Lisa Ford from Nixa!
Lisa's transformation journey...
An “Aha” moment is a moment of clarity, a defining moment where you gain real wisdom, wisdom you can use to change your life. My “Aha” moment was on March 6, 2011 as a spectator at the Little Rock Marathon. This is when my 100 pound weight loss journey began. We were in town to attend a cheerleading competition for my daughter and discovered that the marathon was taking place just a few blocks away from the Bed & Breakfast we were staying in. It was the location of the 10 mile marker and the owners of the B&B were going to hand out water to the runners and invited us to join them. As the runners began making their way to the water stop, tears started flowing down my face. I couldn’t stop them. This marathon had almost 2,000 runners, people in the best shape of their lives, running with a mission of fitness and health. It was completely overwhelming. I was so proud of these people and I didn’t even know them! I wished that I could be like them, but the 4 block walk to the water stop had left me quite winded!
I was completely and unexpectedly overwhelmed by the experience however it was not until I saw a blind man running the full marathon with a guide that I realized I had to make some major changes in my life and they had to start immediately. No more saying, “I’ll start on Monday”, or “I’ll start after the holidays”, or making excuses like “I work full time and have two kids, I don’t have time to exercise”, or “I just had a baby a year ago, this is just baby weight”. What was that guy’s excuse?! He was blind and he was out there running a marathon! I was blessed with eyesight and two legs and arms that work and there I was only 32 years old, 100 pounds overweight, depressed and miserable. I decided right then and there that I was done with the excuses! My “Aha” moment was when a blind man helped me see that I was wasting every single day I spent obese, uncomfortable and constantly wishing I could lose the weight and get in shape once and for all. It was finally time to stop WISHING and time to start DOING.
I have struggled with weight the majority of my life and can remember starting my first diet in high school when I realized I was the biggest cheerleader on the squad. I yo-yoed up and down throughout high school and college going all the way from a size 4 up to a size 14 and back down again. I gained 70 pounds with my first pregnancy and it took me 3 years to get them off! Over the course of the following 3 years I gained 50 of those pounds back then got pregnant with my son and gained another 50 pounds, bringing me up to over 250 pounds and a size 24! I was bigger than I had ever been and really hated myself for getting to that point. By the time I had my son I was in full “Super Mom” mode, working a full-time career, climbing the corporate ladder and taking on more challenging projects at work while maintaining a home and juggling two kids’ schedules, cooking, cleaning and everything else that comes with being a “Super Mom”. Notice that the last sentence didn’t include anything about taking care of me. I thought I was too busy to go to the gym or plan healthy meals and snacks in advance, plus I honestly didn’t really want to. I was having a love affair with pizza, Mexican food, ice cream, candy bars, pasta, and was too lazy to get up early in the morning to go to the gym. I felt like I worked so hard all the other hours of the day that I deserved to sleep in and eat whatever I wanted! Looking back on that now I realize just how wrong I was! What I really deserved, and what my family deserved was a wife and a mom that was healthy and happy! I was so sick of the exhaustion I constantly felt and my sore ankles and knees from doing things that should be fun such as walking the hills at Silver Dollar City and going to the park with my kids. I avoided White Water and the pool because I was too embarrassed of how I looked in my swimsuit. All of that for what? So I could eat pizza whenever I wanted and sleep a couple extra hours a night? After years of yo-yo dieting and losing and gaining the same weight, it was finally time to commit to the best I could possibly be and living the life I really wanted for myself and for my family.
I began reading a book by Bob Greene called “The Life You Want”, which helped with the mental blocks and issues I had due to the years of yo-yo dieting and countless failed attempts at weight-loss. I started eating 6 small, balanced meals a day and avoiding carbohydrates after 3 pm. I gave up all sugar, salt and red meat and stayed away from packaged foods full of sodium and preservatives. I allowed myself a cheat meal once a week to keep me sane, but also learned to really enjoy eating clean. I quickly realized that I felt better and had more energy when I ate healthy foods. I joined a gym in Nixa and began walking and using the elliptical 6 days a week. I also started running outside by using the Couch-To-5k app on my iPhone and was soon running 4 – 5 miles a day.
