Trooper Fit Club

[puro]

10 lbs loss is more like 2 months, but the biggest difference is the change of diet. I took away all the unnecessary snacks plus switched to eating way more fruits and veggies. Also cut down the amount of Coke etc. 20 more lbs, target is by Christmas Eve!

[SydB1974]

10 lbs loss is more like 2 months, but the biggest difference is the change of diet. I took away all the unnecessary snacks plus switched to eating way more fruits and veggies. Also cut down the amount of Coke etc. 20 more lbs, target is by Christmas Eve!

 

when i cut out Coke from my diet, i melted away pounds at the beginning too. It was pretty amazing. Good going, and keep it up!

[Kirby]

Good to see a Fit Club on here! Besides wanting to look good in your armor, the health benefits of dropping some lbs/kgs and trying to eat right is a great habit to get into. I started my weight loss journey in March of 2009. at that time I was 5'7" and 203 lbs....mostly in my belly. A friend of mine suggested we start doing P90X. after researching it, i knew i was way too out of shape to start there....so i started off with Tony Horton's first workout DVD set, Power 90. Took off about 28 lbs in 90 days of that. Then I moved on to the Power 90 Masters Series...kind of P90X Lite. shaved off about another 10 lbs there. Late September of 09, I started my first round of P90X, and haven't look back. right now I'm about 150 lbs....16% body fat, and building up some good TK muscle

 

diet wise, i dropped soda out of my life....and don't eat fast food very often. if i do, it's subway, or some sort of grilled chicken. through it all, i've felt better than i have in a long time, both physically and mentally. it's been a great boost for me.

 

If there are any other P90X'ers here on FISD, or anyone who has questions about it, or nutrition/workouts in general, send me a PM or post it up here. Really, when it comes to getting fit and healthy, it's all about finding something YOU like to do, and keeping at it.

 

Cheers,

Doug

 

 

 

Good to see another Tony fan.... My wife always jokes, says he isnt a very nice person.....P90X isnt easy, and finding the time to get that workout in every day is sometimes hard.....but its well worth it, when you do...

Edited August 16, 2010 by Kirby

[tigger68[501st]]

Hey guys, thought I'd report in. I've lost another 15 lbs in the past 6 weeks. I lost some ground in July over my birthday because I didn't eat well, and I didn't exercise like I'd been doing. The great news is I'm having to go clothes shopping to get some that fit. The bad news is, I had to take in my officer's tunic (again!)because it was starting to look like a hand-me-down that I needed to grow into.

 

My sister just ordered the P90X so she can work out. I don't know much about it, but I'm going to watch her progress (or lack thereof) on it. She's already really fit (plays 2-3 hours of tennis a day and does Jillian Michaels workout) but can't seem to get the tight flat stomach she had in her 20s. I keep telling her that reaching her late 30s and having 3 children may make it more difficult to gain it back, but she is determined. I hope this works.

 

I'll keep you updated, and now that summer is coming to a close, don't let yourselves be convinced you can't workout in the winter. Start thinking now of how to take your outdoors workout indoors.

[puro]

Interesting link for all of us, but maybe a little more to our US friends: http://shine.yahoo.com/event/loveyourbody/why-you-cant-lose-those-last-10-pounds-1964849/

[BlackDOG[TK]]

Hey everybody!

I am a noob around here, as that I am just starting to collect boxes

 

I am a TB, and when I redid my cummerbund to qualify for Lancer (our EIB), I noticed that the new one was TIGHT. I had used my same measurements from a year ago, but as that the fabric had stretched slightly, I had not realized the weight gain.

 

I work at a desk and don't exercise like I once did. Even my trips with my Boy Scouts were making the knees complain more....40 is around the corner, too.

 

I heard about the New Adkins on the people's pharmacy on NPR in April. I had assumed that it was just a book with new recipes......but as I listened, I began to think seriously about making some lifestyle changes. I bought the book, the one published this year.....

 

A Word on Atkins......I have heard all sorts of arguments for and against Atkins. High Cholesterol...high protein content in urine...quick loss, no sustainability.....heart disease. This is my experience.......

 

Atkins made sense. I am a meat and potatoes kind of eater. I love good food, I like mediocre food and tolerate marginal food. But after commencing Adkins, I learned a few things about myself I did not know.....

 

I ATE A LOT OF GARBAGE- I ate snacks that were stuff like cookies, chocolate, soda.......

 

I did not eat enough REAL food- like vegetables (fresh ones) and water and whole foods.

