Tuesday, May 27, 2014

It is time to start your own success story!

     Every day we all see stories. Each person involved had a choice. They could take charge of their health and change their life and the lives of those around them in a positive way, or they could ignore that voice inside of them begging for healthy change. Some times people wait too long, and by the time they do something the damage is done and its too late.

     "Mexican Man Once Listed As World's Heaviest Dies at age 48" Manuel Uribe weighed 1,230 pounds in 2006, landing him into the Guinness Book of World Records. Before his death, Uribe had slimmed down to 876 pounds. What I find sad in this story is the fact that he started working hard at bringing health to his life, but the damage caused by the massive amounts of weight on his body had taken it's toll. It was too late. When you read about his story and the time he was stuck in his bed, you see that his family was feeding him, washing him, and dressing him. At 420 pounds I was not too far from living that life myself.

     Back in 2003 I had a checkup with my new doctor, and when I got on that scale it read 420 pounds. Then began my journey with failed diet after failed diet. Between 2003 to 2011 I had gone below and above the 400 mark many times. At one point both me and my friend Greg had heart attack scares. Thankfully it was not a heart attack! I had a thought around this time, and I know I have shared this before. "Maybe I am just supposed to be fat?" That thought swam around in my brain for a little bit. While my brian was stuck on that thought my family was in the background encouraging me to look into different programs I had already tried, and they had failed for me. Then there was that day when my mom chose to bring health into her life in a safe, and healthy way.

     Every day you hear about people hopping onto the next big thing in weight loss. Most times it either does not work, or does some serious damage to your body. Even surgery can leave you with some serious problems. As I have mentioned in previous posts, my mom discovered a program that has been tested in the Johns Hopkins Weight Management Center and proven to work. Since 1980 over 20,000 doctors have recommended this meal replacement program to their patients. Take Shape For Life uses Medifast meal replacements as a tool to get the weight down in a healthy and safe way as quickly has possible. Sticking to the plan my health coach set for me I lost over 110 pounds in under a year! Since stopping the program I have been able to apply the Habits of Health to my life and have been able to maintain the health that I have lost. So now it is your turn.

     You are at the crossroads. The ill effects of weight are taking its toll on your body and you may be finding it tough to get around, or even climb a flight of stairs. Do you wait and see what happens? Or do you make a stand and fight for health in your life? In the end it is up to you how your story is written. I urge you to join me on this road to living healthy and giving the people you love the most, the inspiration they need to living a healthy life for years to come!

Lets get healthy!