By the end of summer I had lost 70 pounds, but still had about 30 more to go and was ready to set some new goals! I was on a roll and loved the way I was beginning to look and feel, but knew that I still wanted more. I didn’t want to be thin and just lose the weight, I wanted to be fit. I wanted to be strong.
This is when I paid a visit to the Supplement Superstore and showed a motivational picture of IFBB Pro Figure competitor and Fitness Model, Aleisha Hart, to Jeff Wasserman. I told him that she was my new motivation. Jeff spent at least an hour with me discussing my goals and how certain supplements could assist with my training. I started taking Muscle Spike before all of my weight training sessions. I also began taking the 1-Db Goddess F.A.S.T. pack twice a day to boost my fat burn and metabolism as well as help curb my cravings. I learned about the importance of muscle repair after a hard workout and how a combination of Phormula-1 and Ignition would assist with that recovery. I also began drinking a protein shake as my afternoon snack to boost the amount of protein I consume during the day. I use Level-1 Milk Chocolate, Strawberry Milkshake and Vanilla Ice Cream flavors, depending on my mood and what kind of shake or “ice cream” (just freeze your shake) flavor sounds good to me at the time. I learned all about the importance of Omegas, Glucosamine, Probiotics, CLA and BCAA’s. I take the NewChapter WholeMega Omegas from the Supplement Superstore, which contains seventeen Omegas. I also drink the Elite Recoup Advanced during my workouts, which helps speed my recovery and reduces muscle breakdown, not to mention the euphoric energy boost I get from all the B vitamins it is supplemented with!
During this initial visit at the Supplement Superstore, Jeff told me about the 1st Phorm page on Facebook. I began watching their page and started “Liking” a number of fitness competitors’ pages so I could study their workouts and diet tips. With these new goals and newfound motivation, I needed to really get serious about my weight training so I joined a bootcamp at my gym. I also subscribed to Muscle & Fitness Hers and Oxygen magazines and started implementing some of their workouts into my routine. Between the boot camp workouts, which consisted of weight training with circuits, plyometrics, Tabata, calisthenics, and cardio, and my own weight training, cross training and running, along with all the supplements I was taking in addition to my clean eating, the shape of my body really started to change. Since then I have lost an additional 30 pounds, bringing me up to a total of 100 pounds lost, but more importantly went from 32% body fat down to only 15%! I cringe to think what my body fat percentage was when I first started my journey in March. 32% is where I was after already losing 70 pounds!
The bootcamps have since ended and I am now weight training and doing anywhere from 30 – 60 minutes of cardio 6 days a week. I have a high stress, full-time career in the medical software industry, and travel all over the country for my job at least once a month, and I’m a mother of a toddler and a 9 year old. No one can tell me they don’t have time to exercise! You have to make the time. Mine is early in the morning before anyone else in the house wakes up. The time spent in the gym every morning is my “me” time that allows me to push myself to the max knowing that every minute I spend in there is making me a healthier, happier woman and a better mom and wife. I’ve learned that I am in control of my own destiny… not my children, not my husband, not my clients or my boss, no one but myself. I’ve proven to myself that I do deserve to be fit and can accomplish my goals! It’s been amazing for me to see how the challenges I encounter in my workouts help me work through the challenges I face in my job and everyday life!
Yes, my appearance has improved, but more importantly, my spirit has been healed. I have confidence and trust in myself again. I enjoy actively playing with my kids, going for walks with my family and don’t dread getting on an airplane anymore. The hills at Silver Dollar City are no longer a challenge and I can spend hours at the pool with my kids and never have a single thought about my size. It’s nice to just go through my life and no longer have weight as an issue.
