Lost 80 lbs and Became the Dad My Kids Needed
I was overweight, depressed, out of shape. My kids were embarrassed to go places with me. Started working out 5am before they woke up, totally changed my diet. Lost 80 pounds over
MMarco153 views
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How life changed since becoming a dad. Identity shifts, things you miss, things you gained, the transformation of fatherhood.
755 threads
I was overweight, depressed, out of shape. My kids were embarrassed to go places with me. Started working out 5am before they woke up, totally changed my diet. Lost 80 pounds over
Got my girlfriend pregnant at 24 when I was basically just a manchild. Spent my 20s doing stupid stuff, never thought about consequences. When my daughter was born I realized I cou
Five years ago I was that guy pulling 60 hour weeks, missed my kids's soccer games, always on my phone at dinner. Got promoted to senior manager and realized I was miserable and my
Started at 280 pounds and completely out of shape. Couldn't play catch with my kids without getting winded. Joined a gym three years ago just to prove I could do something for myse
Used to spend every night at the bar. Lost two jobs, almost lost my marriage, almost lost my kids. My wife gave me one last ultimatum and something clicked. That was ten years ago.
Spent fifteen years climbing the ladder at some soulless Fortune 500 company. Making decent money but missing my kids's childhoods. Stress was destroying my health. Finally quit la
Two years ago we left the city rat race and moved to my wife's hometown. It was culture shock hard. Miss good restaurants, miss my old friend group, miss the anonymity honestly. Bu
Got laid off two years ago and it was terrifying at first. But instead of immediately jumping to another 60 hour a week job, I took three months. Went to my kids' soccer games. Act
I'm sitting here watching my 12 year old play baseball and he's not worried that I'm going to embarrass him or show up late or smelling like a bar. That's huge. The first two years
This is the hard one to admit. When my ex and I split three years ago I blamed her for everything. Therapy made me see I was checked out emotionally, critical all the time, never t
Used to be all about staying in shape, meal prepping, hitting the gym 5 days a week. Now I'm lucky if I get three workouts in and I've definitely put on some weight. I miss having
First few years after my son was born I literally became just 'dad' to everyone including myself. Every conversation was about him, every plan involved nap schedules, I didn't have
This is gonna sound cheesy but I'm just in a reflective mood. Five years ago I was the guy saying I didn't want kids, wanted to stay flexible, travel whenever, sleep till noon. My
So I made the jump last year. Was making good money in finance but was always stressed, never home, missed everything with the kids. My wife had a good stable job so we decided I'd
My divorce finalized two years ago and I'm a completely different man than I was before. I was angry at the world, blamed everyone else for my problems, was bitter all the time. Ha
A decade ago I hit rock bottom with alcohol. Lost my job, nearly lost my family, was basically a shell of a person. Got into recovery and did the work. Today I'm 10 years clean, ha
Five years ago I was pushing 280 pounds, pre diabetic, couldn't play with my kids without getting winded. I looked in the mirror and decided something had to change. Been hitting t
When the marriage ended I had this moment where I realized I'd built my entire identity around being a husband and a dad in this package deal. Suddenly I was just a single guy tryi
Spent 15 years climbing the ladder at a big company. Had the title, the salary, the corner office, the whole deal. But I was miserable. My identity was wrapped up in being a corpor
Spent my 30s just accepting I was the big guy. Then my doctor sat me down and said my heart wasn't going to make it if I didn't change something. Started slow, just walking with my