Almost four years later

As I was reminded earlier, today marks the 2 year anniversary of the start of this blog.  There were a few comments on Facebook and so it got me thinking about the journey, how it started, where I am now and everything in between.
My day certainly didn't start put that way, instead I was thinking about the people in Brussels that got blown to pieces by a couple of jerkoffs, and then how I was going to crisscross the grid today taking care of the new business.  So as I was catching up on the daily vlog [sadly I'm addicted] and getting caffeinated I got to thinking about this whole thing.  It was still with me after I returned so I decided to go ahead and catch up with the blog.
What got to me today isn't that I started the blog 2 years ago, but rather that it had already almost been 2 years since I started the journey at that point.  4 years.  What was it like 4 years ago? Which iPhone was coming out? Did we even talk cloud computing yet? Did I still have hair back then?
The point is that I made a HUGE change in the way I looked at my overall health and after all this time it stuck.
This is me about 5 hours ago:

Now I'll be the first one to admit that I am not in as good a shape as I was for my triathlons, but that was a different time and a different focus.  I didn't know I would even do them when I started, that came quite a bit later.  It certainly sharpened the focus, and I did have the time to do it [and it took a LOT of time] so it just happened.  I still remember my sunrise runs, the colors over the snow-capped mountains of the Olympic Peninsula, the warmth of the sunshine coming over the hills and bathing me with just pure energy. It was actually quite weird after the events were done to even keep going.  It was like I reached the goal and "now what?". But I did.  I probably ran more in Moses Lake than anything else, only because it was more accessible.  I biked a bit in the spring time, but mostly I ran.  After we moved back to Portland last summer [yes I probably could have put that in the blog, but most of you know that by now] I started biking again, finding some nice paved trails and of course the velodrome less than a mile away [If you don't know what one looks like Google Alpenrose velodrome Portland and check it out].  I can't wait for dry weather so I can go again!
Sure our diet isn't as strict as it once was, but I still have the same routine of breakfast bars with smoothie and the ginormous salad for lunch. Dinner is still open, we just don't exclusively pick from the Eat to Live recipes. And sure we go get froyo [frosorbet for me] more often than we should.  And yes sometimes I just have to have some cheese with that great wine. And sometimes the salad stays an extra day or two in the fridge.  And damn you Costco for making your chicken so delicious. And don't get me started Laughing Planet.
But I don't give in, I never will.  I made those changes for all the right reasons and that's why it has worked.  I see how my actions have influenced Tristan, how he is somehow able to manage his appetite.  Think about that for a moment.  He has a disorder that keeps him from ever feeling full [among other things].  But because he saw me work so hard, he works even harder to keep himself in check.
When I indulge, I am [sometimes painfully] reminded of the consequences.  I start to get sick easier, I have no energy, I'm just blah. So I make a few corrections and I can feel the difference in just a few days.  I don't really have to think about it, I can just do it.  And that's really the main takeaway here, I already won a long time ago, I just didn't know it. Of course I have to stay vigilant, one because I know how slippery the slope is and two because as I'm getting older it doesn't get any easier.  But I won, those changes were made permanent. And that's pretty cool.
So that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.  I don't know what our future holds but it will be exciting.  I have a new business which is both exciting and scary.  I do think that the third time's a charm so look out!

Thank you for reading.
O