That 14th of October

So there I was. Going through my adulthood and doing all the things human beings are supposed to be doing. I had a job, a family, got a fair bit of traveling going on, and as many adults today, I was struggling to be active and to keep healthy.

I had a good amount of cycling under my belt, it is something I have always enjoyed, regardless of my weight or my physical state, I always rode my bike.

Back at the beginning of 2015, I was very heavy. I was always tired, I could not ride my bike very well, and in general did not have too many things going for me to be honest. I was about to become a dad for the second time later that year. Life went on.

In the Autumn, I had the chance to travel to Spain for a conference, and an old friend from high school lived nearby. He was not the kind of guy I really spoke to in school, we had a different group of friends. But there was something I clearly remembered about him. He was always friendly, never disrespected anyone, and had good values.

We got in touch and I asked if he would be around to catch up. I had not seen him in 17 years.

It was one of those days where I realized how much in common we have with others without even realizing it. he had moved to Spain many years ago, and had a family. We spoke about our kids, our lives, and what we have been up to during all this time. He is one of those guys who is always honest, and says things straight to your face, without disrespecting you.

It was obvious I was not in good health, and we spoke about it briefly. He had also been in a similar path before, and had taken on running and triathlon to keep motivated. He mentioned a few things he had done and it had a bit of an impact in me. Running?, Triathlon?, you are 'crazy'. These were not things I thought about, ever.

I went back home and to my life, struggling a lot with my weight. Eventually I was 123 KG, and something had to give in.

I started trying hard again to lose weight, I managed to go down to 113 KG. I was cycling and eating my usual calorie restricted diet, struggling and always hungry.

But there was something about my friend that kept coming back to my head. He talked about habits and he talked about balance. Two things I did not have in my life back then. We kept in touch and slowly started to become good friends. I openly talked about my struggles with weight and how things were going.

That year he came to visit, and stayed with us for a while. I was able to see first hand how his good habits and balance reflected in his day to day. It was something I did not have, and something that clearly was missing in my life. So he asked me: "Why don't you go for a walk?". That is all it took. It may have not meant much, but I went out, and I walked, and the next day I walked again. He encouraged me to walk, just that.

I started walking more and more, and at the same time joined a group of friends for a weight loss 'contest'. I used to do this a lot in the past, and now realize how unhealthy it was. I could never stick to it at the end, I just yo-yo back, every single time.

It was after this contest, that the good habits started to kick in. I read a lot about food, about nutrients, about all these things that I never really understood and how they work.

Eventually walking became running. Running and Cycling added Swimming, and here I am, many years later, grateful to the celestial powers of the universe for that 14th of October where I met an old friend from school, with whom I never had anything in common, and embraced the change I could see possible in others, and made it my own.

It has not been easy, nothing worth having is, but it has been an amazing journey. This old friend became like a brother .... our families friends ...... and the rest is history.

Thank you, my friend. Sincerely.

Thanks for reading.