 

I did not pay attention to what I did eat, and ate way too much.

 

WHAT I FOUND OUT- The newer version of Atkins holds to the original proposition.....you body needs fat, but we are addicted to refined sugar and starches. The carbohydrates prevent out bodies from effectively metabolizing fat and even if we did metabolize it ....we cram waaaay to much rocket fuel (sugar) into our stomachs. IN the beginning I assumed I could eat anything as long as it was not bread, starch or sugar. But there is s kicker........the Atkins program wants your 20 grams of carbs per day to come mostly (15-17 grams) from vegetables.....like spinach and asparagus and salad and such. If you try it, you learn that you don't eat 3 cheeseburgers without the bun or 9 slices of cheese or as much bacon as you want. For me, the challenge was to eat enough OTHER stuff to get to 15 grams of carbs via foundation veggies. In essence:

 

IT IS NOT ABOUT PROTEIN but eating whole, nutritious food.

 

SO what happened.....I started at 182, BMI of about 26 with bad hunger pangs if I did not eat a package of cookies at 10:30 AM from the vending machine. I had headaches and after lunch....well I wanted to lay down and sleep. After the initial 2 week induction, I had lost about 12 pounds.....and I started getting comfortable with the new way of doing things. WHen I departed for CV, I weighed 155.5 pounds and felt better than I had in 14 years. I am more active, I don't have those sugar rush headache/ after lunch crashes.....I look better and my knees did not hurt after working the registration line for 6 hours at Celebration.

 

I ate absolutely anything I wanted in Florida.....Pizza, burgers, fries.....but you know what? I did not eat them the way I did before. I don't crave stuff like I once did. I ate ice cream, but I opted out of my baked potato. I ate steamed veggies instead. I ate half of my fries and didn't feel like I was "leaving a man behind."

 

I did hit a plateau at 165 pounds.....that lasted about two weeks. But now, I have been able to maintain the south of 160 range.

 

If you think you know Atkins, it deserves a second look. Does it work for everyone? Probably not. It was the best fit for me.

 

Don' t let people who think they know what they are talking about tell you what you can discover for yourself. I argued with a lady about a month ago who told me Atkins was bad because you only ate meat......read the book, think about the science, talk to you doctor and see what happens.

 

 

Be encouraged. If I can lose weight you can too.

 

J

TB/ ID 8286

 

 

BEFORE:

 

AFTER:

[tkcat]

I completely agree with J. The reason people gain all their weight back is because they used Atkins like a crash diet not a change of eating habits. It's a way of eating not a "diet." I lost 50 lbs in 4 months and have kept it off for several months because I have continued with my high protein/low carb/whole food WOE (way of eating).

 

I found lowcarbfriends "bulletin board" (forum) to be super helpful. There are a lot of posters that have been doing low carb (Atkins, South Beach, HCG, etc.) for a long time and they are very helpful. I love their recipe section.

 

*grammar edited*

Edited August 27, 2010 by tkcat

[Runnriottt]

I dropped 6 pounds... Actually started in the gym!

[ELP]

Hey all - That is some great weight loss going on! Congrats BlackDog on the diet change and resultant weight loss / fitness gain. Great to hear.

 

Tigger68 - Good for you for the steady weight loss. It's tough especially around holidays and birthdays ... It's so easy to just have "oh one bite of this", "or a nibble of that", or a bowl of this and that" ... Been there eaten that. Keep up the good work.

 

And as a note to your sister - after 3 kids she probably won't regain the flat stomach she had in her early 20's. I know female tri-athletes and competitive mountain bikers who, after giving birth, always have a little bit extra 'padding' around their lower abdomen. It's just a result of the local tissues being stretched rapidly over a short period of time and as we get older said tissues loose their elasticity and don't contract back to where they were. This is especially evident in women who have 2 children in less than 4 years.

 

And a note regarding weight gain after 'diets' - Most people who adjust their diets and lose weight will gain some back, some will gain more back. The main reason for this is if you are eating a restricted calorie diet your body will start to function on less energy. If you aren't exercising and keeping your metabolism up there will be weight gain when you go back to your 'normal diet'. If people binge once they hit their target with their metabolism still in a state of "conservation" the weight gain will be sudden and drastic. So it's a must when you alter your diet to lose weight, especially if you're lowering your caloric intake, you must increase your activity level - this will help both to lose weight and to keep it off.

 

Again congrats all - Keep it up!

 

 

[BlackDOG[TK]]

Just to be clear....I am talking about what worked for me.

