This Is My Journey

It's For Real!

2010-08-09T11:38:00.000-04:00

Well folks it has been a very busy past few months. I haven't had much of an opportunity to sit down and share my thoughts with you. Now that life is getting back to what I would consider normal, my post will be more regular.

It has been an amazing journey so far. When I last left you in February I weighed 223.0 pounds and was working very hard on loosing weight. I had been contacted by Healthe' Trim to cut a testimony recording my success with the product. I had also been involved with a weight lose challenge at my local YMCA that began in the middle of January. My thought is to give you a brief update and bring you up to date with how things are going and if I achieved my May 1st goal!

Since February I have received many emails from people asking me several questions about my journey. The questions ranged from details of my diet and work out to asking me "if this was real and if I was fake". I also appreciate all of you that sent your encouraging remarks and comments; they are always nice to receive! In regards to those folks that do not believe or question my results, I welcome your emails. Please contact me and I will be more than happy to dismiss any idea that I am fake, that my results are not real, or that I am an employee of Healthe' Trim trying to "drum up sales" for the company.

With that said let's run through the update!

I did record a radio testimony commercial for Healthe' Trime (which is now out of date) that should have been airing in the selected advertising markets.
The local YMCA weight lose challenge was a wonderful success! I lost 28 pounds or 12% of my body weight during the competition and came in 8th place out of about 300 people.
"My Goal" to loose 82.2 pounds by May 1st did fall a little short. The weigh in on May 1st was 206.8 pounds, which is a total weight loss of 65.4 pounds in just under 6 months.

Even though I did not achieve my goal I am very happy and excited about my results. I am not going to make excuses of why I did not reach my goal. The one thing I will say is that I lost a little focus. This is why I want to get back to blogging my results, this helps me stay accountable.

Let's talk about what happened between May and today. In the middle of May I decided not reorder Healthe' Trim, I decided to try it on my own. I continued my workout routine without many changes from what I was doing. I tried to continue my diet and counting my calories as I had been. It took me just about a month and a half to realize how important Healte' Trim was. I noticed I did not have anywhere near the energy I had before, especially while I was working out. I noticed I was ALWAYS hungry and controlling my food urges was near impossible. My family and I went on vacation in June to visit my Mom and that was a disaster in regards to controlling my weight! I gained 7 pounds just in that 1 week alone! Once I came home I decided enough was enough. I knew the solution so why not get back on the program, so I did! Starting the 1st week of July I got back on to Healthe' Trim!

On July 9th I weighed 219.8 pounds. I began taking Healthe' Trim again and continued the exact same diet and workout routine. As of today 8/9 I weigh 210.2 pounds! Folks that is 9.6 pounds in a month! I want to note that I have began to lift weights more, this as caused my weight to increase some what. I will say that I can now wear size 36 pants (which I haven't been able to do so in 13 years when I was 19). That is a 36 folks!!!! Being able to go from a 46/48 pant to a 36 is an amazing feeling!

Moving forward!

I am setting a new goal and would like to include you in this! I am on a mission to achieve a weight of 180 pounds. That means I need to loose 30.2 pounds and I would like to do this by November 1st. I would like to ask for your help! Please, Please, Please read the blog and make comments! I want to hear from you, I welcome your emails if you don't want to comment on the blog. If I can achieve this goal I will have lost 102.2 pounds in 1 year. Yes, that is over 100 pounds in one year!

In closing I encourage you to please check back later this week! I am going to share my results of my "mid year" physical. Also, I have received emails asking about side effects from taking Healthe' Trim and I want to address those.

Finally!

2010-02-13T15:55:00.003-05:00

First, I would like to apologize for not posting the last couple of weeks. It has been a very busy time here and I have not had the opportunity to update the blog.

A couple of weeks ago I was contacted by Healthe' Trim and was asked if I would be interested in recording a testimony about my results. I agreed as long as it was not taken out of context and I could be honest about my program. My contacted for Healthe' Trim strongly insisted that is EXACTLY what they wanted. I also required a copy of the spot before it was finalized for my approval. My biggest fear was they would state my results are strictly from Healthe' Trim. Again, my contact was very agreeable. After the interview I was sent 3 different versions of the spot. All were AWESOME and exactly what I wanted to convey. ( I will be posting a copy of the final spot once it is produced). This only confirms that Healthe' Trim is an honest company and has a great product!

