Team Beachbody Guest

I have battled with my weight since I was a young boy. I was always the
“husky” kid. You know, the kid who’d always wear sweats or have his mom
hem up his jeans because the ones that fit were made for someone a foot-
and-a-half taller. Yeah, that was me. I was always embarrassed about my
body as far back as I can remember, and as a result, I became very shy and
antisocial.

In middle school, I played in sports, which helped to control my weight some,
and I did build some muscle which helped disguise all the body fat. I did a
fair job of maintaining my weight through high school, even though my diet
was terrible (my five basic food groups were: the hamburger group, the pizza
group, the taco group, the deep-fried anything group, and the soda group).
When I graduated I was 6’2”, weighed 220lbs, and probably hovered around
20-22% body fat. Until now, that was the best shape that I’d been in
throughout my life.

A quick tour of the next twelve years:
• I married (and gained some weight)
• Had a child (I think I got pregnant too!)
• Had back surgery (ruptured disk, probably at least partially due to being
overweight)
• Divorced (the first time I’d lost weight since my teens)
• Remarried (gained all I had lost back, plus some)
• Had another child (holy $%*! I’m huge)

Just after Christmas of 2003 I weighed in at 297 pounds!!! It was very hard
for me to accept that I had grown so heavy (I was in denial BIGTIME). I would
just look in the mirror and say to myself, “It’s not so bad” and go eat a pizza.
Junk food was still a regular part of my life. Honestly, I’d say that as a family
we were probably eating out at least once a day!!! To make things even
worse, I had also developed quite a soda addiction, to the tune of about 12
cans per day!

In April of 2004, my wife Jessica, feeling the stress of trying to lose the
weight from her pregnancy, stumbled across the Power 90 infomercial. We
had tried a couple other diets in the past, with the typical fad diet results
(lose a few, gain a bunch), and she really wanted to find something that
would stick, a life changer, if you will. She told me about Power 90, and said
that she’d like to try it. I was skeptical at best, but went along with it.

When the package arrived, along with some resistance bands, we read
through all of the included pamphlets and browsed through the DVD’s.
Whoa!! This was going to be a major change (On our last diet we could eat a
pound of bacon smothered in cheese if we wanted to. No comment as to
weather I actually did that…). Exercise had not been a regular part of either of
our lives for years. Needless to say, Power 90 sat in a dark corner for a couple
of weeks.

Finally, desperate for change, we decided that it was worth a try. We decided
to stick to the top three tiers of the Michi’s Ladder diet guide (mostly the top
two), and see how it goes. So off we went on our P90 journey.

I had actually managed to lose about ten pounds in the month prior to
starting the program. Easily, the biggest factor in that was giving up the
2000+ soda calories that I had been consuming per day! So on day one of
Power 90, I actually weighed in at a not-so-svelte 287 pounds.

I’ll tell you now, within two weeks I was hooked. Not that those two weeks
were fun by any means. Quite the contrary, I thought each workout was going
to kill me. But with the support of my wife, and the great motivation and
inspiration that Tony Horton provides in the videos, I pushed on. In the first
two weeks, I went from 287 pounds down to 268. A nineteen pound loss in
just two weeks! This was amazing! More amazing to me was the fact that I
went from barely squeezing into my size 42 (probably should have been 43
or 44) jeans to just about falling out of them. This was great! That’s not all
though, by any means. I was starting to feel more energized. I felt motivated
to get up and do things, not just hold the couch down all evening. I knew that
I was far from done, but I was beginning to feel good about myself and this
program.

Great things just kept on happening. As Day 30 passed, I had dropped to 256
(twelve more pounds) and was starting to feel a little loose in my size 40’s.
Day 60 marked another great day as I weighed in at 244lbs and fit nicely into
a pair of size 38 jeans, something I had not been able to do for at least 4
years. My shoulders and arms were starting to show some definition. I could
feel the so desired six-pack beginning to form under my skin. My face was
beginning to lose that bowling ball appearance. Fantastic! So 60 days, 43
pounds lost, 4 (but probably more like 5 or 6) pant sizes smaller, and a ton of
confidence gained!

Day 61 was the beginning of the level 3-4 workouts. Holy Cow, feel that
burn!! But I’ll tell you what, it felt good. Anytime I even thought about giving
up, I’d just look and listen to Tony, constantly pushing us to go for it, look at
Jessica and see how hard she was working, or think of the incredible results
the last couple months had brought me. That was all the motivation I needed.

Day 90 arrived, what a feeling of accomplishment. I had come so far in just
90 days. I was so proud. I looked and felt so much healthier. I had gained
incredible amounts of self confidence, something that I’ve lacked my entire
life, and Tony Horton and Beachbody.com helped me find it in myself. Oh,
the final results for my first 90 days you ask? Drum-roll please - Day 90:
230lbs, size 36 pants (haven’t been that small since high school). 90 day
weight loss: 57 pounds, dropped six + pant sizes, and two less chins!

I continued with Power 90 for another 90 days, dropping another 20 pounds,
brining me to 210lbs. I was now weighing less than when I graduated from
high school. Absolutely amazing!

After my second round of Power 90, I decided to take myself to the next level.
I had been studying Tony Horton’s recently released P90X program, and
decided to give it a go. WOW!! As much research as I did, I had no idea what I
had purchased. P90X is a truly “world class” fitness program. This is easily the
most well-developed home fitness program ever created.
Through the first 90 days of P90X, I watched my body transform into a lean,
chiseled, athletic machine! In my wildest dreams, I never thought that I would
accomplish the level of fitness and the ripped body that I did using the P90X
program. After 90 days of this program I ended up at 190lbs, wearing a size
32 jeans (I was in junior high the last time I was in a 32), and absolutely
shredded!

In just under a year, I lost 107lbs, going from nearly 30% body fat, down to
7%. I felt greater than I can remember at any point in my life, and saw my abs
for the very first time.

I’ve continued on with P90X, as well as working with P90X+, 10 Minute
Trainer, and even some of my own routines that I’ve come up with. I can’t say
enough about how absolutely wonderful and well-developed all of
Beachbody’s products are. I definitely can say that they are all well tested,
proven, and will work for anyone who is willing to commit!

As if it weren’t enough that Beachbody gave me the tools to live the most fit
and healthy life I’ve ever known, I’ve also had the honor of being recognized
by the company in so many great ways:

*In 2005, I was selected to go to Hawaii to film a Power 90 infomercial, as
well as be featured in Beachbody’s “Fat Burning Express” video that is
packaged with the Power 90 system.

*I am one of several featured customers in the current P90X infomercial.

*My before and after pictures are frequently used in P90X ads in national
publications.

*My before after picture is featured on the Beachbody.com homepage.

*In December 2006, my wife Jessica and I were invited to join as “Founding
Coaches” with Team Beachbody.

*In January 2007, I was recognized as the Million Dollar Body Game male
transformation of the month, and awarded $10,000

*In March 2008, I was awarded $50,000 as runner up for male transformation
of the year.

Little did I ever imagine that purchasing a $50 program off of the tv would
absolutely change my life!