 

My comments about not listening to people who think they know what they are talking about is not directed at anyone in this thread....but rather the people who I have run across who insist on being all knowing....I re-read my post and though I came off a little strong. You know they people I am talking about...they come up to you at an event talking about a friend who got a "perfect" screen used stormtrooper helmet off ebay...LOL. No arguing with folks like that....

 

 

Keep up the good work, troopers.

[TK - Lisa]

a "perfect" screen used stormtrooper helmet off ebay

 

But wait ... isn't ebay the only place to get authentic, licenced, & top quality items?

 

LOL.

 

And don't worry about coming off to strong. You're impressed with yourself, you had a great experience and you learned a tonne. There is no reason to censor yourself when sharing that, and chances are your obvious enthusiasm may prove to be contagious.

And you did you did specifically state: “this is what worked for meâ€, so it’s all good in my mind.

 

Again Congrats!

[tigger68[501st]]

Okay, I'll jump in here with my $.02 on Adkins, and other diets, dieting works to lose the weight. However, once off the diet, the weight will come back, and probably justs more. Just don't take a swing at me, I'm not saying that anyone is wrong, just wanting to make sure that the best information is provided for our group.

 

The low glycemic index diet is a good one and if you want to make it a lifestyle change go for it.

 

Now, that said, there is some interesting research being done within the past 3 years on dieting. One researcher in particular (I'm kind of biased he was my exercise physiology and cellular biology prof) found that higher levels of carbohydrates actually inversely affected weight in human subjects. This was particularly significant in those persons who consumed whole grains, although both whole and refined grains were studied. The citation for anyone who wants to look it up: Gaesser GA. Carbohydrate quantity and quality in relation to body mass index. J Am Diet Assoc. 2007;107:1768-1780.

 

There are also studies that have shown the Atkins diet may affect blood vessels if followed long term. I'm not talking about the diet that Blackdog has researched which is the original Atkins diet which came out a while ago, I'm talking about the fad diet that people started following. The same study also looked at the South Beach Diet and Ornish Diet, and compared the three of them. The results were if the Atkins diet derived 50% of its caloric content from fat, it increased LDL (bad cholesterol) by an average of 15.4 points (mg/dl), the South Beach diet which derives 30% of its calories from fat reduced LDL by an average of 10.2 points, and the Ornish Diet which derives 10% of its calories from fat reduced LDL by an average of 25.5 points. Miller M, Beach V, Mangano C, et al. Comparative effects of 3 popular diets on lipids, endothelial function and biomarkers of atherothrombosis in the absence of weight loss. Study presented at: American Heart Association’s Scientific Session; Nov. 6, 2007; Orlando, Fla.

 

I think the real thing here is to avoid processed sugars, something that Americans seem to have found essential to living. Start reading your labels on canned foods. I'll bet you'll find some sort of sweetener in them, be it High Fructose Corn Syrup, real sugar or some other processed sweetener.

 

Okay, take my advice here, find what works for you. If you want to increase your body's sensitivity to insulin, i.e. you need less insulin to process the glycogen in your body, exercise will provide a great way to do that in conjunction with staying away from processed sugars (my own downfall). Exercise also reduces blood pressure, increases metabolism, reduces stress, makes you feel better about yourself, and you'll look better in your armor. I know the only way I lose weight and keep it off is through exercise, I can diet until I'm blue in the face, but my body will store the fat and I'll lose it, but I also lose muscle mass which is the opposite of what I want to do.

 

Phrase for the day: MODERATION IN EATING.

 

Okay getting off my soap box to go sweat to my Wii.

[bluehickey]

I'm just checking in to report that I'm at a cross-roads of sort with this whole eating/weight thing. Right now, I am just so tired of all of the work required to eat healthy and see little or no results, most of the time the only results I do see is weight gain.

 

I get real down on myself because 6 years ago I did weight watchers and lost almost 30 lbs, and I've gained it all back slowly. I've been exercising regularly, drinking TONS of water and trying to make smart decisions when it comes to eating, been going to the gym for the past 2 years but I'm still gaining weight (and not muscle weight either - fat weight). The only thing that really makes a difference is what I put in my mouth. I've gone back to weight watchers meetings in the past and tried recommitting, but birthdays, holidays, family visits, weekends all take it's toll and the healthy eating just becomes such a burden and pain in the butt to maintain, especially since I'm the only one in my family trying to eat healthy.

