I'm always striving to be a more elite version of myself.. In all sorts of ways, be it learning something new everyday, becoming wiser everyday, becoming a better man everyday, or as of last year.. becoming physically stronger and more fit everyday. It's a new hobby of mine. ;)
I've got a long ways to go to attain that "ideal" body, which unfortunately is merely ingrained in our heads as a result of the media of our culture, but man have I come a long ways from where I used to be.
Yes, I used to be fat and chubby. I loved myself. I ate whatever I wanted. I drank to get drunk. I was a happy go lucky kid. But I learned that my body deserved better, so I learned to love myself in a different way.
Maybe by almost my 2 year mark, which would be next February or March, I'll post a nice before/after juxtaposition style transformation picture. Although mine's ooookay enough to post already, I can wait because right now I'm barely scratching the surface.
Fitness is for life. It's not meant to be a temporary thing. I think the hardest part is making it a "non temporary thing," an ADL (activity of daily living) such as brushing your teeth in the morning or showering at night. I'm still working on that. And that's actually the first step.. and I'd say probably it's the most important step in the scheme of things. Personally, I'm trying to make it second nature because that's just how it's got to be. "Falling off" does happen (KNOCK ON WOOD) when it comes to injury or other circumstances apart from being simply LAZY. Because LAZY is just unacceptable. I cannot afford to fall off. That would really really really suck.