Has it really been a year?

Wow!  Was that the fastest year ever?  I can't believe it has already been a year since I decided to make a change!  Where does the time go?

So, here is the deal... until one year ago today, I was living an unhealthy life.  I had slowly and steadily gained weight and gotten more and more out of shape.  I had been living with the belief that I was too busy to do anything about it.  I was convinced that I was getting too old to do anything about it.  I was certain that I was destined to be big... it was in my genes!

 

Lindsey and I one year ago

Lindsey and I this year

Well, by the grace of God I came to my senses.  After years of ignoring the problem I was awakened to the fact that if I didn't do something about my health, that I would suffer the consequences.  Luckily I hadn't had any health issues yet, but at 313 pounds, it was just a matter of time.

Many of my friends find this hard to believe, but the hardest part was to make the decision to change.  Once I turned that corner, the rest fell into place.  No more excuses.  On October 21st 2009 I began my journey to healthy living and getting into shape.  I started out on WW online for men.  The best thing about this program was that it taught me how to eat better.  However, there were many downfalls to the program.  My poor wife spent hours every week trying to plan points friendly meals.  I found myself out of points and out of energy by the end of the day.  I struggled through 8 months of following WW online.  For 6 months I slowly lost a bunch of weight, 55 pounds to be exact.  Then I hit my plateau in May.  Lindsey and I continued running and eating healthy, but no more pounds would come off.  I was really frustrated after running my first 1/2 marathon in June, but still no weight loss.

That was when Lindsey and I found Advocare.  We started on the 24 Day Challenge in early July and by the end of 24 days I had lost 24 pounds and 16 inches!!!  Not to mention I was able to give up a 6 diet mountain dew per day habit!  I had more energy than I had in years and was feeling great!  I didn't have to count points or starve myself, just followed the program and ate the recommended foods for 24 days!  It was almost too easy!  I felt great after the Challenge, continued on products, and ended up losing 45 pounds in just 2 months!  I hit my goal of losing 100 pounds and have kept it off! 

So here I sit, one year later.  Still in disbelief.  It has been one of the best years of my life!  From overweight and out of shape to the best shape of my life!  From depressed and embarrassed about my weight to feeling self-confident and excited about my health!  Now I am not only in great health, but Lindsey and I have been able to begin helping others to follow in our footsteps!  What an amazing feeling to share my experience and help others begin their own journeys toward weight loss and a healthy lifestyle.  I am so blessed.  If you find yourself sitting where I was sitting just one year ago, please, please listen when I say YOU DON'T HAVE TO STAY THERE!  You CAN change!  Please give me a call or email if you need help.  It is my goal to help everyone I know to break free from the chains of unhealthy living!  Don't wait,  start now and just think where you will be one year from today!

Michael

The Perfect Time of Year!!!

I love this time of year!  The weather is perfect, cool in the mornings and warm by afternoon.  Football is in full swing, and the season is heating up as the teams are vying for a playoff spot or a bowl game.  The leaves are turning color and the farmers are harvesting crops... so many reasons that Fall is my favorite time of year!

But my number 1 reason for loving this time of year is simple... it is the best time of year to change your life.  We are rapidly approaching the Anniversary of the day that I took my life back.  On Oct. 21st last year, I made a change.  That was the day that I said enough was enough.  I was 33 years old and severely overweight.  I weighed 313 pounds and was completely out of shape.  I was not the husband that I wanted to be.  I was not the role model that my 4 little children needed.  It was tough.  It had been a long time coming.  But on Oct. 21st I made the decision to change,  I have never looked back.

So why October you might ask?  Well, for me it came down to the fact that as a construction supervisor, there was more time to begin working out in the fall.  The days are getting shorter, so I get to come home a little earlier.  I would work out in the evenings in our basement.  We have an elliptical machine and some weights, it doesn't take much.  In fact, I now prefer to run outside, so all it takes is my running shoes!

The 2nd reason that October makes so much sense to me is this...  we are quickly approaching the Holiday Season.  That time of year creates obstacles for all of us.  Family, friends, huge dinners for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Cookies, pies and other holiday treats.  Yeah, I know all about it.  It used to be that I could just plan on gaining about 10 pounds during this time of year.  But now I look at it as an opportunity!  Just think, if you start today, you will have a couple weeks before Halloween to gain momentum in your exercise and weight loss.  (Halloween is easy, just let the kids eat the candy for a day or two and throw the rest in the trash).  Then, the next obstacle, Thanksgiving!  That is over a month away.  We can help you lose 10 to 20 pounds by then!  You will have so much momentum on your side that the pumpkin pie won't even look very good this year!  Seriously, don't tell me that after busting your butt for the next 5 weeks that you will really let 1 or 2 family get togethers trip you up?  I made it through last year, and I actually am looking forward to it this year!  It will be like a challenge!  And don't think that you can't eat, because that isn't the deal.  We just try not to overindulge like I used to.  I will still be enjoying all of the Thanksgiving festivities and trying all of my old favorites, but here is the funny thing.  The food just doesn't seem worth it.  I have found that I look at food much differently than I used to.  I still enjoy it, but many times I've passed by something that I know is loaded with empty calories or fat.  I've worked too hard to get where I'm at, and it truly doesn't taste as good as it use to, so why bother?