 

I'm realizing nobody cares whether I'm fat or thin. I'm the only one who obsesses over it, I'm the only one who cares. Lately dieting has just felt like such a punishment, especially when I don't see any results. I am at the point where I am ready to just give up, or do a 'get thin quick' fad diet because the regular way just isn't working for me anymore.

[TK-8224[501st]]

I'm in! My TK fits really well now, but my tummy and thighs give me away when wearing my TB. I'd love to loose a few kilos to get a little less girly curves! Not all curves are pretty, haha.

 

Planning to loose about ten kilos, and then see what my body looks like. If I'm happy then, I'm done, but if I can loose more without being too thin, my BMI says that I should probably loose another five or ten.

 

I'll be exercising on my rowing machine, and I'll also try to eat healthier food and cut down on coke and chocolate. Oh dear. Wish me luck!

[ELP]

I'm just checking in to report that I'm at a cross-roads of sort with this whole eating/weight thing. Right now, I am just so tired of all of the work required to eat healthy and see little or no results, most of the time the only results I do see is weight gain.

 

PM.

[tigger68[501st]]

I get real down on myself because 6 years ago I did weight watchers and lost almost 30 lbs, and I've gained it all back slowly. I've been exercising regularly, drinking TONS of water and trying to make smart decisions when it comes to eating, been going to the gym for the past 2 years but I'm still gaining weight (and not muscle weight either - fat weight). The only thing that really makes a difference is what I put in my mouth. I've gone back to weight watchers meetings in the past and tried recommitting, but birthdays, holidays, family visits, weekends all take it's toll and the healthy eating just becomes such a burden and pain in the butt to maintain, especially since I'm the only one in my family trying to eat healthy.

 

I'm realizing nobody cares whether I'm fat or thin. I'm the only one who obsesses over it, I'm the only one who cares. Lately dieting has just felt like such a punishment, especially when I don't see any results. I am at the point where I am ready to just give up, or do a 'get thin quick' fad diet because the regular way just isn't working for me anymore.

 

Okay, take a step back, take a deep breath and relax. I've been waiting for something like this post to come along. No, really I have. Now I can pass along some more data and solutions.

 

First of all, yes Virginia, there really is a "diet roller-coaster" that people get on. You lose 20lbs and you gain back 50lbs. It is a scientific fact. Okay, that said, diets do not work in the long run. I'm going to repeat that...diets do not work in the long run. Depriving yourself of things you enjoy will only make you binge on them at a later date, feel guilty, so you deny yourself, binge, deny, binge....you get the picture.

 

Let's look at something. There is a subject out there called the French Paradox. The French eat real butter, cream, and lots of it, but don't have the diet or health issues faced by Americans. Why? Simple, eating to them is well, not just a means to satisfy hunger, but an enjoyment. You heard me, enjoyment-pleasure-fun. All by sitting down and eating.

 

If I were to say the words, Paris, France to you, what comes to mind? A sidewalk cafe where you watch the world go by? The Eiffel Tower? Lots of rich foods? Then why don't the French have a serious cholesterol or fat problem? Okay some simple answers here.

 

1. Portion size. Yeah, I know, you've heard it before. But it's true. The United States and other countries have increased portion sizes out of control. It is very scary. However, if we re-train ourselves we will eat the proportions we should be eating of food. It isn't that difficult. It isn't necessarily WHAT we are eating, but how much.

 

2. Enjoyment/relaxation. Okay, here is where it gets difficult. I want everyone to sit down to your FAVORITE dinner and before you start eating, set a time for 1 hour. You heard correctly 1 HOUR. Then you get to start eating. Oh, I forgot, you can't finish the meal until the hour is up. Uh huh, you'd better have food on your plate, and still be eating when 50 minutes have gone by. Americans on average eat in 30 minutes or less. This doesn't allow your body to receive the "I'm full" signal so you eat more than you really need. Taking your time over a meal helps to reduce the amount of food you ingest.

 

3. NO GUILT! So you ate a piece or two of cheesecake. So what? It isn't going to immediately kill you. (Unlike the little mint in Monty Python's the Meaning of Life but that's another story - see portion size above.) If you feel guilty, you are going to deny yourself, and when you deny yourself you tend to binge. I've got a bad feeling about that, if you binge you'll feel guilty, deny food, then binge and guess what? You'll do it all over again. This is probably the worst thing you can do to eat healthily. Indulge yourself. But, if you do have that piece of cheesecake (a particular favorite dessert of mine) then remember to eat it slowly and savor it. You'll eat less and enjoy it more.