I am so thankful that my lifestyle change has been an example to others struggling with their weight loss goals. People ask me all the time, “What are you doing?” I am often surprised at the reaction when I tell them I am just eating right, taking supplements and exercising. They all say, “Oh” with a twinge of disappointment in their voice. I think people wish there was a magic pill or quick fix, but there is no such thing that allows for a lifelong commitment to health. Taking it one day at a time and putting in the hard work really does pay off. Just eat clean, work hard, commit to repeatedly making healthy choices and keep your end goal in mind at all times. I also think it is important for people to surround themselves with friends and family that support their goals and can encourage them when they feel like the task is too monumental. I am so blessed to have a husband and family that support me 100%! They have motivated and encouraged me every single day along this journey. And thankfully I have had numerous people tell me that I have motivated and been an inspiration to them to lose weight and get healthy! A lot of those people have already lost significant amounts of weight! I think this may be one of the most rewarding aspects of this whole journey and I hope to help even more people through this transformation challenge. If I can do it, anyone can!
When I first entered this contest, I needed to lose 10 more pounds before getting into a bikini (for the first time in 10 years). I am so excited to submit this month’s entry with a bikini picture and having succeeded at that final 10 pound weight loss! I still want to get my body fat down to around 12% and will continue to work towards that goal. Some people may say that I am obsessed, but I was once told that the word “obsessed” is a word the lazy use to describe the dedicated. So I prefer to call myself dedicated! Every day we must make a choice. We can either suffer the pain of discipline or suffer the pain of regret. I have chosen the former every day since March 6, 2011 and even though I’ve had a few moments of regret along the way, there were many, many more moments of discipline that have all added up to where I am at this moment and that’s what counts. I’m so grateful for that amazingly dedicated blind man in Little Rock back in March… he showed me that I too once was blind, but now I see.
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The 2012 S2 Operation Transformation April $10,000 Winner is...
Kyle Churchill from Hillsboro!
Kyle's transformation journey...
Shhhhhh…..I’m going to tell you a secret! A secret that I have not told ANYONE! Are you ready? I have completely transformed myself over the past year, and I feel unbelievable! But that’s not the secret. Here is the secret: I started for the wrong reason! That’s right, you heard me. I started for the wrong reason.
Here is the part of the secret that I have not told you yet. Back in 2008, my sister decided she was going to get married in Jamaica. I had a horrible vision enter my mind: me, the only fat guy on the beach! At that time I was 275 pounds, and it had taken a whole lot of neglecting my health to get there. I’m talking about years of cheeseburgers, pizza, chips, sweets, and alcohol. And the wedding was only four months away! I knew there was no way in hell that I could undo all of this in that limited amount of time, but I had to do something. So I started looking for exercise programs. I looked for anything that I thought would help me slim down. To me, that meant looking for a good cardio routine. I came upon a couple Tae Bo videos, and that’s where I started. I did the Tae Bo videos six to seven days a week. I made sure I was eating right (or at least what I thought was right!) It worked great, at first. I worked extremely hard, and got down to 245 pounds. Then I hit a brick wall, and the weight loss stopped. No matter what I tried, I could not get my weight any lower. So I went to Jamaica weighing 245 pounds, the fattest guy on the beach. Then we came back. It was back to reality and back to frustration for me, and I GAVE UP. I quit watching what I ate, and quit working out. After all, it was getting me nowhere, right? At this point I’m sure you have guessed the next part: I gained all the weight back, and then some. I got all the way back up to 281 pounds.
Fast forward to about a year ago. My wife and I were asked to be part of another “destination wedding” for a member of the family. It just so happens that the members of this particular side of the family are more health conscious than the average person. My self-conscious mind went crazy. I DID NOT want to be the only fat guy on the beach this time! It was back to the Tae Bo videos and my uneducated attempts to eat right. This is where the definition of insanity came into play; doing the same thing over and over while expecting a different result. Just like the first time, I lost about 40 pounds. Frustration set in again! I could not lose any more weight! I felt like I was in a fight with no chance to win.
Then something happened that no one expected. The wedding was called off! Everyone was shocked. Then the reality set in. I had been working my tail off for this! Had I done all this work for nothing? I was frustrated, but was I really going to quit AGAIN? The decision I made can be described in any number of ways: one of the hardest, one of the best, one of the most fun, and one unbelievable ride! I decided to push myself harder and farther than I have ever pushed myself before. I sought some help and advice from friends, and one of them suggested I give another program a try. This program was P90X. This was the beginning of a whole new chapter.