So if we ride the momentum through Thanksgiving, that gives us another month before we have to worry about Christmas!  Once again, we will be busting it.  Losing weight, gaining energy, staying motivated to keep moving in the right direction!  Christmas will be a breeze... have a few cookies.  Eat some of the family ham dinner, just keep it in moderation and the next thing you know it will be New Years!!!

I just looked on the calendar.  We have 82 days until New Years.  Just imagine what we can accomplish in 82 days!  I can help you lose a ton of weight and get started on a regular workout schedule that will help you cruise right into the new year and your new years resolutions will be well under way!  Picture yourself talking with your friends as they tell you all about how they plan to lose 20 pounds this year for their new years resolution!  You will have already lost your 20 pounds and you can tell them, "yeah, I started a little early this year... now I've only got a little ways to go to hit my goal!"  Tell me that wouldn't be fun!  So why wait?  Let's get started today!

Michael

Happy Birthday Baby!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LINDSEY!!!

Before UNI Football Game 2009

Before UNI Football Game 2010

In honor of my best friend and the love of my life I want to take a chance today to wish my beautiful wife a wonderful HAPPY BIRTHDAY!  She is more beautiful today then the day I met her, and I love her more every day!

Most of our time on this blog has been spent talking about my weight loss and the journey that has brought me to lose 100 pounds and get into shape.  Today I want to talk about all of the things my wife has accomplished in the past year.

First of all, Lindsey has been my rock.  Without her love and support, my goals would have never been met.  I leaned on her more than I might like to admit, but she was ALWAYS there to support me and keep me moving in the right direction!  I can't tell you how many hours she has spent in the past year planning healthy meals, let alone making them, and making them deliciously I might add!  She sacrificed so that I could run and workout and get fit.  After I work a 12 hour day, she is ready for some help with 4 little kids in the house, but she always supported me.  Never once did she question me taking off for an hour run when I knew she could use help giving the kids a bath or making them dinner. 

Second point... While supporting me, Lindsey found herself eating right and exercising with me.  Not that she had much weight to lose, but she lost 9 pounds and 12 inches while doing the 24 Day Challenge with me!  She also took up running with me!  After hearing about my first 5k this spring, she was so excited she took off running that day and the following weekend we ran our first 5k together!  We have since run two 1/2 marathons and a ton of other races together!  She joked during our last 1/2 marathon that our "dates" sure involved a lot of exercise and running!  Ha ha!  We both agreed that it was more fun to run 13 miles together than to go out and eat some greasy food and pay too much for some crappy movie!

Third point...  My God, look at the woman!  She is more beautiful today then the day I met her!  She is also about 30 pounds lighter and has much more self-confidence!  Lindsey has really grabbed a hold of our new healthy lifestyle, and it looks GOOD on her!  I am so proud of her for getting in to the best shape of her life!  Seriously, she has had 4 children in the past 5 1/2 years and she is wearing clothes sizes that she could have never dreamed of fitting into before this past year!

Lindsey, I love you.  I wish you the happiest birthday ever!  I thank you for making this past year the BEST year of my life, and I can't wait to see what this coming year holds in store for us!!!  HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABY!

Michael

Challenge Day 2 is in the bag

This morning is already the beginning of day 3 of my 24 Day Challenge.  I am in the Cleanse phase and feeling great.  I weighed in at 219.0 on Monday morning and this morning I am down to 216.0!  It is amazing to feel so healthy, energized and lose 3 pounds in 2 days!  I love these products!

The products taken were the same as yesterday.   Meal plan was very similar... Meal Replacement Shake for breakfast, with a fruit and fiber bar.  Mid morning snack of almonds and an orange.  Salad, 2 hard boiled eggs, rice snacks, almonds for lunch.  Apple and a few more almonds and rice snacks for mid afternoon snack, and Lindsey made a delicious Chicken & Spinach salad with dried cranberries and hard boiled eggs and our favorite fat free Ken's Raspberry Pecan salad dressing.  Oh yeah, I also had a post workout recovery shake in the evening after my 3 mile run.

I am looking forward to day 3 today.  The cleanse phase just makes you feel restored and healthy!  I feel like I have a ton of energy, even though I'm running on 5 hours of sleep!  I am up and at 'em and ready to tackle the day!

I wish you all well and hope & pray that you are achieving your weight loss and fitness goals!  I'm here to help if you should need it!  Get out there and make today count - see you tomorrow.