 

4. Fresh is best! I know we're heading into the winter season in the Northern Hemisphere and summer in the Southern Hemisphere (all you S.H. people please refer back to the earlier posting about how to survive trooping in the heat, and heat injuries please!)which means for us Northerners less fresh veggies right? Okay, your local farmer's market may be closed due to the season, but that doesn't mean your local Mega-Mart (thank you Alton Brown) won't have some fresh veggies. Or you can do your work now, purchase lots of veggies and fresh freeze them, or can them yourself. That way you can dictate the sodium and sugar content of the veggies you are eating. Hidden calories there my friends.

 

Okay, enough lecture for today. I've emailed a friend of mine who is a Nutritional Therapist and Registered Dietician who espouses diet-free living to ask for websites and recommendations. As soon as I hear back from her, I'll post them here.

 

Remember, you are not alone my friends. We're all in this together.

[Murray1134[501st]]

Well said.

 

It's not about dieting, it's about a lifestyle change.

[tigger68[501st]]

Okay everyone, here is today's informational update. Besides the fact that my new ISB tunic I just submitted for approval is now getting loose on me, I have some good websites to go for information on how to live without dieting.

 

The first is: Overcoming Overeating A great place to start. The book I recommend with this information is currently out of print but you might be able to find it on abebooks.com or alibris.com the title is Overcoming Overeating (anyone see a pattern here?

 

The second website is Nourishing Connections I'm not really familiar with this one, but it was recommended by my Dietician friend so I'm looking at it to find out more about it.

 

Just remember, this is something that you need to be able to sustain for a long time (hopefully) and dieting just isn't the way to do it. I know I can't succeed dieting, for me it takes a combination of smaller portions of whatever, and intense exercise before I start to lose weight. The good thing I've noticed in the past is that once I've lost some of the weight, I can actually go about 3-4 months without working out before the weight starts to come back on...and then I get depressed, which makes me want to eat, which makes me more depressed...okay I want cheesecake...

 

Where was I, oh yeah, so check out these websites and see what they have to say.

 

Another good book is Intuitive Eating. So read up, study and see how this new information can change your life for the better. I'm off to find some New York Style Cheesecake...

[Skater]

I'm all in. 5'10" 210lbs, as inactive as possible (I'm in IT). Started EA active this morning I hope to loose about 30lbs over the next few months.

I know "Do or Do not. There is no try"

 

Skater

[tigger68[501st]]

Skater, you'll like the EA Active. (p.s. one of the collaborators is here on the FISD). I like it a lot. I've encouraged others to purchase it. If the EA Active has the 6 week challenge go for it.

[Femtrooper Julie[501st]]

I don't talk about it much, but at one point, I weighed in the 150 range. Does not sound bad until you consider I am 4'11"! I was a sci fi/gamer/comic book geek and did not do much outdoors or anything. That was many years ago, I jsut started working out and paying attnetion to what I eat. I am now about 95 lbs, and am alot better off in so many ways. Hang in there guys and gals, you can get there!

[Defiance7x13[TK]]

I saw a post somewhere back that said that they were the only one in their family that was trying to eat right, and it wasn't going so good. I can see where your frustration is coming from but let me relay a story to everyone. I had been smoking cigarettes for close to 15 years. And over that time I made the joke of saying im going to quit a few times, but the reality was I never putting my heart into it. As a result I was never able to kick the habit. That was until I QUIT.

 

Now if you know anything about smokers is, we run in packs. And if your a smoker, most of the time the people you hang out with are smokers. And if someone smokes, everybody has to smoke. Now in the past when I had "tried" the group of friends that I ran with at the time were anything but supportive.

 

So as you can guess I didn't manage to quit smoking for very long when I did try. When I made the decision to finally quit, its was on my terms. It wasn't because someone told me I had too, or it was life threatening or any other reason beyond make a personal choice and telling myself "YOU/I will no longer smoke cigarettes". At this point in my life, both my room mates smoked and the majority of my close friends all smoked. So in the beginning it looks like it was going to be an up hill battle. However I found the people around me were more supportive of my choice. It was very hard the first week, and I even broke down brought a pack of smokes when I was a concert. Smoked the whole pack that afternoon myself.

 

I fell down sure, but I got back up and told myself "you made a mistake". "What are you going to do from here"? Its been little over a year since that last pack. I haven't had a cigarette since that day and that's the longest Ive ever gone since I first started smoking. That was by far one of the hardest personal trails/vices that I have overcome. Hanging out in smokers homes or out drinking and watching everyone else have a smoke but you really sucked in the beginning!