I have received a few questions from some of you about any side effects, if any, that I have experienced from the use of Healthe' Trim. My simple answer to that questions is: Not that I have noticed. That is if you are wondering about negative effects. I have experienced positive effects from the use of the product. I have more energy, more appetite control, and of course weight loss. Two weeks ago I went for a full physical and received a very clean bill of health. All of the results from the blood work came back good or better than good. The doctor had nothing but good things to say about my health! That is a first for me so you know. As a finial comment about the side effects I will say this, please check with you doctor on any and all health questions.

Since I haven't posted in a few weeks I am excited to share my results with everyone. I am the smallest I have been in 10 years. I can't remember the last time I have felt this healthy!

Saturday 2/13/10

Today makes 13 weeks and 5 days since I started my program.

Weight In: 223.0

Total Weight Loss: 49.2 pounds

"With self-discipline most anything is possible" -- Theodore Roosevelt

Disappointment or Discontentment

2010-01-23T17:07:00.007-05:00

So here we are at week 11 and I am so stoked about this past week! This week I have lost the most amount of weight in one week so far. There is a project I have been working on that I hope to be able to discuss with you early next week. Plus I hit the half way point of my goal a full 2 weeks early! Before I get to my weigh in and weight posting I would like to share something with you.

Earlier this week a friend posed a question to me, a question I have heard many times over the past few weeks. The question was “Isn’t it hard not to eat more than you do?” My answer was “No, it isn’t hard.” At that moment I saw a look of shock and what seemed to be a look of disappointment. Then my friend said “There is no way I could eat like that!”

For the majority of the week I have pondered on our conversation. You see, up until November I would eat and eat and eat, whatever I wanted with no regard to the consequences. It was so bad that I would eat when I was bored, I would snack even though I wasn’t hungry. I would finish a meal and would immediately have dessert. My portions were out of control, heck let’s be honest, I thought “portion control” was a joke! So how was it possible for me to honestly answer “No, it isn’t hard”!?!? I would love to say that it’s strictly my will power but that would be a lie. There is no possible way I could have achieved the results I have without Healthe Trim. It truly does control my cravings and I am NEVER hungry. So I realized, with the cravings gone, and my persistence to make a LIFE CHANGE, my diet and workout routine has now become my norm it has become my habit. I also realized what I perceived as a look of disappointment was in fact a look of discontentment. I believe my friend is unhappy with himself and he doesn’t believe he can change.

Let me address everyone that is reading this, YOU CAN CHANGE! You can, you just have to decide to change and commit to the change. Don’t go through life with the attitude of I can’t! As I tell my children: “Can’t is a forbidden word in this house”. One of my favorite quotes by Henry Ford is “If you think you can do a thing or think you can't do a thing, you're right.” Eliminate the word “CAN’T” from your life and you will be surprised at how your life will improve.

Now to the weekly results!

As of Friday 1/22/10

Weigh in: 231.2 pounds

Weekly Loss: 5.9 pounds

Total Weight Loss: 41 pounds

Please remember to check back in on Monday or Tuesday of next week, I hope to have a post on a project I have been invited to work on! Until then... You CAN eliminate CAN’T from your life!

WHY

2010-01-15T21:33:00.002-05:00

1/15/10

Weigh in: 237.1 pounds

Weekly loss: 3.7 pounds

Total Weight Loss: 35.1 pounds

It’s that time of the year to where most people have already given up on their New Year’s resolution(s). To where they have decided it isn’t possible, it isn’t that important, they don’t have time, they can’t, or they have simply fallen back into the normal routine. Whatever their reason, they did not accomplish their goal. How many of us have set a GOAL and never achieved it? I would guess the answer to that is everyone. WHY! No, I don’t mean why we didn’t accomplish our goal. I mean it’s the WHY!

Before I begin I would like to thank everyone for their emails of support and inspiring words. It is very thoughtful for you to take time from your schedule to drop me a note. Thank you!

When it comes to weight loss, it always tops the list of New Year’s resolutions. Unfortunately there are only a few who actually achieve their objective. Whether you are one of those “New Year’s Peeps” or like me you have a “GOAL” to lose weight you need to know your WHY!

I know, I know you are saying Brian, WHY what? It’s simple! Your WHY is your true desire, your motivation that keeps you going. Your WHY can not be simple! Saying because I want, I need, I should, lose weight isn’t good enough. There has to be a true meaning, a deep down burning fire that keeps you going. It has to be important enough that nothing; I mean NOTHING will stop you. This reminds me of a story.

