Lifting Me Up

As I have said before, one of the great things about losing so much weight so quickly is running in to those folks I have not seen over the last couple of months and seeing their faces and hearing their words.  What's nice is that none of these people notice the 2.6 pounds I gained this morning.  And, because of their reactions towards me, I begin to forget about those same pounds as well. 

In the last three days, I have run in to several people that I had not seen for awhile and all of them were shocked by the "new" me.  The reactions range from, "Holy Shit!  You look like a different person" to "Who is that guy?"... ironic since that is part of the title of this blog and I know that this individual has never read this blog.  One person at the club actually jumped out of his chair to come tell me how good I looked and to ask how much I had lost.  Today, I needed all of the comments I received.  And, again, I thank everyone for their kind words. 

I also had an ex-classmate reach out to me today to tell me that he had been inspired and was embarking on his own personal journey to lose 130 pounds.  What's amazing about these comments is how much they motivate me in return.  The fact that someone is following my success and using it as inspiration completely inspires me and motivates me to continue being as strong as I can... call it the Circle of Inspiration (sung to the music of "Circle of Life" from "The Lion King").  Even if I doubt whether I am truly going to inspire anyone, just knowing that it is a possibility is enough.  I am pulling for every person who has read this and is in the same battle.  I am pulling for those who read this and only need to lose 20 pounds.  I am pulling for those, like the guy who stopped me tonight, that only need to lose 6 pounds.  Our battles come in various shapes and sizes.

So, thanks again to all of you who have helped me with your support, feedback, and encouragement.  You helped get me through a bad day today.  You have helped me ignore temptations.  You have helped me when my legs are tired and I still have 30 minutes to go on the treadmill.   Here's to the Circle of Inspiration...