Start Weight:
274
Current Weight:
180
Goal Weight:
180
Posts: 2
Joined: 1/25/2007
Status:
offline
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Don't know if the webmaster reads these but there seems to be a problem uploadingh my pictures to this. I could use some help.
THE TALE OF A "BIG GUY"
It is amazing how I could fool myself for so many years:
*You're just a "Big Guy"
*You still have a lot of muscle, when you get under the first layer
*You're heavy because muscle is more dense than fat.
I had the ability to look in the mirror, suck in my gut and think that I was not over-weight. All I had to do was hit the gym an extra day so I could "drop a few pounds'...sound familiar? The reality is that your body knows the difference, and your friends know the difference...and deep down so do you. As you start to lose parts of your life, a little at a time and your friends tell you that you are getting "big" and not in a good way, it slowly starts to sink in. Along with the reality, though comes depression.
So Often we just don't recognize significant turning points in our lives when they are staring us in the eyes. In the course of the lat 12 years, I had lost parts of my life...parts that I loved. I am a high school teacher and coach, and I always enjoyed working out with my players, but the back pain that I endured eventually limited almost all of that joy, so I stopped. Shortly after that a chiropractor told me something that really started to sink in:
"You will have to stop mountain-biking (one of my greatest physical and spiritual pleasures), because it puts your body in an awkward position." If he had finished his sentence, it probably would have gone like this: "...and your weight is putting too much stress on your spine when you are in that position."
Additionally, I started getting unbelievable hip pains on both sides, just from leaning over. Later my knee would go through days of random but excruciating pain. I also started having sciatic pain down the back of both legs and even around my feet. It hurt to press down on my feet to walk.
I knew that this was leading to rehabilitation, physical therapy, and yes, surgery. I was already seeing two different chiropractors on a weekly basis...sometimes daily. I came across some therapy for my back that helped but I was treating the symptom...not the problem. The Problem:
I was BIG
I was big which lead to being in pain, AND I started to see my body as truly ugly, which lead to depression. That depression spilled over into other areas of my life: home, teaching, coaching. Imagine feeling so bad about yourself AND that the task to make the change was simply too large to take on, that you simply give up...almost.
Even buying clothing was an adventure: I started to buy pants with draw-strings and elastic waists. My stomach got so large that I had a hard time lacing up my shoes. I started buying shoes with those elastic laces so I wouldn't have to bend down.
The way I was progressing, I was certain that I would be wheelchair-bound within 10 years. My friend said, "You just have to take in less calories" so I tried cutting back. Of course the hunger cravings won, and I ate more. On top of that, by limiting my caloric intake for a period of time, I had slowed my metabolism, and put my body into starvation mode. Now I was really getting depressed, because I thought that I could never ‘fix" my metabolism. That's what people had told me, so I really thought that things were pretty much hopeless.
One Sunday morning while riding my elliptical rider and watching TV, the commercial for the six-week Body Makeover came on. As I watched, I knew that the spokes person was not just reciting information about biochemistry. He knew what he was talking about...HEY; this guy was talking my language. Then he tied in the other parts: the exercise, body sculpting, AND the meal plan. This was all information that I knew, but I had never had anyone bring it together this way or lay it out so well. So much for being "educated."
I teach chemistry and have vast understanding of biochemistry in particular. I also was a personal trainer in a gym for two years, in fact I have worked out my whole life, and at one point I was bodybuilding. This also led to expansive knowledge of nutrition. I knew the entire caloric breakdown of macronutrients, and I understood the cycle of aerobic versus anaerobic respiration. For whatever reason, though, I did not understand the right way to put it all together or I did not believe that it would work for me.
I went ahead and ordered the kit. Funny thing; like I said before, we just don't recognize the most significant turning points in our lives until they have passed. At that point we have either taken one road or another. Once I started getting into the disc and reading as well as putting my program together, I got excited. That excitement turned into results in a VERY short time.
When I started I was 274 pounds, with a 44-inch waist (now that's a big guy!). After the first week I lost 10 pounds! The second week 8 pounds dropped off...18 pounds in 2 weeks! Maybe I could do this! I started to incorporate more and more of the program and the pounds continued to melt away.
The really wonderful side-benefits were that I was doing this in a healthy manner. What I was doing was good for my body and I could feel it! I had consistent energy all day, I moved better and in less pain. I started to notice little things that I couldn't do before...like bending down to tie my shoes.
When I started the 6-week body makeover, the school year was about to end, so not many people really noticed. When the school year returned I had lost 70 pounds. First the teachers made comments. Then when the students returned they were amazed. Some of them did not even recognize me. Everywhere that I saw people that knew me made comments on how good I looked. I felt better than I have in 25 years!!!!! It is amazing how losing this much weight and toning up can actually change your life. Dreams that I had lost years ago have returned. New chapters are opening up that I never thought possible. The difference is absolutely LIFE-CHANGING! I went from the depths of depression to the height of spiritual confidence and strength. I feel as though I have awakened from the inside!
I still see a chiropractor from time to time, but only because I regularly take tumbles off of my NEW MOUNTAIN BIKE. I purchased a great new mountain bike. I am riding over trails and huge rocks like I did not even do when I was in college. My balance is better both on the outside and the inside. I hike and run mountain trails. I am Running sprints with my softball players now. I have a new lease on life, and it is all due to the new ME!
The 6-week Body Makeover was the vehicle that got me there. It was my heart that drove the vehicle, but this system was like burning a match with a nuclear furnace! I lost over 94 pounds and 12 inches around my waist in little over 5 months! No system is going to work if a person is not ready to do it. It has to be the right time, but when the time comes this is the best way, because it works so well and it is good for you at the same time.
Since reaching my goal, I have easily maintained my weight and even increased my muscle tone and definition through the maintenance program offered.
I think that the most impressive thing about this program is that the meal plans are not gimmicks, or fads. This is the way your body is supposed to work. When you fuel it properly, it does what comes naturally: That is, it heals and operates at top levels all the time. I now use the time in my class to discuss nutrition and health to my students and about how they can get the most out of their lives. There are too many teenagers that don't understand what they are doing to their bodies by improperly feeding it. As a chemistry teacher, I have the opportunity at a captive audience to share this gift.
I want to shout this out from the highest rooftops!!!!!!!!
LIFE IS GOOD!!!
Thanks Michael!
Sincerely,
John Stegmaier
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