P90X was beyond a new chapter, it was a whole new world. It had the cardio covered, but it also focused on strength training, something I had severely neglected. With that being said, I decided that I needed to look into what supplements were available that could help me get stronger. During the day, I spend quite a bit of time in the car, and listening to the radio, had begun to hear testimonial after testimonial about the 1-DB Overdrive and Thyro-Drive Fast Pack from a place called Supplement Superstore. The commercials also went on to say that each one of their employees is a “Certified Sports Nutrition Specialist.” I decided I had to go and see what all the “hype” was about. For me, this was easier said than done. I’ll admit it, I was nervous to go into the store. After all, I am a guy, but by no means am I any kind of “fitness guru.” I was never into lifting weights or working out when I was younger (as a matter of fact, even in my grade school and high school years I was….”husky”), and I did not want to be looked at like some kind of an idiot for not knowing what I was talking about! When I did finally get over myself, I was shocked to find the EXACT OPPOSITE of what my fear was. I went into the nearest Supplement Superstore (the Fenton location), and initially met with Kevin. I told him I was looking for a protein based “recovery” drink. Then he began to ask me questions. What type of protein was I looking for? (Little did I know there was a difference?) What were my overall goals? How many days a week was I working out? Was I eating the right balance of protein/carbs/fats? The list of questions is too long to put into a short essay! I was amazed at the amount of time and attention I was given (ESPECIALLY for being a first-time, walk-in customer off the street)! By the time I walked out, I had Phormula-1/Ignition, Level-1, multivitamins, and the biggest key to it all, a NUTRITION PLAN! Supplement Superstore had just given me everything I needed to really start this tremendous journey! To this day I am blown away by the service I get from the employees at the Fenton store, whether it’s Kevin, Bobby, Steve, or any of the other guys. They are always asking how the products are working, and if we need to re-evaluate my nutrition plan to meet any new goals I may have set for myself. Their attention to detail is second to none!
Thanks to Supplement Superstore I was able to completely and CONFIDENTLY dedicate myself to the program, both the workouts and the nutrition. With that confidence, I did what I needed to do. I woke up early. I stayed up late. I did not cheat. All I can say is it COMPLETELY paid off! As a matter of fact, I went to Kansas City in October for a surprise birthday party for my aunt. When I arrived at the location of the party, I walked in and walked straight up to my aunt and uncle. My uncle (whom we visit EVERY YEAR for Thanksgiving) did not even recognize me! He later told me he thought I was a co-worker of my aunt’s until he heard my voice! That comment alone put me on “cloud nine.”
After starting at 281 pounds and working my way down to 200, here I am, in a place I never thought I would be and doing things I never thought I would do (including entering a “transformation contest!”). I mentioned earlier in my writing about being self-conscious. I never really realized how far this went until I started looking for photos to submit. I had an extremely hard time finding any photos of me that were more than just a head shot. I was fortunate enough to have taken “before” pictures when I started P90X, but this was after I had already lost about 40 pounds! These feelings went beyond just a few pictures here and there. I also realized I had been dodging the doctor. I was afraid of the news I might hear. I know I had high blood pressure and high cholesterol, but how far could the bad news go? These days, the self-consciousness is a thing of the past! From the pictures to my health, there’s no stopping me now, and I dare someone to try!
Since my original entry in January, I have gone even further to pursue my healthy lifestyle! As of TODAY, I have now lost a total of 90 POUNDS!! When I initially wrote the essay, I was about halfway through a round of a 60-day program called Insanity. Since then, I have completed the full 60 days, and have proceeded to start another 90-day round of P90X! I am currently at about the 60-day point of this round of P90X, and still going strong! As I mentioned last month, based on a recent visit I had to the Fenton Supplement Superstore, and re-evaluating some nutrition and fitness goals with Steve, I have also started taking the 1-DB Overdrive/Thyro-Drive Fast Pack. I am floored by the affects of it! The focused energy it gives me is nothing short of amazing, and it has REALLY helped to curb my appetite. With all of these awesome and dramatic changes going on in my life, I have also decided to set a couple of new goals. My first goal is to help as many people as possible achieve their personal fitness and weight loss goals, and I have already started to help several! My second goal is to train and run in a race this year. I have now started going two to three nights a week to run (why not with this amazing weather??). I have never been a fan of running, so this is difficult to push myself towards, but I have more than proven to myself that I can definitely do anything I put my mind to! I can’t wait to make these a reality!
