by ToneHappy Hump Day everyone! It's been a long week already and it's barely half over. In honor of Shark Week (don't sue Discovery Channel) I decided to tackle a topic that is of great importance to me, and may be one of the few entities on this earth that is more powerful than a shark: words and your word. To be fair, there may be a lot that's more powerful than this guy. One of the pillars that I have built the foundation of my being on that has played a major part in my life is the power and value behind words. It is one of the reasons I majored in English in college and plays part in decisions I make every single day. Speaking, texting, writing, and communicating may seem like a second nature habit to many but it is a tool and art that should be treated with care. For example, take the word "love." Many would agree that this is probably a word that is thrown out into the wild way to frequently to sink or swim on its own without merit or power behind it. "Love" is a word that is used by many but truly meant by few (I'm being broad for the sake of this blog. I do not have any sort of statistical analysis to back these statements up but I am always open for a good debate). Many of us have an understanding that the word at best is slightly overused, but not many make a conscious effort to change that stigma. Now take that understanding and think about all of the other words that could have power behind them and you'll realize this is an epidemic that is plaguing this country. I believe the reason that words are losing their dimension, power, and merit behind them is because people are using them but meaning them with different intentions. Another word that is used almost as frequently as "love" is the word "beautiful." "Beautiful" is used recurrently in every day conversation between others but more often than not the intention behind a person using the word "beautiful" does not match the dictionary definition of "beautiful." When the meaning of a word is abandoned for a different intention or ulterior motive, the value of that word will decrease. I try to make an effort to protect these words, at the very least for my sense of self. I may use the word "beautiful" ten to twenty times TOTAL over the course of a year, and that's being generous to myself. I place value in words and because of that when I do use words like this, their value is increased to the people I use them toward. As a result, I am able to be trusted and more genuine in the eyes of others around me which increases the value of my word. Your word should be one of the most treasured commodities that you own. It has the ability to increase your social capital to Bill Gates level wealth. With power behind your word, you can give power to others in the form of confidence, motivation, and security among many other traits that are critical to success. I'm posting all of this because I feel it has importance, and hopefully if you're reading this you can take some value from it. Once a person loses their word in the eyes of another, the relationship is not only tainted with an asterisk but it is in a constant state of danger for the continuation of it. I'm also posting this because in a way, I am trying to build a relationship with you. I may not know exactly who is reading this, but I want to build trust with you and I want you to feel genuine whenever you read one of my posts, which is why I've been posting these very deep and somewhat inspirational posts to start this journey. I want to lay the foundation for this blog so you know exactly what you're going to get from me every time you see a post. Whether it's a food review, a workout technique, a piece of fiction, or an extremely personal post, I want you to understand what I hold valuable in my core so you can feel that value when you read my posts. Words and my word are two of the most worthwhile possessions I will ever own. Thank you. -Tone Now for some HOUSEKEEPING The fun posts are on the way guys I promise. A few ideas I have that I would like to make as recurring blog posts: 1) A humans of New York type interview with random people in random walks of life and professions. This blog was designed for enrichment and to gain knowledge you and I both don't already have so let's learn from people we don't know about and give them an opportunity to tell their story. 2) The Kitchen of Tone: a weekly (probably on Sundays) recipe tutorial of some kind of healthy meal/bad food alternative. 3) The Week of Tone: a quick recap of different facets going on in my life so I can stay open and honest with you throughout. Complete with song recommendations, workouts to try, product reviews (food, gadgets, video games, books, whatever I'm doing at the time), and much more! 4) The Mind of Tone: a weekly piece of fiction that I'm currently working on. Sorry for naming all of them after me, I gotta stick to the gimmick brother so I won't ever have to apologize. Questions/Comments/Concerns/Suggestions/Petition to get me kicked off weebly can be found at
@LifeOfTone216 on Instagram OR [email protected] Thank you. I appreciate you. Yes you.