Michael

24 Day Challenge Take 2

Here we go again!  It has been 3 months since Lindsey and I began the Advocare 24 Day Challenge.  The first time around I was able to lose 24 pounds and 16 inches in 24 days!!!  Lindsey lost 9 pounds and 12 inches!!!  In just 24 Days!  Once my first Challenge was complete, I continued on products and was able to lose 45 pounds in 2 months!!!  I hit my goal weight and have been able to maintain it. 

Now, I decided to set another goal and take the Challenge again!  I had purchased new Buckle Jeans after the last Challenge.  After dropping from size 42 to 36, it was fun to get new jeans, and I certainly needed them!  The problem is, now they don't fit.  I tried on size 34 last week and they felt great.  Lindsey made me promise to get to my final weight before spending another $75-100 on jeans.  So at the end of this Challenge we will make sure that the size 34's that I have picked out still fit right!

I don't know about you, but this is a big deal to me!  It has been a long time since I enjoyed shopping for clothes.  At size 42, cool jeans were hard to come by.  I would have to search and search to find my size at Old Navy or Kohl's.  I felt so disgusted trying on such big clothes that I often would leave the store upset and without clothes because it just wasn't worth the effort.  Up until last year I was wearing XXL shirts.  Once again, harder to find in the shirts I was interested in.  The problem was, I was barely fitting into the XXL's!  How could that be?  How did I let it get so out of control?  I was so ashamed that a 2XL shirt was too tight on me!  Like I said, I hated shopping!

What a difference a year can make!  After dropping from 313 pounds to 213 pounds, shopping has become pretty fun!  It amazes me that I am now wearing size L shirts and I am in need of size 34 jeans!  If you'd have told me I could be wearing these sizes a year ago, I'd have laughed at you!  It just didn't seem possible.  And to be honest with you, I still catch myself thinking of myself as a "big guy".  I guess the years of living that way have made an impression in my self image.  I am slowly coming around to understand that I am fit and healthy.  It is fun to hear my wife say that I look skinny compared to a friend or co-worker.  In most cases, it is someone that a year ago would have been 50 or 75 pounds smaller than me!  But now, my wife thinks I look small next to them!!  That is a fun compliment to receive!

Much like the first time through the Challenge, I plan to document my day to day activities and share the ins and outs of taking the Challenge.  Today was day one. 

Upon waking up this morning at 5 am, I grabbed a Spark Energy Drink (mandarin orange, my morning favorite!) and took 3 Catalyst.  About 30 minutes later I mixed up the Cleanse Pack fiber drink.  This is a pulpy citrus drink that isn't too bad so long as you chug it down quickly.  I once made the mistake (during the 1st Challenge) of letting it sit on the counter for 5 minutes... let's just say it got a little thick.  Lesson learned.

A little later on, around 8 or 9, I mixed up my Meal Replacement Shake (chocolate today).  I prefer to mix these in a blender or magic bullet with ice and water, but at work I settle for cold water and I shake it up in my Advocare mixer bottle.  The shake really fills you up and makes you feel ready to go!  With 24 grams of protein, it wipes out your hunger and gives you a ton of energy to keep moving!

This got me through the morning, and for lunch today I took fresh fruit (apple, orange, banana) some cheddar flavored rice snacks, dry roasted almonds, and a salad.  During the afternoon I had a few more almonds, then a little later on I had 3 more Catalyst and another Spark energy drink (this time I went for a pink lemonade).

When I got home tonight I was able to go for a 3 mile run (felt awesome).  It had been a week since I'd been able to run, so I really appreciated getting to go for a run.  I mixed up some Arganine Extreme before my run and enjoyed a Post Workout Recovery shake after my run.  These are a couple of big selling products from Advocare's Performance Elite line.  I felt a big difference using them and plan to continue to use them in the future!

For dinner tonight, Lindsey had grilled some chicken breasts which we mixed with fresh sauteed peppers, peas, and green beans over a small amount of brown rice.  This was very nutritious and delicious!  The kids even enjoyed it... it is fun to see my kids get excited about eating healthy foods!  That is a lesson I want them to learn early on to avoid the weight issues that I had to fight through.

That sums up day one on the Advocare 24 Day Challenge for me.  I feel great, and can't wait to see my results!  I started this morning at 219.0 pounds.  My goal is to lose 10 pounds this time around.  I am convinced that 210 pounds would be my ideal weight to maintain. I am really excited about being lighter than I was in high school!  I weighed about 225 in HS, so I will ultimately be 15 pounds less than that!  How many people can say they are 15 pounds lighter and wearing smaller jeans than they did in high school?  I feel so blessed to have found Advocare!  I am truly amazed at what I've been able to achieve by using the products!  Let me know if you are up to the Challenge!  I would love to be your partner as you work toward your weight loss and fitness goals!  Send us a message, and we'll help you get started today!  Don't wait.  Make the decision today to get after it.  You will be amazed at what you will be able to accomplish!

Michael