I have always considered myself atheletic but have rarely "looked" the part. Ever since I was a teenager I have felt uncomfortable taking off my shirt despite carrying a high amount of muscle mass. I first began lifting weights when my father built a homemade bench press and I remember flipping through his bodybuilding encyclopedia around the age of 14. When I joined the Marines I spent a LOT of time in the gym and became rather muscular but I have never been able to control my appetite for unhealthy food and was unable to drop my bodyfat below 16%. After leaving the military, moving to Houston, and living the "party" life for four years I met the woman I eventually married. My weight fluctuated around 200lbs but once my wife got pregnant and we both quit smoking I gained a quick 10lbs and my time in the gym dropped off considerably. I convinced myself that it was work, or bills, or family life, or age, or my genetics that had made my waist over 38" and my bodyfat over 25%. October 2011, at the ripe age of 30 and 220lbs, I decided to stop making excuses and renew my desire to be healthy and fit. I started by joining a local gym, finding a workout partner, starting a food journal, and making my nutrition and fitness a priority.