 

But what I discovered was, if you are determined enough yourself others would see your success and then try to follow suit. At first people were shocked to see me not smoking. And after a while slowly one by one the people around me started to quit smoking themselves. And it wasn't cause I was preaching of saying look at me and do what I do (to this day I still keep an ash tray in my car in-case someone wants to smoke while we are driving) They just saw it could be done and wished for the change themselves. I still have some die hard friends who continue to smoke, and more power to them. They just haven't found a reason or met the reaper yet.

 

I currently weight around 200 lbs and 6'2 (I go up and a few pounds normally) but at my biggest I was almost pushing 240. And even at that height I wasnt carrying the weight at all to my liking. I was working IT at the time, which meant lots eating crap and very little physical exercise. I decided I was tried on not being happy when I looked at myself in the mirror. And when I thought about it, the last time I was happy with my body was when I was kid and before I hit my "chubby" stage that I could never seem to out grow.

 

So what did I do? I stopped eating fast food and stopped drinking sodas. And I learned to channel my problems, fears, worries, and general frustrations into exercise as apposed to eating (which was a huge vice). Then I started be aware of the amount of calories I was taking it at any given time, as well as portion size. (Processed and fast foods will never beat fresh and home made) Now I dont have a home gym or a gym pass. But I do have some floor space and I still have a usable body. So I started doing push ups and sit up in the beginning. After a while I invested in a "perfect push up" kit. It was only 30 bucks (ive seen them go as low as 15 now) and I committed myself to improving myself. After about 30 days I went from being able to do a set of 10-15 push up to about 25-30. Not only did I feel better, I looked better. Then soon after I decided to invest in a bike, since I hadn't had once since I was a teenager. And after a while of sticking with it, I started to notice guys would hold there girls a little closer and the girls would watch me a little longer when I would enter a room. I don't consider myself good looking but more on the average side. But as my confidence continue to grow, I started to see that people tend to think more of me, just by the very way I started carried myself.

 

Now dont get me wrong, I love to eat, especially home cooked food made with love (and real lard). And the dude who works the graveyard shift at the local donuts store know me on a first name basis. And I eat at Alberto's Mexican food at least once a week (so what If I have an addiction). But I do all this in moderation. And I make sure I balance out my rewards with health low fat, high protein choices as my main staples of nourishment. I drink insane amounts of chocolate milk but stay away from any bottle or fountain drink who's parent company is COKE or PEPSI. And I make sure I exercise regularly. And I dont mean going to the gym at all. I park at the far end of parking lots to make myself walk the extra distance. And when I shop for items like 20 lbs bags of dog food or gallons of milk, I dont use a basket or cart unless I have to buy more than I can humanly carry with 2 hands. When I am in a building that has stairs and elevators, I always use the stairs unless I have to transport something that cant be done so up stairs or I have to cover 20+ floors. And when I cant make it down to the beach to ride my bike, I ride around my general area (and often that means getting harassed by the cops, or sometimes the dirt bags the cops should be harassing in the first place. My neighborhood can be a little wild sometimes ) And of course I continue to use my perfect push up that I purchased for 30 bucks a couple years back. I dont do anything beyond that of what any other reasonably health person could do. (And my body is all busted up from years for training guard and police dogs for a living)

 

In the end each person has to ask themselves have I failed to reach my goal because "I can't" or because "I won't"? I pose this question quiet often in my life when I am confronted with challenges I wish to overcome.

[TK8280]

I used to weigh 350 pounds, and now am almost to my goal weight of 175 pounds...My story...

 

On December 6th 2000, I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis…My initial attack from my disease left me partially paralyzed from the neck down…Prior to my attack I was an offensive lineman for my college football team weighing in at 315 pounds…and after I got sick I went from muscles to fat weighing in at 350 pounds at my worst…I lived in this state of paralysis for 10 months, when my body slowly started to come back…I gained about 65% of the feeling back in my body to this day I still feel the reminisce of my attack that hit me almost 8 years ago …But Since that point where I thought my life ended, going into many depressive states, I have lived a more fuller life than I did in the 20+ years leading to my diagnosis…

 

Me at about 290 pounds...

Me around 275 pounds

Me at about 260 pounds

me at about 240 pounds

me at about 220 pounds

[TK8280]

Me at 200 pounds...

 

me at 285 pounds... PRESENT DAY

[TK8280]

I am now a trainer for ultra endurance athletes, and am a sports nutritionist specializing in Ultra endurance...I am always here to offer any advice I can to my fellow troopers about what I did to change my life