AuthorJasonLee

I believe body image acceptance is good. I think that people ridiculed for how they look isn't the same (or acceptable) like making sure people are aware of the health ramifications of lifestyle choices. If you're going to the doctor and your blood chemistry is good, then I think practicing that kind of "fat acceptance" is okay.

tl;dr - it's about the health, not about the way you look

That's quite an interesting question because, at first, I avoided diet like the plague! There were several months where I did all kinds of research and conveniently "skipped" that. I did Insanity, lifted weights, cardio, etc. When that didn't succeed I finally buckled down on diet.

As for the details-- it was as simple (and god-awfully hard) as cutting out processed carbs. Sugars, white breads, noodles, rice. And drastically increasing my vegetable intake.

I was close to dying because of early-onset diabetes which is largely genetic, but also a direct result of my lifestyle choices. You're lucky you didn't have such complications, but I think it's awesome that you're losing the weight so you don't have them in the future!

I'll try to find out a way to turn off privacy filters so you can see the pics for proof.

I am self-published. Early on when I first felt that I was approaching my series' first draft completion, I did a lot of research on publishing and marketing. I was REALLY gung ho about submitting my work to Tor, actually.

After a lot of research though, I just reached the conclusion that traditional publishing is on its way out. Aside from their "brand name" which serves as self advertisement, there's really no reason to use a publishing house. And unless you're going with one of the big dogs (like Tor) it actually hurts you more than it helps you since most publishing houses want all your copyrights. (multimedia, ebook, audiobook, etc) for an unknown first-time author.

The other reason I chose to self publish is because it doesn't really hurt your chances to later submit a work for publication. It's a common misconception that if you "Sell" your own copies that publishing houses won't want you because you "cut into their market." That's not the case. So basically, there's no reason to NOT try to be successful as a self-published author before you try to submit your work to a house.

Not exactly; it would be more accurate to say that I've "beaten" the situation for now. When I was first diagnosed, my specialist told me that while Diabetes is largely genetic, a lot of my having it (especially at my age) was a result of my weight and lifestyle. She said if I dropped my weight I might be able to reverse the diagnosis... at least until I got older.

So perhaps it's better to say I'm not currently experiencing the symptoms (although my blood pressure does still elevate from time to time,) but according to my doctor I still just have bad genes and can expect them to eventually catch up with me as I age. :(

Oh Brolin that is absolutely correct! I can't believe I didn't mention that!

Making sure that you view it as a permanent lifestyle change is key. It will determine whether or not you'll succeed and stay fit, succeed then put back on weight, or fail at a very basic level!

When you look at a candy bar, you shouldn't view it as "that processed sugar is worth too many calories, I need to burn them!" but more "that candy bar is just not good for my body." When you start looking at bad foods as a form of "poison" you're less likely to ingest them!

Thank you brolin, for the post!