The photo left greatly embarrasses me, but I feel compelled to contrast it with the other. The heavyset me weighed 95 kilos (210 pounds), in September 2004. The other is from August 2014, when I weighed 70 kilos (152 pounds). I’ve lost another 2.5 kilos since my wife snapped the pic of me holding our cat, Neko. The change is dramatic.
Moving to California seven years ago on October 15 precipitated initial weight loss, which with increased activity occurred gradually to 82.6 kilos (182 pounds) early last year. The other 15 kilos (33 pounds) is result of massive dietary change, which is topic of my forthcoming book How I Beat Diabetes. Simply stated: I cut carbs and portions, switching to a diet high in protein, berries, nuts, and leafy veggies.
I want people to see the difference and to be inspired that they can change their lifestyle habits, too. The desire motivates me to share one of many photos I would rather permanently delete.
But there’s more. For no particular reason, I started reviving blog posts this week. Ten years ago, I blogged at TypePad. The majority of posts from 2004 are archived in plain text but aren’t live on the web. One by one, I am bringing back these oldies, restored as originally written. The process helps me to see who I was 10 years ago, what I professed, and how much of what I wrote is relevant a decade later.
In the process, I also am reviewing digital photos of similar vintage—hence my rediscovering how much of a fat ass I was.
I want this to be a meme—”This is me then and now”—and you can help. Post photos of yourself from 2004 and 2014, side by side just like I have done. Use hashtags #thisme and #thenandnow. Pick a service or a couple. I will Google+, Instagram, and Twitter. Perhaps I will Ello, Facebook, and Flickr, too.
Look back at you then and compare to who you are now. Blog it, Reddit, Tumblr, or whatever. The exercise is helping me to get in touch with who I am, or was, and there is something cleansing—eh, confessional—about the process that can be remarkably liberating.
This photo and the posts I restore are my first confessionals. I ask: Who are you? Then and now?