Team Beachbody Guest

I just turned 46 and decided that it was time to regain control of my body. I have been happily married to my wife for 26 years and we have 3 sons. About 2 years ago, my work life took complete control of my life and my health, then the one form of exercise I loved, running, stopped.

That is when I noticed that I was 20 pounds heavier than I had been in my whole life, my clothes were not

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I just turned 46 and decided that it was time to regain control of my body. I have been happily married to my wife for 26 years and we have 3 sons. About 2 years ago, my work life took complete control of my life and my health, then the one form of exercise I loved, running, stopped.

That is when I noticed that I was 20 pounds heavier than I had been in my whole life, my clothes were not fitting, my stress level was at an all time high and my self esteem had tanked. Most of my life I had been what I considered, very active and athletic. Running was my sole form of fitness and because I focused on running Marathons, I Never paid to much attention to the food I was eating and I most definitely didn’t pay attention to the amount of food I was shoveling into myself to keep going. After I ran my last marathon, I weighed 160 pounds, had a 32 inch waist and was running about 25 – 30 miles a week at an 8:00 per mile pace.

For the better part of the last 31 years, that was how I went through life. I was happy, I was active and I was fairly fit…so I thought. Then, about two years ago, after that marathon, my activity level increased and my health took a turn for the worse. I started accepting more responsibilities at work while continuing to put in the miles on the roads and putting my body into a state of fatigue that all but depleted my adrenal gland production. After visiting my doctor and learning that I needed to eliminate most of my stress and focus on taking care of my body, I stopped running to get the rest I needed so that I could get my adrenal gland functioning again. One day of not exercising led to another and two years had caught up with me and though I was taking care of my stress level, I was not taking care of me. It turns out, you can’t continue to fuel your body with the same amount of food you consumed while training for a marathon every day of your life…when you’re NOT running. My weight had increased to 177 pounds and my waist had ballooned to 37 inches! I started getting comments on my new “gut” and questions about how that could happen to me when I was always so active. Then I noticed how I looked in pictures and realized that the person I was looking at, wasn’t who I wanted to be or who I saw myself as.

It was at that point I started looking into gym memberships and personal trainers and realized that I would spend a small fortune for access to the equipment at the gym and would be spending an even greater amount for personal fitness advice to learn how to use that equipment. That is when I saw the P90X infomercial. My immediate thought was that the only “equipment” I saw being used were dumbbells, bands and a chin-up bar and the professional trainer (Tony Horton) was absolutely “Defined” and if I was going to exercise, that is what I wanted to look like. Well, I probably saw that infomercial in its entirety about 15 times over the next 2 weeks before I decided that I was going to get off the couch and make the call.

My Beachbody order arrived with my P90X program, protein powder and supplements, it was the middle of the week so I waited until the following Monday before I began. I took the Fit Test and having the before photos taken it was now time to start so, on 15 September 2008…I did! Having already “Decided” to do the program as it was presented, I also decided to change the way I “fueled” my body by following the Nutrition guide provided with the program so I also threw out all the “junk” in my fridge.

During the first week, I felt my body begin to change! I felt the effects of the workouts on more muscle groups than running ever allowed me to feel. Suddenly, I was aware of what I could and couldn’t do. That first week, I slept more soundly and felt more rested. I stopped feeling those random cravings I had before, during or after watching a movie at night (most every night). I was more alert and my ability to concentrate started to improve. When I took the 30 day pictures of myself, I saw the changes happening to my stomach as it began to shrink and more curious to me was the immediate appearance of the upper abdominals beginning to form! By day 48 when I took my half way photo’s, I had not only lost three inches in my waist, I could actually see my biceps had grown and my abs were taking shape. At that point, I was completely sold on the P90X program and had “Committed” to maintain the habits it had helped me form. I’m excited about the changes happening to my body and my self-esteem has returned because of those changes. Every day, I’m anxious to do my workout so that I can continue to develop my muscles and my strength. I’ve made several friends while participating in the WOWY program and I’ve even won $300.00 just for logging in and doing my scheduled Yoga-X routine on 6 October 2008! The motivation I found in the Beachbody message forums and the success I have seen in others inspired me to help others “Succeed”. So, on 1 November 2008, I became a Coach! What’s interesting to me is the conversations I find myself in every day because of the changes people see in me because I “Push Play” every day and everyone wants to know how I am getting such great results. P90X, proper nutrition, complimented by the right vitamins and the right amount of sleep is the answer I give! I can’t wait to see my 90 day results and then translate those results into a faster, more efficient marathon. What I look forward to, is helping everyone around me get the same results.

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