“My 90 lb weight loss Story!”
” For the longest time I would suffer from pain when I worked on my feet for numerous hours or if I ran around playing soccer, football, street hockey etc. So I avoided doing any physical activity because of the pain. I even found a desk job to avoid being on my feet.
Also, I come from a European background, so the foods that I ate were lots of red meat, breads, cheese and any rich homemade foods. Even my eating habits didn’t help my health. Never ate breakfast, would eat small lunches, have huge portions for dinner and ate snacks before going to bed. All of this, along with my lack of physical activity contributed to my weight gain.
I have an 18 month old son which made me realize that I needed to do something with my health so that I can be there to watch him grow and for me to become a grandfather someday. So on January 10th, 2010 I spoke with Jim who is my cousin, friend, and coach. I told him that I was ready to get my health back on track. Knowing that Jim is the 2007 Ontario Bantam Weight Bodybuilding Champion, I told him that I wanted to lose 100 lbs by September 3, 2010 so that I can be in better shape when I go to Portugal that day.
The first thing he asked me to do was write a minimum of 50 reasons why I wanted to lose the weight. Let me tell you, it wasn’t easy to find 50 reasons but I found them. As I wrote them, it really began to sink into my head that I needed to lose weight no matter what. Once Jim was convinced that I was serious, he drafted a nutrition and workout program designed specifically for me and showed me how to do the exercises properly.
Jim told me if I ever felt that I wanted to give up, that I should review and think about the 50 reasons why I wanted to do this in the first place and, to say to myself “I Want to and I CAN do this.” At first it was tough, but I kept on focusing on those 50 reasons and when it got tougher, I just kept on repeating to myself “YES I CAN!”. Keeping a positive mind and not focusing on the negative thing, like pain during exercising, really helped me achieve my goal.
It’s now September 3rd, 2010 and I lost 90 lbs in 35 weeks! I feel awesome knowing that I lost so much weight so far. I look better, I feel better, my blood pressure has dropped from 160/120 to 130/80, and I have more energy and endurance than I have had in many years!
My exercise routine consists of going to the gym for a 45 minute cardio every morning Monday to Friday. I also do resistance training 4-5 times a week combined with cardio. I only weigh myself Sunday mornings after my workout and it is so rewarding to see those pounds shed off my body on every weigh-in. I have never been able to jog or run because of fear of pain in my feet, but now I’m able to jog for a certain period of time during my cardio and it feels great!
Not only did exercise make a difference in my weight loss, but nutrition did as well. With the nutrition plan that Jim drafted up for me, I still eat a lot of food but the amount of calories I take in is far less than what I used to consume. So I never feel hungry.
Thank you Jim for coaching me through my weight loss mission. If it wasn’t for your guidance and support as a coach and as a cousin, I would have never reached the point where I am at today. When I get back from my trip overseas, I will definitely come to you again for the guidance and support to reach a new goal in my weight loss mission!!!
David D