Team Beachbody Guest

I’ve never been an “athletic” person. As a kid, I was very introverted and spent my time either alone or with a small group of friends, but we were never involved in activities that I would consider “active.” In addition, I lived
13 miles from my high school and, due to my parents’ situation, couldn’t have been involved in a sport even if I’d wanted to. Needless to say, working
out was not on my radar. I joined the Army after high school and struggled to meet the physical requirements because exercising just wasn’t something that I enjoyed or really cared to participate in; it was drudgery and something I had to force myself to do, and so I always managed to pass my physical tests, but just barely.

Now let’s fast forward to the end of 2007, almost 20 years later. I have a sedentary job in the financial sector, so my days are spent at a desk. My weight has over the course of years ballooned up to almost 240 pounds, almost all around the midsection (see the attractive "before" photo above). I had thought about working out and had even bought a P90 DVD in 2003, but I had never done anything with it. I was a full-time employee and a full-time
student, so many meals during the day consisted of fast food eaten on the run from the office to campus, and we weren’t eating much better at home quite honestly. When I look back on these days, it truly saddens me… but the
story was just getting started.

The company I work for sponsors health fairs once a year in May, and I made it a habit in the last few years to have my blood screening since they check for diabetes and cholesterol. Luckily, my blood sugar wasn’t a problem, but
my cholesterol was, and I remembered that my maternal grandfather had passed away from a heart attack just before I was born. As I thought about the shape my body was in and about the possibility of not being there for my
loved ones, it finally hit me that I absolutely HAD to do something about me – about my habits, about my attitude, and about my body’s health. That’s also when I remembered when I had reached out to Beachbody and that P90 DVD...

In February 2008, I started P90 in earnest and began to make changes in my dietary habits. With the help of Tony and his workouts, the many people I’d met in the community boards (who knew me originally as “MouseDad”), and
my own research and determination, I began to work out… and LIKE it! I began to find ways to eat healthier in terms of what I ate, when I ate, and how much I ate. Slowly, my body began to change for the better, and every day, I felt better, stronger, and more energetic. At the May 2008 health fair, my cholesterol numbers had declined dramatically, and I was ECSTATIC!! I achieved that without drugs, just regular workouts and new eating habits! I
had to take some down time after my first round of P90 was completed as I had some muscle and nerve problems that my chiropractor helped me get through. Now that those are handled, I am starting my second round of P90, and I’m taking it all up a notch because P90X is the next stop. I can’t wait to see the results. There are many people I’ve come into contact with as a Beachbody member who have inspired me, even on days when I didn’t want to be inspired, and there are a special few in particular that I look up to (you know who you are) as examples of what I can accomplish by staying focused on the prize and being consistent in my every-day life.

From here, it only gets better, and I am committed to seeing the pasty, pudgy man in the “before” photo above (Mr. Pudge - doesn't he look grumpy and unpleasant?) gone from my life. The DAY ONE measurements above are from my "old body." The goal will be to replace Mr. Pudge with a version of me that is in-shape, “cut”, and rock-solid. I will have the healthful body that I’ve always wanted to have, and Beachbody will be a big part of that
transformation. Every month when I post a new “progress” photo, you and I will be able to see those changes. I’m looking forward to the journey, and here’s hoping you start one of your own today. It’s never too late, and you
can’t get started early enough.