I was looking through some files on my PC the other day and came across some beach photos from a couple of years ago, a couple of months after I decided to make some lifestyle changes to get healthy again.  I was shocked!  In  that picture, I was at my heaviest weight ever – 244 lbs.  I have to admit, I’m a bit embarrassed by the “before” picture, but I am proud of how far I  have come.  I am now at 202, and will probably be to my target weight of 190 by the fall.

The main reason that I am posting this, however, is not to say “Look at what I’ve done.”  What I want to say is: “Anyone can do this!”  Right now, I am the healthiest I’ve ever been in my life, and I got there without spending tons of money on equipment or diet plans, hours/day in the gym, or starving myself half to death.

I am convinced that practically anyone without severe physical limitations can do what I did.  I have flat feet, arthritis in my ankles and a C7/T1 bulged disk.  I work a 50-60 hour/week job, and I have a wife and 4 kids that I love to spend time with.  I didn’t have to compromise that to do this.  The truth is, it is simpler (and cheaper) than most of the health gurus out there want you to know to get into shape.  Here’s what I did:

  1. I bought a few things:
  2. I changed my eating habits, slightly but permanently based on the Eat-Stop-Eat book.
  3. I started riding my bike or running 30-40 minutes two days/week, plus about 1-2 hours on the weekend.
  4. I registered for a 10K (almost 1 year in advance).
  5. I stuck with it!

So, I spent under $300 and 2-3 hours a week to make a 1000% improvement in my quality of life.  To be sure, #5 was the hardest part. Having my son join me about a year ago helped tremendously.  Also, telling others about what I was doing gave me more motivation to keep at it.

Now, this has become my lifestyle.  I don’t see that ever changing.  I actually look forward to running, and even eating healthy meals (although I still have my vices – in moderation).  I’m running my first 1/2 marathon this October, and plan to run a full one sometime early next year.

So what do you think?  I think YOU CAN!  If you decide to, make sure to register for a free account at dailymile.com and shoot me a friend request.  I’d love to follow your journey!