"Hey there Mr.Skinny"...
Wow, I can't remember the
last time someone said that to me before starting the 6 Week Body Make-Over
plan. Must have been....when I was in grade school? It's usually been
"Hoss", “Big Fella”, or "Big Guy" ever since I could
remember. Growing up, I wasn't obese. I
really wasn't even fat, just…bigger. I remember being called Husky. I filled
out more during high school and was wearing a size 36 pants and XL shirt when I
graduated. That's not really big, but when the cool styles stop around 34, it
sure felt that way. The weight and size kept creeping up during the 20's and
30's. I'd stay at about a 38-40 waist
for a while, and then move up again.
When I was about 38 years old I decided enough was enough. I
was wearing a snug size 46 pants and 4XL shirts. It was time to lose weight. I
went to my doctor and he prescribed a pill that would trick my metabolism into
remaining high while I ate a very low calorie diet. No exercise required. Well,
it worked. I was ecstatic. I lost a lot of weight in a short period of time. Of
course, I ate a lot of highly processed low calorie foods and virtually swam in
diet soda. Hey, no calories, right? I got down to a 36 waist again and was
pretty happy, except that I lost muscle and any kind of shape I'd had. Oh well,
that's the price, right? At least the weight was down. So I stopped taking the
pills and started eating again like I used to. Hmmm, the weight started coming
back. Go figure.
I had tried other diet
plans, but never saw any significant results.
Over the next months, the weight just kept on creeping up and I did
nothing. Well, actually that's not quite true. I bought bigger clothes again.
It took me 9 months to go from 340 to 226. It took me 9 months to go from 226
back to 300 lbs. But it kept on going up. Last September, I turned 42 and was
weighing in at 328 to 330-ish. I was back into snug 44’s (almost 46's), 3XL
shirts and generally, not feeling really good about myself. I looked in the
mirror one day and thought to myself...I'm going to die before I hit 55 years
old. Wow, what a realization. I thought "There's nothing I can do about
it. I'm genetically prone to being big. It's just the cards I was dealt. Live
with it.” All this ran through my head and I believed it.
It's now late October ‘07 and my wife and I are sitting on
the couch watching TV. Well, flipping channels really. On comes Michael Thurmond and the 6 Week Body
Make-Over infomercial. We recognized him immediately from watching Extreme
Makeover. After watching for about a
minute my wife said "Hey, maybe you should get that." I figured she was joking so I laughed it off
and kept on flipping channels. A week goes by and we're doing the same
thing...sitting on the couch, flipping channels, and it comes on again. Hmm, is
someone trying to tell me something?
Maybe I should listen. So we watched the whole thing. Wow, that looks and sounds like it could
work. But it's an infomercial. Nothing from an infomercial works like they say
it does? Right? I decided to do some research online about it. I found some reviews from people that weren't
happy with it. I found a lot more
reviews from people that raved about it. Well, I guess I'll order it and see.
At least there's a money back guarantee if it doesn't work. I went ahead and ordered the kit with the
added cookbook. While waiting for it to
arrive I did the online blueprint and found out that I'm a B body type. I read
the description of a B and it fit me perfectly. So now I just had to wait for
the kit to arrive.
It didn't take long. Maybe a week, then it arrived on my
front porch. I tore into it and started looking at everything that was inside.
Wow, how am I going to do all this? There's so much. Oh wait. There’s a DVD on
getting started. I sat and watched the DVD all the way through. Then I watched
it a second time while putting my binder together. I'm thinking "This
might actually be the thing that works for me. It makes sense". I read
through the entire binder, then went back through it a second time. I'm now
thinking, "This is gonna work for me". I did the blue-print
questionnaire, the body typing, got my sculpting routine organized and was pretty
much ready to start. Well, it was Thanksgiving and I didn't want to start my
"diet" that week, so I put off starting until the Monday following
Thanksgiving. I got prepared that weekend and reorganized the kitchen so that
my on plan food and the off plan foods were separate. I separated the spices
into those with and those without salt. I purchased food containers to portion
my food out. I got a scale (to weigh me), a food scale, and new measuring cups.
I went all out getting ready to begin so that I was prepared. That was one of the most important keys to
success as I found out later. Be prepared, plan ahead, and you'll succeed.
I started my 6 Week Body Make-Over journey on Monday
November 26th, 2007. I was strictly on plan, except for Christmas day. I gave
myself that day off to eat whatever I wanted. Looking back, I wish I hadn’t,
but we learn. So, I measured, weighed, and prepped food. I learned how to order
at restaurants so that when I did eat out, I was on plan. I walked religiously. In the sun, rain, snow,
or sleet. It didn't matter. I was committed to getting my cardio in. I started
slowly at first, but by the end of 6 weeks I was doing 45 minutes per day, 5-6
days per week, in my target heart rate. The only thing I didn't do was my
sculpting. I wanted to get the food routine and cardio routine down first since
I knew these were the biggest parts of my plan.
I also knew my journey would be longer than 6 weeks so I would add the
sculpting in later. My journey would continue through 39 weeks in total for the
reduction phase. I have to call this my
Journey as it’s a life-long journey for me now. There is no end, only
milestones along the way. I’ve had some wonderful milestones too. The end of my
first 6 weeks and losing 36.4 lbs. When
I hit the 50 lb. loss and the 100 lb. loss marks. Being able to play volleyball
again with out gasping for air. The day
I tried on and fit into a size 34 pant. And the most recent, hitting the goal I
set for myself when I started this journey.
To weigh 215 lbs. Well, I hit it,
and I’m rolling right on past it to the next step on my journey. To get to 200
lbs.
I thank God for his strength to keep me committed and for
putting me in the right place at the right time to see the plan. I thank my wife for her gentle nudging and
concern for my health that prompted me to act, and for her support. I thank Michael Thurmond for his research and
development of the 6 Week Body Make-Over plan. I thank the Make-Over Specialists on the
forums for their support and knowledge. And I thank my forum friends from the
Phat Chicks and Act II for all their support and motivation. You all ROCK!
Finally, I thank myself for giving it my best shot and staying committed.
So, on August 24th, 39 weeks after I started and
1 week before I turn 43, I hit my goal.
I've lost a total of 113 lbs. and 10 pants sizes. I'm comfortably
wearing size 34 pants and shirts without an "X" in the size. I plan on losing a little more, toning what I
have, and then maintaining this for the rest of my life. With 6 Week Body Make-Over, I have the tools
I need to do it.
I know now that I'm not genetically doomed for obesity. I don't have to live with being overweight.
And most importantly...When I look in the mirror... I see a man that will, God
willing, make it past his 55th birthday. I look and feel younger,
healthier, and more alive than I have in a long time. I have my 25th year high school reunion
coming up in October. The best part is, I weigh less and wear smaller clothes
than I did when I graduated from high school.
I guess I'm not such a
"BigNTallGuy" anymore. Maybe I'll change my name to Mr. Skinny. 
Peace,
Craig