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by Tone Alright guys it's story time so this post may be a LITTLE lengthy. Often, I am asked about my "transformation." Most of the time I'm asked something along the lines of "How did you do it?!" and most of the time after that, the person asking is expecting a miracle. They want to hear that I took a magic pill and when I woke up the next morning nearly 36% of my body weight had disappeared. Sometimes people like to hear the story about the journey. Other times people interrupt it to try and force that kind of miracle thought process into a transformation that is anything but a miracle. I didn't start this journey with any kind of goals. I was twenty-year-old college junior that used eating as a getaway. I was never self aware because I never chose to be self aware. I hid from myself as well as others. I believed that my habits were invisible and that if they went unnoticed to others, they would be invisible to myself as well. In addition to that, I was dealing with a lot of bad depression and that didn't help contribute to the cause. At my heaviest weight, I was somewhere between 255 and 260lbs. To put that in perspective, that's around a thirty-five BMI and somewhere between thirty and forty body fat percentage, both of which are considered obese. The lowest weight I have achieved to date was 164lbs, and today I sit comfortably at 170lbs which is about a twenty-three BMI and somewhere around fifteen body fat percentage, which are HUGE improvements for a person hoping to live a healthy and long life. Catch your boy in the Captain America T here, but there is no super soldier serum in this story. I give you all of that information so it can be in the back of your head as I finally get to this story. I mentioned a few paragraphs back that I wanted the food I ate to feel invisible to others so I can continue to do it without regret. The habits with which I ate were insane. Breakfast was moderate, a bowl of cereal before school. Lunch at school every day was either a few slices of pizza or bosco sticks, an order of fries, and a chocolate milk. Not the healthiest, but typical for a teenager. The big damage was done after school. My after school "snack" every day was three corn-dogs from the frozen food aisle. When three wasn't enough anymore, it turned to four. When four couldn't do the trick, it turned into a whole box. Wash it down with a coke and I was set until dinner. Dinner was the best meal of the day so it was always the most food. My favorite meal was a chipotle burrito, a whole bag of chips and salsa (I was lucky queso wasn't a thing then), washed down again with another soda. Like the corn dogs though, one soda wasn't enough and it kept escalating until I could drink an entire two liter of Coke in one sitting. If we took the low end of those meals before they started to snowball, I consumed around 3,405 calories a day with a significant chunk of those calories coming from fat sources. That count includes only three corn dogs and two cokes. By the time my addiction had reached its height I was easily consuming anywhere from four-thousand to five-thousand calories a day, almost two and a half times the daily recommended allowance! Two revelations began to turn the tide. The first was that my friend Travis and my brother Bailey decided to diet together and although I made fun of it to their face, I was secretly jealous of being left out. The big EYE OPENER was when my parents told me that I needed to stop drinking so much soda throughout the day because they were spending too much money on soda every week which was half jokingly but also half serious. Joke, serious, or somewhere in between, my cover had been blown. My habits were no longer invisible and people were beginning to notice. Feelings of self loathe and hate that I had kept covered began to surface and my insecurities could not be hidden anymore. So I began to cut back on the soda, and I began to lose weight. Only a pound or two, but it began to motivate me. I wanted to challenge myself, I wanted to see what else I could knock out of my diet and if that would have the same effects as the pop. One pound turned to ten and ten turned to fifteen and I had a little bit of confidence in myself. I wanted to see what else I could bring into my life to give me the results I wanted to see, so I spent a few hundred dollars for a year membership to my local rec center. My thought was that I had spent the money, I had to go workout, no matter my fears. Luckily, I had my brother by my side who had never met a weight he didn't like. After a few months of working out and continuing to straighten my diet, I met with my brothers former trainer, Chad Whitman (cheap plug- @ironwarehouseohio he's a genuine dude and he deserves all the success). Chad helped me to workout and I began talking to him about training to become a professional wrestler, since he was a former wrestler with a few WWE appearances himself. My confidence had turned into a train that was ready to steamroll any goal I had in sight. And on a Sunday morning while working out with Chad, I decided I was going to sign up for classes. This day was also monumental because for the very first time I dipped below the two-hundred pound mark. I was so happy I nearly cried in the gym. "I've been working my ass off for 8 months and today for the first time since my freshman year of high school I can say I'm below 200lbs" The professional wrestling career didn't last, but the confidence continued to grow. I started to research and add a method to my madness. I began to run and the weight continued to drop as my confidence grew. Eventually I started taking kickboxing classes, and in July of 2017 I won my first (and only as of right now) kickboxing smoker. The running and loss of a close friend motivated