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The 2012 S2 Operation Transformation March $10,000 Winner is...
Tony Valentini from South County!
Tony's transformation journey...
Hello, my name is Tony Valentini and I would very much like to tell my story of how health and fitness changed, and possibly saved my life. My story begins in the summer of 2004. This is when I began my downward spiral that would ultimately lead me to the life changing events that would take place in the future. I had started totally neglecting my body and the nutrition it needed to work properly. I was drinking just about every day and my diet basically consisted of nothing but alcohol and fast-food. Now this type of lifestyle went on for about 5 years. I was able to eat 4 double cheeseburgers, a large fry, and a coke. It was my life. I ate for pleasure and not for necessity. At this point I had reached a whopping 260 pounds, I was huge! With what I know now, WOW, I probably had one of the worst diets imaginable.
It wasn't until the winter of 2009 when I started getting horrible chest pains at least twice a day that I realized something was going on with my body. I had the scare of my life on New Year’s Day 2010. After a night of hard partying and good times, the next day I woke up with debilitating chest pain, and barely able to breath. Well I set up a doctor’s appointment the following day. When I went in they took blood and an EKG and told me they would get the results to me in a couple days. When I got the results it was not good. The doctor told me I had highly elevated blood pressure and LDL (Bad Cholesterol), and my blood sugar was not good. She said " Tony you are way too young to be having these problems." This had me really worried. So for a while I tried to cut back on all the bad foods, only to fall back into the habit months later. I had failed.
I was unhappy with myself and the person I had become. Over the next year I went into a deep depression, alienating anyone who really cared about me. I was pushing away friends, family, and loved ones all do to my lack of happiness and self-respect. I basically became addicted to video games and sitting in my dungeon (the basement). I would come out occasionally, only to be the downer of the party. At this point, it started to be a strain on my relationship with my girlfriend of 6 years. This went on until she left me on New Year’s Eve, 2010- 2011. Ultimately due to the lack of respect I had for myself. I was so unhappy that I made anyone close to me miserable. Now I was destroyed. I had nothing left. Over the next few months I struggled just to get my day to day done without bursting into tears. Life was miserable. If it wasn't for my family sticking by my side I might not be here today.
March 5 2011. This is a day I will never forget. This was the day I decided, no more of this self-pity. I am going to do something about this, no excuses, no BS. I cleaned out every last item of food out of my pantry and fridge. Then I went to a supplement store that a buddy had recommended to me a while back. I went in there and I met a guy named Tyler. Discussing with him what my goal was (just getting healthy and losing the weight) he recommended a daily vitamin and a list of whole foods good for your body and weight loss. Then I went to the grocery store and stocked up on all those foods. I spent 250 dollars, no messing around now I was going to do this. Tyler and I set up a basic daily diet that would benefit my goals best.
Now I was on the right track. I joined the local gym. First time in there I got on the scale and did my measurements. I was 265lbs with a 42 inch waist and 29.8% body fat. That is pretty bad for someone only 28 years of age. Within two weeks I started seeing results. I had already dropped 7 pounds. I thought "Now its got me" and I went on with this for the next five months. Seriously dedicated, no cheating, no partying, just all out dedicated. I stuck to my routine 45 minutes of cardio, with a heart rate of 152 bpm. It’s tough, but so is making the right decision. It's a lifestyle change, you don't just do it to reach your goal then fall back to old habits. Once you get used to the diet and exercise, it’s just a way of life (for me). If you put in the work and effort the rewards will be great!
At this point everyone around me started to see the changes. "Oh my God Tony, have you lost weight?" I heard that a lot. It started feeling really good, I have never known this before. A sense of accomplishment and dignity. My friends and family were very proud of me and the person I was becoming. Fitness and health was basically my life, and to think, for a guy who had never really done either before! I was down to 210 pounds and this only took five months! By this time I knew the guys at the supplement store on a first name basis.
