My Story

I was overweight as far back as I could remember. I can remember having to buy boys "husky" sized pants. Throughout school, I was always the fat kid. At least I was funny!

At 14, I took an interest in computers. I spent most of my waking hours in school or on the computer. While other kids played outside in the summer, I was dialing up bulletin boards. Later in my teenage years, I added a Mountain Dew fridge in my room. You know, so I could get another without having to walk to the main fridge! Back then, I drank 6 or 7 in a day, easily.

In a not so surprising move, I became a professional software developer after my graduation. This was my dream job, what I was born to do. But it meant sitting at a desk most of the day. Still drinking the Dew and eating unhealthily. I believe a meal was a Snickers and a Dew many times back then. I was happy to have the career I wanted, but still unhappy about being so overweight. Not to mention, being overweight isn't exactly a magnet for the ladies.

Around 250lbs, I had to take a mini-physical for life insurance. My liver enzyme readings were through the roof! I was told that these numbers were similar to those of an alcoholic. What's funny is I had only had a few drinks in my lifetime at that point! After more testing, it was determined that I had fatty liver deposits. Apparently, not something to be overly alarmed about, but certainly something you want to avoid. Certainly a warning sign of things to come if I didn't change! I was told that I needed to lose weight in order avoid actual damage from this condition. I didn't take things too seriously and the weight kept packing on.

As the years came and went, I would pack on a few more pounds every year. Before I knew it, I had climbed to 275lbs! I was always unhappy about my weight. But, never made the decision to do anything about it.

In late 2005, at 275 lbs., I knew I needed to do something. I was getting into a dangerous area with my health. And I was now the President of a company, so I really needed a healthier look in representing the company. Like many people, I began running on the treadmill. I started at a high intensity for my fitness level. The result was a loss of about 15 lbs. over the course of about 6 months without really changing my diet. Attempting to run outdoors, I hurt my knees/shins pretty good and stopped running on a regular basis. I pretty much maintained this weight for a couple of years by just running on the treadmill every once in a while.

In January 2008, I began daily runs on our new elliptical machine. Again, high intensity, but no diet changes. Frustrated with the lack of results, I threw in some light, basic weight training. I lost around 13 lbs. over the course of 3 months with this method. Better, but still not what I was looking for.

This is when my brother introduced me to Power 90. I was a bit skeptical, even making fun of this infomercial junk. He showed me before and after pictures of a coworker as proof. He also claimed a noticeable difference in his first 3 weeks on the program. After 3 months of intense elliptical training, I hadn't made much progress. So, my wife and I figured P90 was worth a shot. For $70, there wasn't a lot of risk. And, to be honest, I was willing to do whatever it took to get into shape by this point!

Amy and I committed to doing the program as intended and were amazed at the results. I dropped 4-5 lbs. of pure fat each week for the first few weeks. My wife dropped substantial fat as well. After seeing our early results, my 71 year old dad decided to get on board as well. All four of us successfully completed P90 with awesome results.

Who doesn't like shedding massive amounts of body fat and getting some good muscle definition?

After a couple weeks of recovery, the three of us began Power 90 Master Series. I chose standard, Amy went lean, and Dad went with a sculpt/sweat model similar to classic P90. We again saw great results. However, none of us watched the diet as strictly. Fat loss was minimal, although we were all at a higher performance level than at the end of P90. A great stepping stone to the big time...

P90X was the next logical step. All three of us started it on vacation together. My wife was unable to complete the program due to some medical issues. However, my dad and I finished with flying colors. We both saw some great muscle gains and improved health in general. He just began a second round. I am currently doing a shortened round of X, which will be followed by a maintenance program over the summer.

What can I say? These programs have changed my family's lives! I work every day to convince other friends and family that they can do this too. After referring plenty of people to Beachbody, simply because I believed in it.... I realized I should become a coach. I mean, that's what a coach does, right? So that's where I am. A Beachbody coach, ready to help everyone go down the path to success.!

The programs really can't be any easier. All you have to do is commit to "keep pushing play" for the whole 90 days. You can do anything for 90 days, right? It is real work, but that's what you have to do for real results! Fad diets and classic exercise don't work like this. Trust me, I've done them all. I have plenty of improvement to go, but for one year of work, I couldn't be happier with my results. If you want help doing the same for yourself, join the team and let me help you. What have you got to lose?

As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. So, here you go!

 

For my friends out there who say they want to look even better than me..... I hear ya. That's not too hard, really. I am a work in progress and I'll admit that! I recommend everyone spend a little time browsing around the Photo Gallery on the Beachbody forums. These are all real photos of people who have done Beachbody programs. Some of them are utterly amazing. Genetics, hard work, and your starting point all play a role in your results.
 

Note: To those of you expecting to see six-pack abs after all of this work.... Sorry. I'm disappointed too. I'm still working on and improving my abs on a regular basis. However, much of the "plump" left in my midsection is skin. This is an unfortunate side effect of having been "mobidly obese" and having less than stellar skin. You may notice my stretch marks as well. I've been told that the only way to correct this is through surgery. And, I'm not ready to make a decision like that yet. FYI - I am still extremely happy with what I've been able to accomplish. I just felt this needed clarification because some people might not realize it and think I'm still fat in the midsection.