What was different before.

It was eight years ago that I was on my first part of my first weight loss journey. I had struggled for years with my weight, but for the first time I started actually seeing results. I had just come off 10 months of my back being out and barely able to walk, and I knew with me being point where I could move with limited pain, that it was time to start being serious. My first 30 days I lost 30 LBS, my body was feeling much better. Over the course of 10 months I continued dropping weight until I had gotten down to 197 LBS. But I was in my twenties then, things were different.

So that brings us to now. Over the past couple of years, I have tried to restart my weight loss journey, but keep hitting roadblocks. The first road block came when my uncle had passed away. I had to come off of my workout schedule to attend the funeral and slowly started losing motivation. When I was able to start back up, my back went out again, causing me unbearable pain for months. After that got resolved, I moved. When I moved I thought that everything was going to change, that I was going to work out all the time and get back to where I was. But workouts were few and far between, and then my back went out again.

So I have been thinking recently why am I hitting so many hiccups in this weight loss journey? What is different now than back the first time? I know I'm older, and with age weight loss becomes for difficult, but I should still be losing some. Sure, my back is still bothering me, but that isn't stopping me much from doing light cardio and workouts. I've even been in the apartment fitness center a couple of times a week. But my halt in weight loss and motivation, I believe is from one thing. Distractions.

When I first embarked on initial weight loss in 2010, I had zero distractions. Sure, I had to have a job and work, but that job was a part time job and I had a ton of time to workout and prepare food every day. I also wasn't dating or trying to date, and I stopped hanging out with friends. I had zero distractions in my life. I was selfish, I did everything for myself. My food was for me, my choices were for me, I worked out every single day. Now my life seems full of distractions. While I am single, I have been trying to date more, I am trying to be more social, I work a full time job that has a much higher stress level, and when I come home from work I turn on the TV and get lost in YouTube.

Distractions are part of life, but I need to work on minimizing them as much as possible. I am getting older, and while some will say 36 isn't old, my body doesn't agree. I need to make choices for food for me. I need to not binge when there is food that I really want. I need to make healthy habits into permanent habits. It's time to put the distractions that I can control out of the my sight, and focus one me. Only with this focus, can I truly change.

Time for a Challenge

I have been spending that last 7 weeks workout out with 22 Minute Hard Corps, and have had amazing success thus far. Now I want you to join me in boot camp and start making changes.

October 3^rd, 2016 my 22 Minute Hard Corps Challenge starts. All you have to do is head over to the challenge page and purchase the challenge pack. You will get everything you need to complete this challenge.

Each challenge pack comes with the 22 Minute Hard Corps DVD set, workout calendar, Meal guide and bonus Battle Buddy DVD. For a limited time you also receive the meal portion containers to make sure you are getting the exact nutrients that you need, and a PT Sandbag, which holds 20 LBS of sand! Also included in the challenge pack is your choice of Shakeology flavor and a 30 day trial to Beachbody on Demand.

All of this for the price of $140.00.

In just 7 weeks I am down 19 LBS and nearly 20 inches, so come join me and make a change. Plus, when you participate in the Challenge, you have the opportunity to win Cash Prizes. Honestly, who doesn’t like money. So what are you waiting for? Come on and get some!

Don't get habits confused with genetics

We hear from every source these days that obesity is a "genetic" disease. However, I completely disagree, and I know there are more people that disagree.

First let's look at obesity in your family. Are both your parents fat? Yes? But were they obese when they were younger? or did it occur as they got older? Are your grandparents overweight? Yes? Again, ask the same question about your parents.

In my case, you could say I was morbidly obese because my father is obese. Well that's what the "experts" would say at least. But lets go back to 1974 when my dad graduated high school and married my mom. My dad graduated weighing in at a whopping 119 LBS. But how can he be obese now? Oh his family must be morbidly obese right? Wrong. My dad's whole family were a bunch of bean poles. But what about me? I picked up my dad's eating habits.

That's right. It's not genetics, it is picking up your parents habits. My dad for as long as I can remember has been a snacker. When my dad would be off duty and would be home with me, he would snack. So, I would snack. It eventually turned into a thing that when I was bored, I would snack, because that is the habit my dad passed on to me. It's like with healthy eating. I wasn't raised around eating healthy or restricted portions. If I wanted a second helping, I could have it. This all led to my being morbidly obese.

Sadly though, parents and their children don't want to take the blame for their own problems. They would rather blame a non-existent genetic disease on their problems than admitting that they have just passed on and excepted bad habits.

I've changed my bad habits. No longer do the days exists where I mindlessly snack because I'm bored or watching TV. Do I still snack though? Yes I do! But I snack healthy, I eat either an apple, banana, celery stalk or brocoli. If I'm not eating those, then I have 8 almonds for one snack, and 14 almonds for a second snack. I do this only once between meals. I mostly only do this to keep my metabolism going. I survive the day just fine and no longer feel phantom hunger at bored times.

Make a change in your habits, and stop blaming genetics if you are obese.