So then I took the next step and wanted to start building muscle. Once again I headed to Supplement Superstore to discuss with them the best way to go about building muscle. They had told me the essential way to build lean muscle was maintaining a healthy diet. Being the addictive personality that I am, I started hitting it hard. I bought pre-workouts, post-workout protein, glycogen replenishment, creatine, meal replacement protein, daily vitamins, and amino acids. Continuing to hit the gym 6 days a week I started seeing results in weeks. It felt amazing! It’s like I had turned the clock back 5 years.
Let’s fast forward to present. I am joined up at 2 gyms, 6 foot 1, 205 pounds, went from a 42 inch waist down to a 34, and from 29.8% body fat to an amazing 10% percent body fat. Everyone, and I mean everyone that I was around during this period is absolutely amazed at the transformation that I have accomplished. The trainers at my gym are always complimenting me and explaining to their clients what I have done. It’s a new feeling to me to be an example of good health. No more chest pains, no more health problems, heck I haven’t even had a sniffle in almost a year. This is everything I could have ever hoped for. I am truly happy and I will never stop or go back to the lifestyle that was. In fact I am so interested and dedicated to health, that I am actively researching a career in the health industry, I love it that much. I am still hitting the gym every single day. I am told that I need to take a couple days off here and there, but I just can't. I actually enjoy it. It makes me feel good, like I have accomplished something day in and day out. All in all, I truly believe that good health and fitness has saved my life, and I am truly happy with myself and the trials and tribulations were just an obstacle for me to find out who Tony Valentini truly is. This is me! I love life again.
I hope that my story can help motivate someone who is on that threshold of doing something about their health and just needs that little extra push. If it does, that makes this all worth it even more. I only wish that I would have experienced this years earlier. This lifestyle change has benefitted me in every way imaginable. Also I would like to take this opportunity to thank my friends at the Supplement Superstore in South County St. Louis. Tyler, Jared, Steve, and Alex you guys are great and I really couldn't have accomplished what I did without the advice and motivation you guys provided. Thank you guys, you’re the best. On a side note I would like to say that all my results are absolutely natural. I am kind of a product of 1st Phorm. (Love their products).
Sincerely, Anthony P Valentini
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The 2012 S2 Operation Transformation February $10,000 Winner is...
Heidi Moore from St. Peters!
Heidi's transformation journey...
I was fat.
How is that for a “politically incorrect” description of myself?
Oh, I had plenty of reasons for reaching 313 pounds by June 2010.
My husband, Michael, who retired from 20 years with the Navy, had gotten a fantastic job opportunity with a company that promptly transferred him to Texas from our San Diego home, in August 2007. This new job and transfer came exactly fifteen days after we got married (second marriage for both of us). A transfer out of state? And I had a child still in high school? Yep, that was stressful enough for us but we had a plan to make it work.
On paper, our decision for me to stay behind in San Diego until my son graduated high school seemed like a good idea. I didn’t want to take him out of high school to take him with me since his dad was in San Diego and I wasn’t going to leave him behind and move (I was not done raising him!), so our decision resulted in me staying behind in San Diego.
Time moved forward and in 2008, my husband’s company transferred him to Missouri. We accumulated a lot of travel miles going back and forth every month to see each other. We were maintaining two residences in two states, both of us were working in high demand careers and I was very active in my son’s life (he was in sports). All of this resulted into almost three years of neglecting ourselves; loneliness, missing each other between visits and lots of comfort food.
I was looking forward to the bittersweet month of June 2010. This was the month that my only child was graduating high school. He was not only leaving high school, but he was also leaving for ARMY boot camp right after graduation. It was also time for me to retire from my career in San Diego after 25 years and move to Missouri to finally live with my husband. So much change at one month! Exciting and a new adventure for this new “empty nester”!
But by the time I reached Missouri after all of those important events at the end of June, the scale was tipping at 313 pounds for me and 316 for my husband. As we settled int our new life together, we realized something had to change. But this time, the change in our life became life saving.
January 2011, our transformation began to regain our health and vitality for life. What made us decide to lose weight? Pictures of ourselves. Inability to sleep well at night. Aching knees and back. Becoming out of breath walking up stairs. Late night heartburn. Being tired all of the time. Reading stories of people our age dying of heart attacks or getting diabetes and experiencing failing health.
