Most people don't change until the pain of doing nothing finally outweighs the pain of changing.
I believe I'm one of those people. And I believe I've hit that point in my life.
First of all, I'd like to give a big thank you and a shout-out to 
So, after over two decades of drinking, smoking, various drugs, and finding numerous other ways to disrespect myself and others and screw up my life as much as possible, I'm making a commitment to myself and the world to change a few significant things in my life.
Right now, starting today.
Namely, the two biggest things are quitting drinking and smoking cigarettes.
Of course, both of these are things that I've been trying to do for years, so far unsuccessfully.
What's different now, though?
With a baby boy on the way, due in just over a month, and me basically hitting a low point in my life as far as my health, finances, and relationships are concerned, the pain of screwing things up any more than they already are is too great. I simply can't take the pain of continuing these habits anymore. It's literally killing me. Emotionally, physically, financially...
I'ts time for a change in my life, and that change is greatly needed if I'm going to have anywhere near the type of life that I desire for myself and my family.
Also, I believe Steemit is the perfect platform for this.
I've actually been thinking about making a post and a commitment like this for quite a while, but I just wasn't really comfortable with doing it on Facebook. Too mane coworkers, family, people I don't really want to know about my struggles with addiction and what not.
For me, Steemit is much more anonymous, even though you can see my pictures and know a bit about me, it's not going to effect my working relationships, etc... And even if the occasional person I do know ends up seeing my posts on here, well then that's okay. I don't really mind. I just don't want to broadcast it to every single person I know.
So, anyway... today marks day 1 of my personal transformation. No more alcohol and no more cigarettes, period.
I know some people and even professionals advise to quit one at a time, but I've tried one at a time way too many times to know that it really doesn't matter. If you have the mindset, you can do it. So I'm quitting both cigarettes and alcohol cold turkey, no substitutions, no excuses, just doing it. Not only that, but I've found the two basically go hand-in-hand for me. When I'm smoking, I want to drink. When I'm drinking, I want to smoke. I really feel that eliminating both at the same time right now is the only way it can work.
Also, I'm going to do my best to follow a modified paleo/low carb diet and some exercise/working out to help get rid of some of the excess 40+ lbs I've gained in the last couple years due to excess alcohol consumption, and subsequent binge-eating while drunk.
I'm not too incredibly bent on the diet/exercise portion of it, though. I know that if I quit smoking and drinking that the diet will more naturally fall into place. But I'm also not going to stop and get a gallon of Ice cream on the way home to make up for my cigarette or alcohol cravings, either. I think there's a happy medium somewhere in between there. I'm definitely not going to stress myself out over it. What I can do, I will. I'm not going to beat myself up and come down with a case of the "fuck-its" and blow it all if I have a hamburger one day, though.
If any of you are interested in the type of diet that I'll be following, my two favorite books about it are Primal Body, Primal Mind, by Nora Gedgaudas, and Deep Nutrition, by Catherine Shanahan.
I've don'e quite a bit of research on health and nutrition in the past and good deal of experimenting also, and I've found that these books compliment each other quite nicely, and when I follow the regimen pretty closely, not only does the weight just fall off, I feel absolutely fabulous.
I'll also be back to post regular updates on my progress. Probably not every day, but at least a couple times per week.
Oh, and no personal transformation would be complete without a couple before pictures, so here we go:
Matt @ 215lbs - July 13th, 2017
And of course a side view:
I apologize that the quality isn't that great on my before pics, but you get the point, and I'm not making watches here... I've gotten to be a bit overweight.
So now it's my goal to change all that, and the rest of my life as well, starting today.
Wish me luck!
I'm really looking forward to this journey, and I hope I can inspire a couple other people out there to join it with me. If I can make one positive change in someone's life, then it's all worth it.
Thanks for reading and see you soon!