2 Fat Nerds turned five last week. Looking back on the past five years, a lot has changed. Jon started this blog, lost a bunch of weight, ran a few half marathons, inspired a bunch of people, bought a house, and is saving the world. A few things have changed in my life too. I’ve moved across the country twice, found a job I don’t hate working with people that inspire me, and adopted a dog with a beagle nose and jack russel energy (she can find the rats and catch them). It’s easy to look at five years and point out the things that are different; change is inevitable over the course of that much time. What about the things that haven’t changed?

I’m still trying to motivate myself to get in shape, I’m still a jolly 30 or 40ish pounds overweight, and I’m still making excuses for myself. At least we can take comfort in the fact that some things stay the same.

How do we break the inertia? This is a challenge I think we all face, and not just as it pertains to fitness. Breaking bad habits, whether they be financial, social, or physical, is hard. There are entire industries supported by the fact that addictions (or the seemingly less offensive “bad habit”) are hard to break. So what do we do?

I do wish I had the secret. I wish I could say, “hey, addicted to pasta? Happy hour? Watching TV for 5 hours after work?...well here is a sustainable way to kick the habit and become healthy.” I guess the not-so-secret is that there is no magic solution. There is no way to take a shortcut around putting in hard work and accepting that it will be an everyday challenge.

I’m thankful that this community exists because wherever I am on my journey through this life and however I am doing with the set of goals I always have for myself, I am not alone. We all carry our goals and are sometimes disappointed in ourselves. I think it is important to share the stories of  what makes us upset and what makes us strive to be better.

Looking back at five years of 2 Fat Nerds affirms that we have some work to do. I don’t want to be sitting in this same spot in another five years wondering what I need to do to achieve the goals I set five (ten, twenty?) years ago.

I need your support. As Jon said the other day, I need you all to hold me accountable. I know I am the only one that can control what I do and what happens to the goals I have laid out for myself, but I’m asking for your help. Share your stories, log your workouts, and work to achieve your own set of goals -- together I think we can make this happen.