So began our work. We started working on ourselves for a change and that change came after our visit to Supplement Superstores.
I heard a radio commercial for the 1-Db Goddess and Thyro-Drive and was intrigued. We visited the Supplement Superstore in St. Peters and met with Bart, who took the time to explain how the Goddess and 1-Db Overdrive worked for the body, how diet and exercise is beneficial in conjunction with the supplements and he answered all of our questions with detailed answers. We bought the supplements, started taking them and immediately found new found energy and focus. Our workouts took on a whole new level.
In addition to eating right, we began to MOVE. From walking around the neighborhood, to expanding our walks to several miles, then running and hiking and then getting back into cycling, I am impressed how far we have come in eleven months. Our commitment to exercise has literally changed both of our lives. From being winded simply walking around our hilly neighborhood, my husband is now ready to ride his first Century this spring (100 miles) and I’m easily riding 50 miles at a time when we take the bikes out (which was several times a week during the spring, summer and fall). Now that winter has moved in, our beloved bikes are hooked up to trainers in the basement and we still ride several times a week, in addition to using our elliptical and weight training equipment that we have at home. We both have started running and I’m looking forward to running my first 5k soon!
Supplement Superstores introduced us to other ways to enhance our workouts, eating and health. We literally changed the way we ate “cold turkey” and never looked back. We both started to embrace vegetables, sized meat portions down to a “fist size”, incorporated fresh fruits into our diet and added in the Level-1 protein formula to our daily eating routine and the M-Factor vitamins that we take daily has helped us maintain our good health and feeling of well being.
What is amazing about Supplement Superstores is the care that the staff puts into their advice and guidance. This past year has been a year of transformation for both of us. Throughout the months, if we had questions or concerns, all we had to do was ask “our guys” at “our” Supplement Superstores and immediately got the information we needed. Bart, Joe, Tim and the others have really been informative. They have the backgrounds to not only give personal experiences to back up why they use the products, but they also have the training to explain WHY they work. That does a lot for our confidence as we move forward in meeting our personal goals.
Michael and I celebrated our New Years Eve 2012 with such a feeling of accomplishment. We both have lost 100 pounds in 2011. I turn 50 years old in 2012 and Michael is 46. We are proof that age is not a factor in getting healthy and exercising! Too many people give up after a certain age because they feel society accepts middle aged people looking.....well, “middle aged”. Looking tired, feeling tired, poor health and aching joints does not have to plague a person just because they feel they are getting older. There are so many inspirational individuals who are active and healthy as they get towards their 50’s and beyond. Their secret is NO secret. It’s just a commitment to moving and exercising and doing the right things to bring that feeling of vitality and health to their lives.
One of my personal milestones in 2012 is to go for a run with my Army son when he comes home from overseas on leave. I am working on my endurance and have a ways to go still, but it will happen. Also in my short term “bucket” list of goals is a 10k this year!
Meanwhile, I will continue to use the staff at the Supplement Superstores to help me bring my workouts to the next level. My husband and I have more work to do to meet our weight and endurance/fitness goals, but we are ready for the challenge and we are facing the new year with a great deal of confidence that we will get to, and exceed, those goals.
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The 2012 S2 Operation Transformation January $10,000 Winner is...
Missy Robison from Brentwood!
Heidi's transformation journey...
After spending my 30th birthday in December, weighing on the up side of 300 pounds, 256 pounds to be exact, and not wanting pictures to be taken of me, I decided it was time to make a change.
I’ve always been a photogenic ham and feeling less attractive caused me to not enjoy a lot of the same things I used to. Although I had a very loving and supporting fiancé, we both were feeling the weight strain our relationship. Being that big, you sort of lose your femininity and really feel “less than” when around other more beautiful/thin people. Don’t get me wrong, I always thought of myself as a cute girl, even at the height of my heaviest, but who wants to be cute when they have the potential to be stunning? We started feeling sloppy and less attractive and in turn, you start to lose that animalistic attraction to your mate.
