I got to thinking, now that I was not spending all those precious moments eating, how would I fill-in my dash? Do you know what I mean by the dash? It's that short line that will appear on my tombstone and sums up my life. And along that dash are the many moments in time that make up my life. What would I do to make this life, my life, a life that is worth living?

Years ago I came to the realization that my life is the dash between the date I was born and the date I die. Do you know what I mean by the dash? It's that short line that will appear on my tombstone and sums up my life(span): 1964 - 21XX (yes, I’ve set my intention to live long).

And along that dash are the many moments in time that make up my life. So, I got to thinking, now that I was not spending all those precious moments eating, how would I fill-in my dash? What would I do to make this life, my life, a life that is worth living?

And so, I acknowledged my gratitude to G-d, my healthcare providers, my coaches and mentors, myself, and those who joined me on this journey of lifetime weight loss and obesity management. I became able to live my life fully, filling my dash with moments -- each one precious in its own right -- and making a difference in my relationships, my community, my organization, and society.

How did I do this? Well, with my relationships I learned to put the past in the past, to stop holding resentments in the present time from things that happened a long time ago and which I could do nothing to change. I found that I was being held a prisoner by my past because I kept putting it in the present time. In this way, I was not able to move forward. So I made a conscious decision to create every moment... I chose to be who I am with someone, not based on what happened in the past, but on who I want to be in that moment, which is usually a delicious and loving relationship.

To make a difference in my community, I volunteered. As a member of the Shade Tree Commission in my town, I was able to get many street trees planted in my community, and in my neighborhood, and even on the street that I live on. This improved the beauty of our neighborhood and thereby increased home values, and also improved energy efficiency by way of reducing heating and cooling costs for homes. I also worked with the mayor to get three street lights installed on my block so as to improve safety and security.

In my organization, I was a much better employee now that I was no longer miserable and hating myself and everything because I was obese. I was no longer held back by my obesity -- let's face it, there’s an unspoken discrimination of obese people in our society. Once I lost the weight, I was immediately promoted and continued to see my career soar over the many years since my weight loss surgery.

And I contributed to society by writing as an obesity health activist under the avatar

My Bariatric Life

so as to share my experience — please see links below this article. And in the past, I have written other blogs, and a newsletter, and have hosted a forum on an Colleen Cook’s BSCI weight loss surgery patient web site. I want others of the “formerly fat” like me to come to know for themselves what I have come to know for myself and for my life.

There are many more things I will do to fill in my dash... I have only one life -- this moment right here, right now, followed by the next precious moment. I give up the acts of the past and declare my independence from food obsession. What I am creating for myself and my future is the possibility of harmony, joy, abundance, and greater possibilities. And THAT is who I am.

How will you fill in your dash?

Living larger than ever,

My Bariatric Life

Visit me on MyBariatricLife.org, Flickr, Vimeo, Twitter, YouTube, StumbleUpon, Google+

View my Borne Appétit recipe collection on Pinterest

Good question, I have always said i wanted my tombstone to read, ...here lies Steve, he was truly a nice guy.

But that is a copout, i think it was the fat guy trying to be liked so much regardless of whether or not i was nice to them perhaps. Now that I have discovered the other side of fat so to speak, I realized that life isnt just about being nice, thats just the easy way of saying , i didnt accomplish anything. Everyone dies, You have to live as well, before you die, so now i have all these goals, i take guitar lessons and I really want to be able to enjoy music in this new way, I have always been a singer, and with this new body I have to adapt to the changes, and i want to add my guitar playing into my repetoire. I am also building toward running a 5k, and I am really enjoying this journey.

Way to go, Stevehud!

There are so many ways we can live life to the fullest. My personal branding statement, "living larger than ever," has real meaning to me. I don't let fear (or fat) hold me back any longer from doing the things I want to do or saying what's in my heart.

It's also really important that we show others the way. How to do what we have done. That they, too, can live a life free from obesity and disease and processed food addiction.

We all can wake up and become the greatest aspects of ourselves! Good luck with the 5k and guitar and all else that you aspire to do. And enjoy the journey!!!