me to run a 5k and in my first performance I finished third in my age bracket. I continue to try and grow everyday as both a person and through my health and wellness. Three years ago if you would have asked me, or anybody close to me about the things I have accomplished they would have laughed you right in your face and with good reason. Changing my health has not only changed my life, but it has saved it in more way than one and instead of looking at a challenge as too hard or impossible like I may have used to, I thrive off of challenge and look for it in every opportunity, and because of that doors continue to open. It is Tuesday so I might as well post a transformation. I could write another whole blog post dedicated to thanking everybody that has stuck through and supported me through this journey, and maybe I will, but for now you know who you are and I want you to know I appreciate you. For the people reading this that is looking to lead a more healthy lifestyle, here are some tips: 1) It's a marathon, not a race. There is no quick fix, and there is no substitute for hard work. Cliché, but the honest to God's truth. If you work at your goals I promise that you will accomplish them. There will be ebbs and flows, the road to your goal is not linear. Stick with it and trust the process 2) Have a gameplan. Treat your health and fitness like a sport, because in many ways it is. The most prepared athletes and teams usually come out on top. Do your research, watch some film (youtube videos, tutorials, etc.) and get your practice in so you can make the most out of gametime when it appears. 3) Supplements are exactly that. They are there to supplement a workout, healthy choice, etc. They are not the answer nor are they the cure. They can help accentuate a particular area but they are not a substitute for hard work. 4) Don't be afraid. All kinds of change are scary because they differentiate you from your normal way of living. That is not at reason to fear change, it's a reason to welcome it. Plunge into the lifestyle head first or dip your toes in the water for awhile, but don't let fear paralyze you from positive changes. *I am not an expert by any means, but if you have any questions, need any sort of help, or just want to talk in general about any of these topics I am an open door and would be happy to lend a helping hand on a journey towards a healthy lifestyle. With that in mind, Insta- @lifeOfTone216 email: [email protected] I can be reached there if anyone needs anything. Thank you :) -Tone by ToneMany of my motivations in life stem from a desire to acquire knowledge. If I ever won the lottery, I would use the money to fund a lifetime's worth of college degrees because I love to learn, and dive into the "why" and the "how" a particular item may have achieved its goal or did not. Studying success can help to develop successful habits within yourself and dissecting failures can help give warning to particular actions or behaviors. There is no such thing as too much knowledge! Ignorance is not bliss.
Your brain is like a computer, and the more information it has to process, the greater probability it will have to determine a favorable outcome for you. Whenever I start a new job, one thing I like to do is talk to the managers, general managers, higher ups, etc. to find out: 1) How successful the business is/isn't. 2) What that business has done to maintain that success/lack thereof. 3) How I can personally do my share to contribute to the success of that particular business. Obviously, if one is hired to do a job then adequate work will help with #3, but going that extra step to elevate not only that business but yourself and your work habits will not only help to build success for that business, but it will help to build success within yourself. Going an extra step for a job may not feel like it's worth it if there is no instant gratification, but you are building habits that will carry on with you to future opportunities. So why am I saying all of this? I want to help deliver knowledge to you through this blog. I want to contribute to enrichment and enhancement of anyone that reads this in a positive way. At a job interview recently (recently meaning within the last year), the producer asked me about my own personal goals for myself, and how acquiring that particular job would help me to get to where I want to be. I could be inspirational and say that I said everything that was in my head in the moment, but in reality I froze and lost the job opportunity because of that. Here's my second chance. My dream, my ultimate goal in life is to have a voice loud enough to influence others. I went to school to get a degree in English and Creative Writing so I could articulate all of the ideas in my head, and put them to paper. I want to be able to create a platform where I can not only spread my knowledge with others, but also let others share their knowledge with each other. I know through social media that is way easier in this day and age than ever, but I dream of having a multimedia production company that will let everyone have a voice, and can be a tool for change or at least the opportunity for change. Every person has a story. Every other person can learn from another's story. This will be the start of that. One idea that I can't wait to get started on with this is monthly interviews with random people, in all walks of life. I am currently working on a few ideas for that. If you have a story, if you want to be heard, don't hesitate to shoot me a message. Let us all create a symbiotic relationship through this platform where all knowledge is welcomed with open arms, and we can start to achieve the dream I was to afraid to tell in a job interview. Thank you. If you want to be heard, I can be reached at: [email protected] @LifeOfTone216 on Instagram |