There was this guy who woke up late for work one morning. He hurried around the house to get ready, went to the car to leave and his car wouldn’t start. He tried and tried but no luck. He thought to himself, you know I’m late no big deal, I’ll just call in. He proceeded to call his boss and explain that he couldn’t start his car and there was NO WAY possible to get to work. His boss was very frustrated and threatened to fire him. The gentleman still insisted he had no way to work. With no way in and no one available to get this gentleman the boss gave in and excused him. After an hour or so this gentleman’s phone rang, it was a local radio station. The station was calling to tell him that he had won $10,000. The only catch was he had to get to the radio station in 19 minutes or he would lose the money. Wouldn’t you know he claimed his prize within the time frame…

See he found a way to claim the cash because it was important enough to him. You need to discover your WHY! WHY are you going to go to the gym, WHY are you going to watch your diet, WHY are you going to put in all the effort when it’s easier not to? If you went to the doctor and he said you have 2 options: A.) Keep doing what you are doing and die in 6 months – or – B.) Change your diet, work out, and make a LIFE CHANGE and you live. What would you choose? I am guessing you selected option B. That is a strong WHY, avoiding death always is. Other than death you must search yourself and find your WHY. I can’t tell you what it is or what it should be, it is different for every person. I have several WHYs, some of them you have read about but I have two that I keep to myself and are very personal. They are by far my largest motivating factors! I encourage you to set down and meditate on WHAT IS YOUR WHY.

In closing I would like to leave you with one of my favorite quotes.

“Desire is key to motivation, but it is determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal – a commitment to excellence – that will enable you to attain the success you seek”. Mario Andretti

Goals, Plans, and Results

2010-01-10T01:06:00.010-05:00

“Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better.” - King Whitney Jr.

In April I started a new career as an Insurance Agent with AAA of Michigan. Part of my training was held in Detroit and I was spending one night per week there. One morning in the summer on my return trip home I was listening to my favorite radio station in Detroit (Channel 9-5-5), I heard Mojo, one of the morning Air Personalities do an ad for a diet pill. I didn’t think much of it at the time, to me it sounded just like any other advertisement. Over the next few weeks I was able to listen to the success Mojo was having on this pill called “healthe’ trim” and the large amount of weight he was losing. After doing a few days of research on this product and its main ingredient Hoodia (which there is a difference in REAL Hoodia and the cheap stuff) I decided once I was able to starting working out, I would try healthe’ trim since they offered a 30 day guarantee. When I weigh 272 pounds I thought it was worth a try.

On Friday November the 6^th I was given clearance by my Physical Therapist to start an exercise program. I was not permitted to do any “lower body lifting”, which meant no weight lifting with my legs. I was permitted to use elliptical machines, stationary bikes, and row machines. No treadmills or running at that time. That weekend I joined my local YMCA (which is amazing) and began to set my goals. Earlier in the week I had placed my order for a bottle of healthe’ trim to go along with my new workout program.

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.”-Larry Elder

It is extremely important to write down your goals and to figure out what it is going to take to achieve them. I have my goals written down in a log that I keep. I look at this log everyday to remind me of where I started, where I am, and where I am going. My Goals are based on a 6 month goal, a monthly goal, and a weekly goal. I also have a daily goal but it isn’t in regards to my weight goal, it is my daily calorie intake. I will discuss that a little later on.

Here are my goals:

· To lose 82.2 pounds by May 1^st 2010

· To lose 13.6 pounds per month

· To lose 3.5 pounds per week.

As the quote above states: “A goal without a plan is just a wish”. I have to have a plan in place to achieve my goals. This is the hard part, actually making the plan and working the plan. Actually getting up off my double XXL rear and going to the gym. Not eating wings, hamburgers, and those McDonald's fries! Remember, it is a LIFE CHANGE! Now let me warn you, my plan isn’t a detailed formula of certain foods and mixes to eat. I can’t live like that, it must be simple! So here we go:

· Daily Calorie Intake: 1,400 or less

· Workout 6 days a week (workout details below)

o 40 minutes of cardio (about 500 calories burned)

o I lift 1 upper body muscle group a day, light weight and high rep. (Chest Monday, Triceps Tuesday, Back Wednesday, Biceps Thursday, and Shoulders Friday)

o I sit in the sauna for 10 to 15 minutes after my workout.

That’s pretty much it! I will tell you that eating only 1,400 calories doesn’t allow you to eat those previously mentioned foods very often. There are lots of options out there with the invention of the 100 calorie snacks. I also love Subway; most of their sandwiches are around 400 calories. A six inch sandwich and a bag of baked lays and that is around 500 calories.

So let’s discuss my diet. I do not eat ANY fruits and the only vegetables I eat are corn and potato, which means I really don’t eat veggies either. My normal daily diet consist of no breakfast (which you will read why in a moment), normally the Subway or like meal above and a sensible dinner. Remember I only have 1400 calories! I really try not to eat anything past 6 at night. If I do, it is something like a bag of 100 calorie popcorn. THAT’S IT!

