Team Beachbody Guest

“Haunted Mansion Boy” No More

Suffering from severe depression, my life was defined by a sedentary lifestyle of alcohol, mood swings, incalculable sadness, fast-food, and the avoidance of work. I alienated those who cared about me. My weight swung like a pendulum and diet books lined the kitchen counter. Even P90X sat on the shelf for months. My life was on a collision course to self-destruct.

My life wasn’t always sadness and obesity. At 2 years old I underwent successful open-heart surgery and grew up having a normal childhood. I played varsity ice hockey, performed in the high school musical and competed for Penn State in Tae Kwon Do. I always worked out and enjoyed being active.

Shortly after graduating from Penn State I moved to Florida. I had mood swings which seemed to get worse with time; I tried to be happy and seemed to be able to snap out of my depression. With age, I began to struggle with depression. My Disney College Program friends nicknamed me, “Haunted Mansion Boy”. It hurt to hear, but it was true. My mood swings increased and the depression seemed to linger.

I was more often miserable than happy and became a mean, fat, unhappy, belligerent person. I went to see a psychiatrist, and was prescribed numerous anti-depressants. None worked, and all made me gain weight. Ironically, the weight from the “anti-depressant” made me feel worse. My girlfriend Rebecca, now my wife, noticed changes in me and told me I wasn’t the same person. No matter how deeply I dug, I could not find the happy, healthy person I once was.

On December 30th, 2006 I married Rebecca. Sadly, I was 50 pounds overweight and nearly passed out at the ceremony. Some might say it was stress, but being heavy and sweating like Chris Farley in a SNL skit didn’t help. I tried to lose weight before the wedding and promised my wife I would do so. I let her down and myself. I couldn’t lose the weight.

On our honeymoon we started looking at pictures from our wedding and I was disgusted with myself. I realized that I needed to lose weight. I knew I was fat, but that was the one time in my life I wanted to look good and I blew it. When we got home I saw an infomercial for P90X and ordered it. I did it for about 6 weeks and had some results, but I wasn’t physically or mentally strong enough to continue with the program.

Six months passed and my depression deteriorated. I left my successful sales career at a leading education firm and started my own company. Having my own business was something I always wanted, and I thought that it would make me happy. It was short-lived and my business failed. I got into debt from trying to float the company and with no job and no income; I went into a severe depressive state. I had trouble getting out of bed in the morning and was engulfed by sadness. This put a tremendous strain on the relationship with my wife and this is when I lost total control.

On August 18th, 2007 in a moment of helplessness and a lack of total self-worth, I overdosed on sleeping pills. Rebecca found me in the bathroom and rushed me to the emergency room. I was treated by some great physicians. Thankfully, Florida has a law that confined me to the hospital until I was observed for psychological evaluation. It’s during this time that I realized that I needed real help. I needed to change my life.

After spending some time with the doctor, I was prescribed another anti-depressant and told that I needed to force myself to get out, do things and exercise. I was released from the hospital and with the support of Rebecca, my parents and siblings; I began to change my life.

It was a struggle, but I returned to the gym. I started doing things with my wife and with friends. I showed my outgoing personality and started living. I continued to see the infomercial for P90X and remembered why I had failed before; I just wasn’t ready. I knew that if I could get back into half-decent shape, I might be able to start the program and stick with it. I began to work out with the determination of getting into shape to do P90X. I worked hard for 3 months and then decided to take on the challenge.

I started the program at about 221 pounds and 39% body fat. I could barely do 2 pull-ups and YogaX humbled me. After 30 days, I lost 9% body fat and weigh 198 pounds. Now, I bang out pull-ups and only use the chair in the latter sets. YogaX, which I seriously struggled with at first, is now my favorite workout. I am starting to feel like a different person. Working out with Tony is fantastic! Every day I wake-up and look forward to popping in the DVD and “bringing it.” P90X combined with some better medicine was exactly what I needed. With the help of P90X, not only is my physique improving, but so are my mood, energy and self-confidence.

P90X is helping me to become happier and more confident. I feel like I CAN do anything. I am strong and in control of my life and my destiny. For the first time in years, I wake up every morning looking forward to another day. I am tracking my workouts through the Million Dollar Body club and meeting fellow P90Xer’s on WOWY.

P90X hasn’t only changed my life physically; it’s helped to improve all aspects of my life. I have a great new job and most importantly, P90X has helped to improve my relationship with my wife. Today, we bike ride, we go to the movies, and we confide in one another. I've also been asked to speak to residents at the local hospital about the benefits of combining exercise and medicine.

Today is March 11th, 2008 and this morning I weighed 191lbs and feel like a million dollars. The journey has been amazing and I am happier and healthier every day. I owe a special thanks to Rebecca, my parents and siblings. Lastly, I have Tony Horton and Beach Body to thank for an amazing program, a strong support system and a fantastic company.

Thank you.