This past summer I got up one day, got on the scales, and saw 239lbs staring back at me. Now I have been active all of my life. Up until a shoulder injury a couple of years ago(shoulder labrum tear) I had been a regular weight lifter in fact. Like a lot of guys I know, I was always trying to get bigger and stronger. This was all well and good then the injury happened and for quite a while I wasn't able to lift the way I was before. I also wasn't able to participate in some activities that had been a regular part of my life and instead of finding alternatives I just eliminated a large part of my activity. I wasn't as concerned about my nutrition because I had though of nutrition as a means of getting stronger and bigger so without the lifting my habits took a negative turn. One day I got on the scales and saw 247lbs staring back at me. It made me take notice and I made some changes to get back in shape. I got ready and did a rim to river to rim hike in a day in the Grand Canyon(Not as easy at 235lbs I might add). I made changes in my diet and stuck with them for a couple of months each time before sliding back into a Carl's Jr addiction. This past March I was 220lbs. I am actually pretty happy at this weight. At 220lbs I wear a 34" waist pants(if they have baggy legs). Then life got in the way some and Carl's Jr came back into my life. Now back at the beginning of my story, I saw 239lbs staring back up at me...
Near the end of June my wife and I visited some friends in Colorado Springs. They were just about to start a committed 3 months to changing their nutrition and my wife and I decided we would join them in the journey. There is a book by Dr. Joel Fuhrman called Eat to Live that I really like and reading it really made me think about my nutritional habits. We basically followed the guidelines in this book which are, in a nutshell, to eat more fresh fruits & vegetables and try to dramatically reduce animal proteins. I like eating this way so it wasn't hard. At the end of the 3 months I had dropped to 220lbs. I felt good, I was loving the way I was eating. My wife had purchased a Vitamix earlier in the year and we used this daily to mix smoothies and shakes with fresh greens, fruit, almond or coconut milk, and various protein powders(mostly soy). The only problem was the only one I found that tasted good had 19g of sugar. There was still something missing in my nutritional plan and I looked at quite a few meal replacement shake mixes and powders to mix into my daily shake and everything I found either tasted bad, or the quality of the product was bad.
In late September I decided to give a shake mix made by ViSalus (Body by Vi & The 90 Day Challenge) a try and I feel like I finally have found the last piece in my nutritional plan. It checked all the boxes for me and it tastes fantastic. It helps too that a meal replacement shake is as easy as my nemesis Carl's Jr. and much cheaper!
I started my own 90 Day Challenge to walk 1,000,000 steps in 90 days along with adding the Vi shake mix to my daily shake(Yes it is delicious blended with spinach, kale, frozen fruit, and almond or coconut milk). Now that shake is the meal I look forward to the most every day. To reach my challenge goal I have to walk 11,111+ steps every day which is sometimes harder than it sounds. The motivation of setting the 90 day goal helps to keep me on track as well as the fact that I do tend to be a fairly competitive person in this type of challenge.
So where has that left me now? Well, I made a commitment to my health through proper nutrition. I call it proper nutrition because diet is a four letter word and the first three letters in diet spell die. Very negative if you ask me! I am nine days away from my 40th birthday and I am in better shape today than I was on my 30th birthday. Today I got on the scales and saw 212lbs staring back at me. I haven't been 212lbs since I was in college. I am 15 days ahead of pace for my 90 Day Challenge goal. I feel fantastic and the journey I have gone through with the ups and downs in weight have really given me perspective on the trials and tribulations people go through trying to lose it and maintain a healthy lifestyle. I have made daily goal setting a habit and through these daily goals I have been able to make a lifestyle change to keep me fit, active, and healthy. I have already narrowed down the possibilities for my next 90 Day Challenge and look forward to starting it at the completion of this one.
Lastly, I have to thank Ed & Carol in Colorado Springs for being the catalyst in my renewed commitment to nutrition and fitness. Sometimes that little push is all it takes to really get rolling.
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