Pictures of my progress

I've had a lot of requests to put up photos showing my progress.  To be honest with you I have been holding off because I didn't want to look in my rear view mirror to see where I have been. I'm the type of person that only wants to look forward. I decided that today was the day because hitting the 40 lb mark in my weight loss journey is the first milestone that I've hit that I have been happy with.

On 4/13/12 when this picture was taken I felt sick both physically and mentally. When you let yourself go as far as I did plus you are dealing with losing your child you can't go too far lower. Today I am down 41 pounds which is a fraction of where I want to be but it feels so good in so many directions. Every step I take on the treadmill is for Brady. Every step I take is to help other parents that lose a child to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Every time I enter "beast mode" when I am working out with my personal trainer is time where I can help heal my emotional wounds that were inflicted when my one and only child was stolen from me. SIDS I will not give in to you and I will do everything I can do within my power to help others that are robbed by you. No parent should have to bury their child especially when the reason can't be explained.

Even though I am starting to get to the point that I am happy with my progress you all have my word that I will still continue the fight.

Adam

6/24/2012 down 41 lbs. 

41 lbs @ $69.50 per pound lost = $2849.50 raised for Angel Eyes

No Shortcuts

The more I go through this journey the more I learn about life. Working out on the treadmill gives me a lot of time to think about all aspects of my life (sometimes I think I have too much time to think). One thing that popped into my head last week while working out is that there really aren't any shortcuts in life.

Will buying a self help book on how to advance my career help me land my dream job? Nope. More than likely it will end up being a waste of  20 bucks. Will taking a diet pill give me my dream body? Fat chance (pun intended)! Will shoving my feelings and emotions in a closet help me speed up the grieving process? No, unfortunately avoiding grief does nasty things to the soul long term. The bigger things in life take a lot of hard work to get through and the only way to get through them is to do things the right way and to embrace the journey. I'm not one to cut corners.

In the last couple of weeks I've had a lot of people notice that that I've dropped quite a few pounds. Most of them weren't aware that I have been working to raise funds to help families who have lost a child to SIDS. I normally give a brief rundown on what I am doing to raise money. The next question I always get asked is how am I doing it. I'm doing it by eating right and by working out on a regular basis. Who would have known that the doctors were right about diet and exercise? I'm not going to starve my self and I am not going to live at the gym 24x7. I'm just going the things I should have been doing all along. Again I am doing this by doing things the right way.

The only thing that got Robin and I through the first month after we lost Brady is all of the support we received from friends, family, co-workers, and Angel Eyes. It's hard to comprehend what it would be like to lose a child and to not have a support system. It has been very healing to know that our journey will help others down the line that tragically lose a child to SIDS.

So far in 8 weeks I've lost a little over 36 lbs which will raise $2502 for Angel Eyes. I still have over 4 months left and lots of more weight to lose. I'll continue to check in from time to time with my progress.

Thanks to those who are supporting me or just following me through my endeavor.

-Brady's Dad