You can't outrun a bad diet

I've been fat a long time, and unhealthy for even longer than that. At my heaviest I weighed 188lbs, and on a 5'2 frame there is no way to shake it where the word FAT did not come out. I stopped shopping in department stores because having to go into the fat ladies section and trying stuff on was just demoralizing. I avoided photos, I ignored my expanding waistline as much as my huffing and puffing at the smallest exertion.

About a year ago my doctor gave me the Come To Jesus talk about my health and future. I was staring down the barrel of Type II diabetes if I did not get my shit together, and my weight under control.
It's kind of amazing how much denial one can be in until someone rubs your nose into your own pile of crap and tells you your choices are killing you.

So I started exercising, a lot. I lost 10lbs and two dress sizes and put on lots of lean muscle over the course of 6 months using P90X and TurboFire from BeachBody. I still feel TurboFire is my soulmate workout, and would recommend both programs whole heartedly.

It took me that long however to realize that you can't outrun (literally and figuratively) a bad diet. Exercise cannot cancel out the crappy food you put into your mouth and those choices are what end up sabotaging your results.

So in October I started a program called Take Shape For Life, which is a diet plan based on Medifast food with an awesome health coach (Shawna Barboni shawnaATbarboniDOTorg) who helps motivate you along the way.

I was and still am conflicted about these kind of diets where you severely restrict your calorie intake using prepackaged food and drop weight really quickly.  I'd done Nutrisystem, Weight Watchers and SlimFast in the past, and nothing was able to keep the weight off.  I always felt these kind of plans were essentially cheating your way to a slimmer body and didn't do anything for your cardio health at all.  In three months I dropped an additional very stubborn 15lbs and another dress size. I wasn't the model Medifast client and I didn't have an enormous amount of weight I wanted to drop. I cheated here and there and I continued to exercise vigorously.

What my time on TSFL taught me is that there is no one solution. You cannot approach it as you would a short term diet, and all your choices, make a difference. My short stint on Medifast helped me look at food as fuel, and use it as a tool to a greater goal. The quick 15 lbs helped to further motivate me and challenge me to take my fitness to another level by starting to run regularly.

My TSFL coach lost over 100lbs, so you can see that it is darn effective.

I still use some of my leftover Medifast meals to help control my eating choices during the week but I'm in a cardio focus these days. It is nice to have the options nearby when I am tempted by my kids' snacks or the drive thru.

I don't feel like I've been cheating anymore by using TSFL to help drop some weight. It has motivated me to become even more active, to push myself farther than I thought I could go, but it isn't the only weapon in my arsenal either.

I'm probably about 15 lbs from my dream body, and currently at my "goal" weight as far as dieting is concerned. I'm going to work on my endurance, muscle tone and overall strength and I figure the rest will be along shortly.

MOVE more, EAT better, BE BETTER.

Double chin city - 2006?

March 2013

St. Patty's Day 10K