12-26-11 with ShellyIn May 2011, I weighed 270 lbs and smoked a pack of cigarettes a day. I had been overweight for most of my life and hated myself. I've tried all the quick diet pills and quick fixes and had more failures than I can remember.
Late June 2011, the light bulb went on and I decided to arm myself with knowledge on getting healthy. I studied nutrition and started exercising.... the only way to accomplish body transformation is to master caloric deficits. ACCOUNTABILITY IS KING.
This blog will show my intense journey to losing over 85 lbs in the past 8 months, while quitting smoking and finding the love of my life. If I can inspire some more people to do the same, my journey would be even more meaningful.... this has become my higher purpose.
Thank you to Alan Hirsch and Joe Stierwalt for their guidance in getting this blog rolling.
As this is Valentine's Day, I decided to post a love letter to some special girls. Starting with Shelly Hurtt, the girl who takes my breath away. We celebrated our Valentine's Day yesterday. It was a wonderful day.... fell in love with her all over again. Crazy about that girl. Happy Valentine's Day, baby.
Wanted to mention 3 friends I didn't see this morning who have helped me a lot in my journey of physical transformation at Genesis -- Laurie Laufenberg-Edwards, Cheri Mullen-Hastert and Abby Hurst ......
and several I got to say hi to today :
Becky Holcomb, Letty Shaw, Diane Ravenstien, Michelle Stoll and Kim Carson.
I have been blessed having you as friends. Thank you to each of you. Special mention to Kim, who gave me the opportunity of a lifetime -- becoming a G-cycle instructor.
Speaking of G-cycle.... I got to spend an hour this morning with 5 hard working students :
Valerie, Becca, Kelly, Joanne and Cindy.
Those girls showed tremendous effort and intensity. I know we all had fun, which is what matters most. I'm certainly not one to hold back in class. I was restless with anticipation at 4 AM and it built and built as 9 AM approached. I was definitely firing on all cylinders as I warmed up. Each Tuesday brings something new to look forward to, be it new faces, seeing the progress a student is making .... seeing them work hard and smile leaves me striving to push myself harder. My students deserve my very best effort. Looking forward to working on new music tomorrow.
Huge key to class is what I do prior to warmup. Lights out, music off, on the bike and pedaling slowly, I pray..,.. and I pray hard. I thank God for all he has done for me, for blessing me with a body that is 1/3 lighter .... 1/3!! than the 270# I carried last spring. Yes, that took a lot of work on my end, but it was something I prayed for and had help with every step of the way. To be surrounded with such wonderful friends -- encouraging and supportive -- constantly pointing out the changes they saw in me as I lost weight ..... it has been amazing. I strive every day to improve. I want to help others feel better about themselves -- show them how physical transformation can open doors in others aspects of life. It isn't that life gets EASY -- that just isn't possible.... but dedication and positive thought changed my life. I hated everything about myself last summer. My prayer life was dead. I had no hope.... looked forward to nothing, as each day felt worse than the last.
All that has changed. Though, as I said, life will never be "easy", I have been richly blessed with wonderful friends, a son I'm very proud of, a gorgeous girl who makes me smile big on Valentine's Day.... and next Tuesday's G-cycle class, which already has me fired up.
No comments:
Post a Comment