I was taken aback when I recently ran across an old  picture of myself. It was a picture of me before I lost weight. However, what struck me most was not how much fatter I use to be. In fact, what gave me pause was something odd. It was my shirt.

In the picture, I’m wearing a Hawaiian shirt. I remember wearing these all the time. I did not wear them because I particularly liked them. I wore them because they were one of the only kinds of shirts I could wear and still look and feel somewhat decent. To say it another way: as a fat-guy I did not have a lot of options.

I remember becoming more and more depressed as the years passed. It seemed like with every birthday, there were more clothes in my closet that used to fit me. But as the years went on, I could no longer get in to because of my growing belly. Christmas and Birthdays were particularly depressing. As careful as my family was in shopping, inevitably they would always buy that one item of clothing that was too small. I was regulated to “fat-guy” clothing. Perhaps some who read this can relate.

But now those days are gone! In fact, what is more likely is that my family will buy me clothes that are too big. And if something is too small, it is because it does not fit around my muscles. I cannot tell you how good that feels. Do I still wear Hawaiian shirts? Occasionally. But it is not because I have to. It is because I want to.