How my journey began

I've always been a fatty. I was a fat kid with hopes of losing the fat through school. Sadly I became a fat adult though. At a certain point, you just stop caring. I remember in school making fun of myself so other kids wouldn't make fun of my weight. I wanted them to see it didn't bother me, so why should they waste their time.

Fast forward to October 7th 2009. I had went to

bed the night before and noticed that my back was acting up quite a bit. I can see why, I was 372

LBS at the time. But I didn't think that when I woke up on October 7th, that I would be in excruciating pain and barely able to walk.

The next 10 months were brutal. My back would start to show slight signs of improvement, then go back to the way it was or worse. In March of 2010, I had to take a month off for medical leave. I was working from a wheelchair half that time, and when I wasn't allowed to use the stores wheelchair, I had to manage to get around myself. The pain would make me pass out, throw me into severe muscle

spasms and I would cry for hours.

By this time, my lack of mobility and muscle spasms actually helped me to get down to 332 LBS. Still, way to heavy. I was told by doctors that I wouldn't be the same and I needed to lose weight. I knew I needed to lose weight, but it's a hard thing to do when any movement at all hurts and throws you into massive muscle spasms.

To help with the pain, I did 5 visits a week to a chiropractor, this helped a decent amount, but was normally only a fix for a few comfortable hours. I also took pain pills and muscle relaxers of all kinds. But those would work for either a couple hours, or not at all. I was damaging my liver with what I was taking. I did start taking vitamins, but I'm not sure if those did anything

for my back or not.

At the end of March 2010, I received my first Epidural injection. This is a process where they take a huge needle and insert it into your spine to help with the inflammation of the damaged disks. These actually worked wonders for me. I was able to actually sleep for more than 2 hours a night, and could move with some comfort. Walking or standing for too long was out though.

I went back to work in April 2010, and was on light duty until the end of July. In that time period, while I was at about 75 % of recovery, my back decided to go out again. Luckily this time we were able to get it back on track within about a week. I was also doing spinal decompression and cold laser therapy at this time.

Finally in August of 2010, I was able to move and walk almost like a normal person. I didn't have to take regular breaks every 15 minutes any more and was feeling pretty good. But I knew

that I needed to lose weight.

Still weighing in at 332 LBS, I knew I had to start doing something. This was when I started doing research on a diet and supplement called HCG. I had been hearing about this for a while, but was really skeptical about due to the low calorie intake. Let's face it, I was eating about 6,000 calories a day, and on HCG you cut down to 500 calories a day. But after talking to a few people about it, and one great friend from Brightkite. I decided to take the plunge and give it a go. What could it hurt, it was a $89 supplement and I didn't have anything to lose but weight.

The first week of the diet was horrible. I was hungry, and I couldn't eat what I was used to

eating. I couldn't eat breakfast, My lunch and dinner was always the same meal for the most

part and things were boring. But I stuck to it. After that first week, and already seeing results, I knew I had to stick with it. By the end of the program (30 days) I was down to 300 LBS. Yes, I lost 32 LBS in 30 days.

So at the end of September I did the unthinkable. So happy by my weight loss, I wanted to continue, so I joined a local Anytime Fitness. I became addicted to the gym. I would sometimes workout 6 - 7 days a week. I continued a low calorie diet of 1000 calories a day, but was happy to do so. I started really watching my body change and couldn't be happier. Life was getting good. I was feeling better, I was working out. I was also eating right and had the will power to turn down food that wasn't good for me.

Fast forward to today, January 31, 2011. I am 259 LBS now and in the best shape of my life. I couldn't have done it without the support of all my friends and family. My goals have gone from

getting to 300 LBS, to 280 LBS, to 260 LBS and now I have decided that I want to make it to 225 LBS. I want to make my last goal by the end of June 2011. I have made a complete lifestyle change. Every single day I hear people say that I am an inspiration, that I have helped them take that step to getting healthier. It's a good feeling knowing that you can change the lives of people by one simple act that any of us can make. I am hoping now that as my life changes, I can make more changes in the world. I hope to become a certified personal trainer and I would love to be able to speak at schools and youth clubs about the importance of getting into shape at a young age and living an active lifestyle.

Another way that I am using my change for good and helping others is by becoming a beachbody coach. These are the people behind P90X, TurboFire, Insanity, RevAbs and Shakeology. You know, the stuff you see infomercials for in the early AM. They have products that I can stand behind and I am even starting RevAbs this week. I look forward to sharing my progress with the readers and anyone who happens to stumble across this blog. If you want to read up on the BeachBody products read up at http://beachbodycoach.com/cdharris