I started off the My Heart Challenge with great success. I dropped some decent weight and was feeling good about my progress. However the past few weeks have been a bit of a challenge.

I had several social situations come up that involved eating out, and my choices have not been good. I've seen my weight go up and down and I've lost and gained the same 2 pounds a few times.

With all of these challenges I've had to look at the positive things that are happening. My clothes are fitting looser and I have a lot more energy. I feel that I even look better. I am more aware of the choices I make and try to make better choices.

Probably the best thing to come from this is I want to exercise now. I look forward to hopping on that elliptical every day and pushing myself. I have started looking for other ways to stay active and even looked into a local hiking group. My wife is starting to get on board and I look forward to further inspiring her.

I'm further motivated by the fact that we are going to try to adopt soon. My wife has psoriatic arthritis and we cannot have kids of our own due to the medication she is on causing birth defects. Once we are lucky enough to adopt, I want to make sure that we are around for our child for a long time. This challenge is the first step in this larger process. I'm excited to be healthy for our future children.

These are the things that will motivate me after this challenge is through. This is not just a two-month contest. For me this is a life-long change. I'm excited for the future and continue to make sure I look for the positive, even when there may be a setback.