Think About Why You Started.

You know, sometimes I need to pause and think back to how it was for me 5 years ago. I had been behind a desk for the past 8 years, the 8 years after I got out of the Army, ate whatever I wanted, didn't exercise, and slowly watched my weight increase.

My wife had started running again, so she convinced me to do the same thing. I remember thinking I was going to die when I couldn't even make it a mile without it feeling like my heart was going to explode out of my chest. Here I was, a guy that used to run 12-15 miles a week, and now couldn't even do 1.

But I kept at it. Every couple of weeks I would go a 1/4 mile farther, do 20 second sprints, and so forth. Slowly I increased my distance and speed. But, i didn't change my eating habits. So sure, at first I lost about 5 lbs and it felt great. But then, the weight started coming on again.

I saw an add for this crazy program called P90X and learned that a friend of mine had it. So I asked if I could borrow it. I made it 8 of the 12 weeks and quit. It was too much for me. My knees hurt, my back hurt, my everything hurt. So I went back to running.

The next thing I knew, I was pushing 200lbs. How did that happen? I was running, 2-3 times a week, occasional additional workout when I could. How did this 165-170lb guy reach 200lbs?

So I decided to get serious. A different friend of mine had Insanity, and I had seen the infomercials for that one too. So I am like, what the heck, desperate times call for desperate measures. I knew I had to do something, and I borrowed that from her, determined not to quit and give it my all!

Why am I sharing this with you? Because I have been where you are right now. I went weeks, months without seeing a change. I went days with ice packs on my knees, couldn't lie flat on my back because the pain was too excruciating. I had no idea that the some of the foods I thought were good for me weren't really that good for me, and that I didn't have to struggle through it alone.

It's easy for me now to say come one, you can do it, If I can do it you can do it. But I have to remember, there were days when I quit, when I said I couldn't do it anymore, when I said this 14 inch calzone is awesome, and I am not giving that up. I haven't always been a fit guy. I didn't wake up one day and hit my goals. I have only hit a couple of a long list of goals. I am not done.

It wasn't until all the pieces fit together that I started to see true results and literally change my lifestyle. That is why I host these support groups. My wish for you is to learn how to get all the pieces to come together, so that you too can achieve your goals and live that healthier lifestyle that you deserve.