, I tipped the scales at 247, a 80 pound increase from my lowest weight doing Ideal Protein and the IP Wannabe methods I shared in previous posts.  Here I am today.

How did this happen?  When I look at this picture I don't recognize the person that I've become, again.  For those that have been heavy their entire lives, like me, I know that I try to avoid mirrors.  I avoid looking at myself and hide behind big dumpy sweatshirts, solid-colored sweaters and the like.  In looking at this picture, I see a much older me.  One that has to acknowledge that I'll be struggling with my weight and size for the rest of my life.

How I got here?  Here's a list of the stressful events that I used to eat my way into 247 pounds:

• Changed jobs four times (1st to avoid layoffs, 2nd company went bankrupt, 3rd corruption and scandal within leadership team, and 4th where I am today)
• Started a consulting business for part-time gigs
• Started and finished my Masters Degree (MEd)
• Got remarried to another former "fat kid"
• I stopped exercising and dropped playing soccer
• Took in my sister during her terrible separation and divorce
• The death of my father-in-law
• Kidney transplant for my sister-in-law
• My father stopped talking to me and my children (due to a petty disagreement with his wife)
• Health problems and surgeries with my mom
• Started my second Masters Degree  (MBA)
• Bought a home with my mother-in-law to care for her
• My daughter's senior year, graduation, and college selection

I'm pretty sure that any one of these things could have pushed me into old habits--sneaking snacks, overeating, and avoiding exercise.  The weight crept up on me, ten pounds per year until today.  I bought one fat clothes wardrobe, and then another, and then another.  As I contemplated buying the next size up, I had to size myself up by actually looking in the mirror I was avoiding and ask why.

So, I've started again.  I'm beginning the IP Wannabe journey again to reclaim the me that posted last in 2011.  The one that was active, healthy, and taking charge of his destiny.  Today, I'm happy to report that after my first ten days, I've lost seven pounds by rereading my methods, learning more about Keto Diets, and putting the principles to action.