We finally began our weight loss journey on February 21, 2011 I weighed in at a hefty 248 pounds sporting a size 22, creeping slowly into a 24. I started out using a food log I created and counting my calories. I was also walking or doing some form of cardio a minimum of three times a week for 20 minutes each session. After I dropped 10 pounds, a month later, my fiancé and I made our first trip to the Brentwood Supplement Superstore. We asked a lot of questions and all the staff was very helpful. That day would be a catalyst of positive progression for us both. We left the store with Level-1 protein powder and 1-Db Overdrive and Goddess FastPacks. With the FastPack, I was able to maintain my focus in the gym and it gave me enough energy to get through an 8 hour work day, a part time school load, and still have the energy to kick ass in the gym. By July 8th I weight 203 pounds! This was a very accomplished moment for me, as I had not seen that weight or fit into a size 16 since 2002. With my wedding on the horizon in November, I decided it was time to step it up a notch and I began incorporating more weight lifting into my routine.
To my surprise by mid August, I was still in the 200’s. This was very frustrating for me, because I was not veering from my diet and I was taking the fast pack on a regular basis. I decided to make a quick stop into the Brentwood Supplement Superstore and see if I could get some pointers to break through my three week weight loss stall. I had actually started gaining weight! The nutritionist, Mike Taylor, informed me that because of my routine change, I needed to increase my caloric intake considerably. He walked me through what a typical day of food should look like and gladly answered all my questions. I took the knowledge he shared with me and put it to work, expecting the worst. One week later I was back down to 195, which was the goal I set for myself to meet the day I went wedding dress shopping on August 20th. I continued my same routine and diet until mid September. At that time I began focusing more on cardio to lose more weight before my wedding. Although I stopped using the FastPack, I used the knowledge I previously obtained from my friends at Supplement Superstore and because I changed my routine I knew I needed to change my diet. A month before the wedding I got another FastPack and having been off it for a while, I really noticed a difference in my energy and motivation.
Thanks to the Supplement Superstore family and their amazing products, combined with my motivation, dedication, and hard work, on my wedding day I weighed 185 pounds and was in a size 14! That number I haven’t seen since 2001. By our special day, we had a combined loss of 135 pounds! My loss of 71 pounds has done more for me than just making me healthier. I mean it is really nice that I can climb my stairs with a full laundry basket and not feel like I’m going to pass out from lack of oxygen when I reach the top. It’s also nice that I have so much more energy, because my weight isn’t causing me to feel lazy and unmotivated. Because of the change in my diet, I enjoy healthier foods and pay so much more attention to what I’m actually feeding my body and I know what the “bad” and “good” foods are doing to me. My confidence is back and I am feeling sexier than I have felt in 10 years or so. I’m wearing the clothes that I like and want to wear and don’t have to worry about looking huge in them. One of the best parts about being thinner is that I can now shop at all the cute stores in the mall and every time I walk passed a plus size store it makes me beam inside. I’ll tell my fiancé, with a smile, “You know where I don’t have to shop anymore?” Having accomplished this, I know I am capable of that much more. You don’t think about how awesome it is until you are made to, but when you do, it’s the most amazing feeling I’ve had in my life. I was able to commit myself to not only losing weight, but also to lead a much healthier and happier lifestyle. I enjoy taking my boxer on walks and am ok with not finding the closest parking spot. I will have to warn you though, it’s addicting. I started losing and then wanted to know how I lose more and what I needed to do to reach my goals.
My next goal is to be comfortable and look good in a bikini in July (2012). That’s equal to at least another 50 pounds (hopefully more), but setting your long term goals high and your short term goals at a more realistic level is totally worth it. This is definitely a commitment to a lifestyle change, and it’s not an overnight magical happening, as my (now) husband would say, “We didn’t get this fat overnight. It took years of abusing our bodies, so it’s going to take a year or two to get it into shape.” But with the support of the Supplement Superstore family and their products, along with support from my loved ones, I was able to accomplish that which seemed so unattainable in December. Do yourself a favor and just stop in a Supplement Superstore to inquire about a plan for you. You’ll be surprised by their knowledge and vast selection of great products…and your results!