Now most of you are saying, no way I couldn’t do it, that’s not enough food. This brings me to my favorite part! This is where healthe’ trim comes in! It was advertised to be an appetite suppressant, to speed up your metabolism, and to give you energy. It is very simple; I take 2 pills with 2 glasses of water in the morning when I first get up. I skip breakfast so that it has a chance to enter my system. I must tell you I have pretty much given up diet pop (I don’t drink regular pop). With healthe’ trim you must drink lots of water, which is something I needed anyway. My goal was to drink 120 ounces of water a day (that is about 4 liters of water). I have been taking Healthe’ trim for 2 full months now and I love it! I actually crave water and I never really feel hungry. Let me move on, I don’t want to sound too much like a commercial.

It has been 2 months since I started my program. Below I have listed my weekly weight in. (I weight myself in the morning with the same scale, in the same location, around the same time, and wearing the same thing.)

11-9-09 272.2

11-13-09 267.2

11-20-09 262.2

11-27-09 257.6

12-04-09 254.2

12-11-09 252.8

12-18-09 250.5

12-25-08 248.4

01-01-10 245.8

01-08-10 240.8

As you can see I have lost 31.4 pounds in 2 months, that is more than my goal! The way I see it is I have 30 pounds down with another 50 to go!

At this point I am starting to see that it is possible to change, it is possible to become a different and healthier person. By the way, I am now wearing a size 42 to 40 pant!

******DISCLAIMER *****

I am not a physician and I am not giving you medical advice, if you decided to pursue a diet, exercise program, and/or take Healthe Trim, you do so at your own risk! Please consult YOUR own physician before beginning a diet and/or exercise program or taking any supplements. Per the Healthe Trim bottle: These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Changing My Life

2010-01-09T19:18:00.003-05:00

Have you ever hit a point to where you can’t take it anymore? That’s me I am sick and tired of being overweight, fat, husky, heavy, obese, or whatever word you would like to call it. The bottom line is I am FAT! I didn't just wake up one morning and say: Wow, I'm out of shape. Oh no, there is a lot more to the story than that. This is my story of how I am CHANGING MY LIFE.

Let's see where to begin? Well... When I started my journey to change my life (not start a diet) on November 9, 2009 I weighed in at 272.2 pounds. I am 5'8" and was wearing a size 46 to 48 pant. Most of my shirts were XXL and some XXXL depending on the manufacture. I was 6 weeks "post op" from having my right ACL completely reconstructed after tearing it in August. That's right a fat man with knee problems. Imagine that! Here’s the funny part; I tore it jumping on a trampoline with one of my children. Why would a fat man be on a trampoline, you ask? This fat man didn't think of himself as fat. The interesting part is I wasn't really jumping. You see; it was my youngest daughter that was jumping with me. She was 2 at the time and I certainly would not jump high with her on the trampoline. I was simply jumping side to side and then... POP, down I went.

After going through the surgery (that was fun), I promised myself once I was able to I would lose weight. It wasn't just the surgery that pushed me, it was my entire life. I was sick of going to the movies and not being comfortable in the chairs. I was frustrated with not being able to find clothes to wear. I was tired of people calling me "BIG GUY", OH I HATE THAT! Do me and other fat guys a favor, DO NOT GIVE US STUPID NICK NAMES! Trust me, we know we are large and it ISN'T funny! With my name being what it is I got the nick name "Big Mack", not funny. I swear I could punch someone when they call me that.

My motivation to change my life is based on a variety of things. By October, I had hit the point where I couldn’t take it any longer.

I want to be a different person, a healthier person. I want to make sure I will be around for my 3 little girls and my wife. I want people to think different thoughts when they see me. You know what I mean, that initial thought of “Wow has he gotten big!” Whether you thought it or not, I sure thought you were thinking it. I knew I had gotten fat and was embarrassed about it. It was time to change my life. That is exactly what it is, it is a LIFE CHANGE. Diets are something you do for a while and then quit, this had to be more. I had to completely alter my way of life, my thinking, my eating, start working out, and make a serious commitment to do so.

In my next post I will get into detail about where I started and what I am doing to achieve results. I will also post my results of weight loss by week so you can see the results for yourself. If I can find before pictures I will also get those posted. Finding full body pictures of me are hard because I hated having my picture taken.

In closing allow me to leave you with this quote: “One may walk over the highest mountain one step at a time.” - John Wanamaker