Day 129: Tigthening Up The Belt

The title of this post isn’t a metaphor or meant to represent something clever. It’s about my belt. I’ve probably had the same belt for the last 4 or 5 years. I wear this same brown belt with jeans, khakis, and pretty much anything else casual (I don’t wear it with sweat pants). I’ve actually been surprised by how well this belt has held up over the years. Very few people appreciate the amount of stress that a belt is put through when it’s owned by a fat man. We never want to have to use the outermost holes so we stretch the belt just that much farther so we can convince ourselves we’re not getting bigger. I for one appreciate my belt and all that it’s done for me over the years. I think that whether you’re aware of it or not, many of you have also appreciated my belt over the years. You see, according to this Wiki article, a belt is made to support trousers. My belt has never let my pants me down in that regard. At least that was the case until just recently.

Through the years I’ve had to adjust my belt a notch or two. Sometimes I’d have to move it to the last hole and other times I’d have it latched more toward the middle, but I never have been able to fasten it on the innermost hole. I thought it was awesome when I was actually thin enough to start using the innermost notch on my belt. After a while my pants would not stay up anymore no matter how much I tried. I was tempted to go buy a new belt but I felt that my old belt deserved the same type of loyalty that it had given me over the years. Instead of buying a smaller belt I kept my old one. I didn’t just keep it because it was still useful, but so that I had a daily reminder of how far I’ve come and where I don’t want to return. I’ve been punching new holes in the belt every week or two ever since the belt stopped offering the needed support. Besides the existing five notches on the belt I’ve added seven more. The homemade notches are farther apart than the notches from the store. It looks like my waist is about 12-13″ smaller than it used to be.

Whether it’s a pair of old pants, a belt, or a T-Shirt from your heavier days, keep something to remind you where you’ve been and how much you’ve accomplished. It will also keep motivating you to stay the course to a healthy life!



2 Responses to “Day 129: Tigthening Up The Belt”

1. winslowlds says:

   November 23, 2009 at 11:35 am

   Good work my friend. Can I sign your belt when we see eachother next? To help motivate you. It’ll probably increase the value of it significantly too.

   Reply
2. Brandon says:

   April 16, 2010 at 5:26 pm

   Great post Ryan, thanks for tweeting me the link! I think I’m going to do the same thing – keep my old belt and just start punching new holes in it. I like the idea of keeping it as a visual reminder of where I came from. The old notch that I used to use most of the time is very well worn, so it makes it quick to see just how far I’ve come!
   Brandon´s last blog ..Weekly weigh-in #15

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