Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Journey to save my life

My name is Jesus Segura.  I am 36 yrs old husband and father of two children.  In the past 18 months i have been on this amazing journey full of twists and turns.   I have meet tons of influential people in my life and had to learn to let go of some people that where not so great.  Its been a journey of finding myself as a person.  This journey has not only made me better person but a better father & husband.

I have always struggled with my weight from an early age.  The first time i can remember my weight being problem was when i was 12 yrs old trying out for pop warner football.  the weight limit was 170 lbs.  I had to lose 30 lbs to play. needless  to say i didn't play football again till high school.  In wrestling i never had a problem finding bigger kids to wrestle.  they would just bump me up an age group.  Once i got into high school I played football but my passion was wrestling.  I loved the individuality of it but it still had the team atmosphere.  I remember during football they told me to bulk up.  I remember my highest weight in football was around 290 lbs as a sophomore.  then for wrestling i would cut to about 260.  I always saw myself as athletic and had many friends in high school.  i was involved in many clubs and the community.  I always felt like something was missing.  after high school i went to college and that's when things got a little crazy for me.  I started drinking and abusing drugs more & more.  I eventually dropped out of college and started working.  I would drink everyday and do drugs on the weekend.   I would drink so much that i would black out.  I remember one time waking up in my hallway and the neighbor standing over me.  I asked him what the hell are you doing in my house.  he asked me what the hell are you doing parked on my lawn.  i walked outside and sure enough i was parked smack dab in the middle of his lawn,  my continued to rise. fast forward 5 years.  My best friend & I where on our way to concert in the bay area when he asked me how much do you weigh.  I immediately got uncomfortable and said 320.  he told me no way in hell brother.  before i moved out he had me working out with him as part of my condition of living there.  the lowest i got was 315 lbs.  he told me how i needed to go to the dr and get a physical.  he is a fire fighter and told me of a call that he had gone on.  It was man in his mid thirties who had aheart attack in front of his kids.  As he was working on him all he could think of was me and my two children.  he told me to get my shit together or else i was going to die young,  He told me that when i died in a few years that he would let my kids know that i was great father.  I didn't answer because if i did i knew i was going to start crying.  We went to the concert and i couldn't fit in the seat so i had to stand the whole time.  I went in for my physical a few weeks later.  I was horrified when i stepped on the scale and i saw 386 lbs come up on the screen.  I don't remember much from the appointment.  I was already suffering from depression and this didn't help me any.  he asked my if i would consider bypass surgery.  I told him i would let him know.  I dint say much cause i knew if i did i would start crying.  once i got in my car i lost it.  i was so pissed at myself for letting myself gets this way.  i knew something had to change.  That afternoon i had my moment of enlightenment. I decided on my drive home that enough was enough,  if i didn't do it for myself i would do it for my kids.  I got home and told my wife Nancy that i was going to walk a mile.  she looked at me in amazement. So i took off determined to walk my mile.  About 1/2 mile into i called Nancy and had her come pick me up.  The next day i walked to the same spot but a few steps further.  Everyday i would walk further and further.  My sister in law worked at a gym and told me to start a food log.  So i downloaded my fitness pal on my phone.  In the first month i was down 20 lbs and feeling awesome.   I got up to 3 miles during the week an 5 miles on the weekend with in a few months time..
  
 In July i heard July i hear my favorite ufc fighter was going to be at the San Jose Fit Expo.  I decided i had to go meet Tito Ortiz.  Little did i know attending this event would change my life forever.  We had no idea what the event was about.  I felt out of place walking around all these fit people.   I was in line to meet Tito when i finally saw a booth i recognized.  It was the Gnc booth.  We meet Tito and then headed over to see what kind of free stuff we could get.  We stood there looking at the products when a man turned to us asked how it was going.   He asked if we worked out.  I told him about my weight loss and instead of being uninterested like everyone else we had meet that day he took the time to talk to us. He told me to keep it up gave me a few pointers and said i am also a personal trainer.  This was the first time i met Bill Sienerth.  We kept in touch on facebook and twitter.  He kept asking me when i was going to let him change my life.  Well finally in October i started to stop losing weight.  I became discouraged and thought of stopping and just being content with the weight i had lost.  In my mind this was like ground hogs day.  I had quit all the times before.  so i emailed bill and told him i was ready.  His response was amazing.  He told me I'm going to change your life.  I didn't know what to expect.  In the first month i lost 20 plus lbs. i was amazed at the process and how fast the weight was coming off.  he invited me to meet him up with him at the La Fit expo.  i got to see first hand his passion not only for Gnc but his passion for helping others.  He gave a seminar on Sunday that i was a part of. Other than my marriage and birth of my kids this was the best time of my life.  He has not only showed me the physical aspect of my journey but helped me with the mental aspects as well.  I have always let my past dictate my future instead of living in the now.  I had always focused on making everyone around me happy that i never truly made myself happy.  he taught me that the most important thing in my life is my life.  Until we completely surrender to the process we wont have true success.  I have went from 386 lbs to 228 lbs as of today.  I know there is never an end to the pursuit of perfection.  I continue to learn daily and know that there is no end just new beginnings. 

I hope to inspire other along the way and look forward to whats to come.  I will fall sometimes but will always come back stronger,  In the end i hope to spare my children will learn from my past mistakes and learn to live a healthy active lifestyle. i hope to be the example that they follow.  In the end i hope that my story will inspire others i come in contact with.  I will continue to write about my journey along the way.  I will be starting a weight loss group in our community and will be blogging not only about my journey but there journey  as well.

Id like to thank my wife for all her support during my journey so far. At times i know she has felt like a single parent with my two a day workout schedule.  Even though my babies cant read this id like to thank them as well.  Although i might have missed a  few thing i have made it possible for me to be in hear longer in the future for you both,  A huge thank you not only to my trainer but my friend Bill Sienerth.  I would have quit a long time ago if it wasn't for your constant belief in me and my potential to be great.  I would also like to thank my fit fam Kelly Olexa, Josh Reid & Jaiye Dania for your constant support.  Even though we have never meet i feel like your right here with me.

This is my first blog so forgive me if its a bit scattered lol.  I look forward to posting more about my journey and our groups journey in the future.