Team Beachbody Guest

In 2001, I was wrapping up my MBA studies, recovering from the DOT.COM crash and a down-size, and working in a new job that required me to travel 100% of the time. That was one of the most stressful times in my life. My comfort food was a juicy burger with fries and a chocolate shake.

As a result, in 2002, I was sitting on the edge of the examination table listening to my doctor, who was ready with pen in hand, to write prescriptions for all my ailments. I was not ready to start popping pills at such a young age and asked him to recommend natural remedies. As you might have guessed, the prescription alternatives included exercise and better nutrition. That visit to my doctor’s office was the TURNING POINT in my life.

My before picture was taken in April, 2002 and up to that point in my life, my only exercise was running through airport terminals after clearing security to catch my plane. One night in my hotel room, I saw the P90 INFOMERCIAL. The next day I logged onto BeachBody and after chatting about the products in a forum, I decided to try P90, the in-home boot camp!

I returned home to find it waiting for me and like a weekend warrior, I jumped right in macho style. I was in such pain for the next week that the tapes sat in my drawer for several months before they saw the light of day.

So there I was again SLEEPLESS in my hotel room, looking at another BeachBody infomercial for Debbie Siebers’ Slim in 6. I ordered it and that got me on the road to fitness. SI6 ramped me up slowly and with nothing more than my own body weight, I was sweating the pounds off!

I was still traveling a lot during this time and my laptop did not have a DVD player but I kept pushing play by taping the audio instructions onto my MP3 player. So all I needed was to reserve a non-smoking room on the ground floor so as not to disturb anyone when I was jumping around to moves like “wacky jacks”.

When I completed SI6 I returned to P90 and once I learned to listen to my body and accept the fact that alternate moves did not make me a wimp, I was able to ENJOY THE BURN!

When I first joined the club and tried out the chat rooms and WOWY (online workout buddies), I was very timid to participate but I still learned a lot from just reading the postings of all the other members.

As I rose to new levels in my fitness, BeachBody was there to KEEP IT FRESH. As you can imagine, over the years you need variety, not a magic pill, and I have never been disappointed with any program that I tried. I followed the development of P90X online and as soon as it was available I was Bringing It! I worked at my own pace and stayed consistent even when I turned P90 into P180 or when Slim In 6 slid out to Slim In 12. I even introduced my mom who is approaching 80 to “Tony and the Folks”! She has some of the moves memorized and does them while watching her favorite soap opera.

Today my DVD binder is full of BeachBody exercise programs. I work out at least 5 times per week and each session ranges from 30 to 60 minutes depending on the distractions that life brings my way. On the weekends I pop in Kathy Smith's Steady Strides and walk around the neighborhood. I am always amazed at how much I miss when I just drive by.

My story is not one of over night success but one of GRADUAL, CONSISTENT transformation. I started to chart all my stats in an Excel spreadsheet (the engineer in me) before there was Million Dollar Body Club, and I can remember the challenges of breaking through each plateau and how I fluctuated over the holidays. I no longer fear visits with my doctor but look forward to my continual transformation.

I NEVER FALL OFF THE WAGON, just take little diversions - as long as my stats continue in the right direction, I do not beat myself up even when I eat that occasional jalapeño burger (but with no fries and water) or pop a Power Half Hour workout instead of the 90 minute P90X Yoga.

KEY TO MY TRANSFORMATION was setting weekly and monthly goals, and tracking and sharing those goals with a coach. It kept me FOCUSED, ACCOUNTABLE AND CONSISTENT.

I LOVE TO EAT!...I laugh every time I go through the junk mail and slowly recycle the Johnny Rocket’s and Dairy Queen coupons. My wife still cannot understand how I can just eat one piece of chocolate or one Doritos chip and be satisfied.

I am not much of a cook and was always too busy to prepare anything. So I stocked up on Cheerios, oat meal, soy milk, almonds, protein powder, fresh fruits and vegetables, whole wheat bread, peanut butter, and anything healthy and sort of pre-cooked from Costco or Trader Joes. When I eat out with friends I never say that I am on a diet or that I am watching what I eat, I just keep the conversation going and they never notice all the healthy stuff I order or how I control portions by taking home the leftovers. If they do ask then I tell them that I am in MDB training :)

For nutrition I experimented with every popular diet plan like The Zone, South Beach, The Maker’s Diet, You On A Diet, Win the War Within and Abs Diet. Now that I have read several books, I would not say I follow any one as prescribed but collectively they enable me to make better decisions. Now the Million Dollar Body Club meal planner makes it SO EASY.

I too, like so many other members, am in my 40s and in the best shape of my life. And like many others, I too have skinny and fat wedding bands – luckily I was able to find a new one that closely matched the original.

I have grown to love my new LIFESTYLE and thank God for the strength and BeachBody for making in-home Fitness Fun!

November 27, 2007 update: The holiday season is off to a great start. This year my family and I celebrated Thanksgiving on a cruise ship and it was the first year that after Thanksgiving I did NOT gain any fat. I remember the old me that would have pigged out on the buffet and felt rotten after returning home. So I really can’t put into words how proud I feel to be a SURVIVOR of cruise ship cuisine!