I was at the very bottom of my life. I've battled depression and anxiety for a few years. It got so bad that I had to leave a girl and her two kids because I was afraid my body would shut down and I didn't want to put anybody through that pain. I decided that from that point on I was going to eat and drink anything I could. I was spiraling out of control. 

After a few months, I realized I still had a fuse to light. I broke myself down and analyzed every friendship and relationship I've ever had. I reflected on my effort in life and realized I had much more to give and it was time to fight. It became time to live. I started getting back into the things I liked as a child. One of those was watching wrestling. And then I remembered seeing DDPYoga and the Arthur video that my mom had shown me many years prior.

The decision was made December 29th that I was going to start DDPY on January 2nd, 2018.  During those few days, I watched every documentary, youtube clip, and anything that would get my mind obsessing on the program. I also stepped on the scale and saw 400 pounds. That fired me up.

In the first month, I only ate foods that were not processed. I followed the beginner workout schedule and lost 30 pounds. Not only was I motivated physically, but achieved mental clarity and a new fire was beginning to burn. I decided to begin my master's degree in management and leadership. At the end of February, a co-worker who I'm lucky enough to call a friend, challenged me to run a 10K on October 20th of the same year. He said he would run with me if I signed up. So I did. 

In the month of March, I started on my master degree studies. In April, I attempted to start running. I was down 60 pounds at that point. And then I fell off the wagon for a few weeks. My old habits came back into my life after a work trip. I felt that if f I didn't get back up, that I wouldn't have another chance. I jumped right back in during the month of May. I began doing DDPYoga 5-6 days a week. I was rapidly catching on to the Synergy 40 workouts. Into the summer, I was able to eliminate most of the modifications. And then I started completing the Diamond Cutter workout.

In July, I started noticing rapid changes in my body. I was beginning to lean out. In August, I began running again. It was a feat to run one mile without stopping. I began doing DDPY and jogging every other day. DDPY became not just a workout, but a tool of recovery when I was sore from running the day before. In September, I hit 100 pounds lost.  I was building good muscle.  September 16th, I surprised a lot of people by running in a 5k that nobody really knew I signed up for until the morning of. I weighed 298 lbs. This helped my confidence and mindset ahead of my October goal of running a 10k. 

On October 19th, I weighed in at 279 lbs.  I had lost 121 pounds and in return believed I could conquer the goal ahead. October 20th, with one of my best friends running with me and family and other co-workers waiting at the finish line, I jogged the entire 10K without stopping in 1:08:17. I was able to cross off goal #10 on my Smackdown Goals list.

I am now more than halfway through my master's program and on track to complete my master's degree within one year of starting it.  I'm also 30 pounds away from my year-end goal of losing 150 pounds. Ultimately, I would like to be at 230-240 pounds. My next goal to help me get there is to run a half Marathon on April 13th. DDPY is going to be the tool I use to keep building the healthy foundation in my life.

I hit my year-end goal on 12/19 of losing 150 pounds. The three pictures below show the before and after and the pair of jeans I used to wear. I think in April when I run the dang half marathon, I’ll be able to move over to that success category and stay there and healthy for the rest of my life.