My Husband's 200 lb. Weight Loss Story!

Check out his blog @
http://www.thislittlepiggywenttothegym.com/
for some Before & After Pics!

Many of you know Dave and knew him as a 300 lb. man...and some knew him as a 425 lb. man.

Sharing Dave's story is heavy on my heart. Perhaps it's to discourage the HOLIDAY BULGE. Perhaps it's to discourage the PROCRASTINATION.

Or maybe it's to ENCOURAGE YOU

that no matter how much weight loss you have, it's possible!!!

I'm going to start from the season I met Dave and our friendship days. The days that he was doing that dreaded Atkins, fat & protein/low-carb diet. The meals we shared: salad w/ ranch, fried chicken & NO FRUITS, little veggies.

I'm going to recap what happened the season we got married, when I got pregnant and how a 285 lb. Dave went to 425 lbs. w/in a 9 MONTH PERIOD.

Then I'm going to share the year that things changed when our first son was born. How the desire in Dave's heart was for Daniel to NOT know him as an OBESE DAD was so strong & was his motivation.

I will share the journey from Weight Watchers, thru Trainer Tom...and up to now. We are going to be transparent on the struggles...and how people who told Dave he was getting 'too skinny' had adverse affects on his motivation.

One thing I've learned is that for the obese person - FOOD is the drug. They have an addiction. They have overcome it...yet it still wants to haunt them and creep back in and take over. But if you have the mindset that you are NEVER going back, and you let people help you - YOU DON'T EVER HAVE TO BE BIG AGAIN!!!!

I'm excited to share this info! As a wife, the role I played will be shared as well. When a man & woman get married, the 2 become 1 - And I had an active position as Dave's helpmate to help him reach his goals. I am going to share how I continue to be that voice of reason, truth, and encouragement in Dave's life. We're in this together - join me as I share!

I hope you join me as share this story of a real weight loss struggle and the truth of what food can do to a life, a marriage, and a family! Join me in this journey, as it is my hope that you will receive truth to motivate you to lose weight, yet give you the hope that it is possible!

In the weight-loss rut? Here's some help!

I've heard it said over and over and over again: Diet is 80%, exercise is 20% of losing weight. I talk a lot about losing weight thru diet and food choices. I can be a broken record sometimes on it, so I thought I would talk about exercise and highlight somethings to really zero in on to fully maximize your weight loss efforts.

1. EXERCISE. Seems like the obvious, right? But how many try to lose weight withOUT exercising? Just start moving. Figure out what you really like to do & do it. If you enjoy your workouts, you'll do them. (How often have you seen people at the gym, w/ frowns, on a machine, not even into it? No intensity? Yea, don't do that.) Find a class, a program, or something you can't wait to do the next day. I found what I like and that's how I lost my weight and keep the weight off!
2. SET GOALS. Most know the story of my husband (http://www.thislittlepiggywenttothegym.com/). His goal was to lose weight, not be a 400+ lb. man, and not die young. My goals have always been little increments of weight. For example, when I was 159 lbs. (after my 2nd born son), I said, "I'm going to get down to 155"...then it was 149, then I said, "I can get down to 145". And when I reach that I said, "If I work out a little harder, kick up the intensity, I can get under 140". Now I'm about 131, starting my 5th week of Insanity on Monday.
3. CHANGE IT UP. I know I said, find what you like...but you still have to change it up. If you like the treadmill. Go from walking to jog...then jogging to running...then sprints w/ jogging. Then try to tackle 5 mi. then 10 mi. Like the stairclimber...turn up the intensity, increase the level, increase the speed.
4. USE WEIGHTS. This may take a little homework or you asking someone to help, but you gotta have resistance training. (If you're a woman, resistance training helps prevent osteoperosis.) Weight-lifting/resistance training revs up the metabolism, builds muscle, and gives you that toned, defined look. It's a win-win!

These are just some things to get you started. After you've lost those initial pounds, go thru the list and re-apply them. Somehow, some way, we easily steer off course. Reminding ourselves of some of the basics, helps us get back on track.

STAY TUNED - WORKING ON OFFERING MY READERS A FIT CLUB HERE LOCALLY IN BAKERSFIELD. SHOOTING FOR A BEGINNERS & ADVANCED. Message me on FB so that I can begin a group so that you stay posted on the date, time, and location!!!!!

My Heart is to help YOU - You're not alone!

I have such a burden to reach out to people who struggle in life. This is what I wanted to share yesterday, but during my a.m. time slot to blog, blogger was down. So instead of featuring a Success Story, I want to share my heart today.

I love you. Really. Most people reading this know me, and some I may not know at all. But I know me, and I know I have a deep, genuine concern for people and my heart is for you to be successful.

Since becoming a 'coach', I have had so many people reach out to me and share their struggles with me. Struggles about weight loss and the 2 components: food & exercise. Too much food, and not any exercise. If that's you, I want you to know that you're not alone.

You're NOT ALONE in this struggle. There is a ton of people who have the same struggle as you. And if I let myself get into the habit, I have the struggle too. (I'll address this word habit next week in the context of diet & exercise).

What helped me is realizing that I didn't get overweight - overnight. It took a few months, a year or so to pack on some weight. It started by me allowing myself to eat what I WANTED, not what I should. I gained weight because I ate the pizza that was at the birthday party, followed it with some cake. I gained weight because I gave in and had the bacon egg biscuit to-go. I gained weight because I continually ate foods that were not lean or healthy. They were high-carb & fat-laden foods.

I gained because I did not exercising consistently. I was taking my son for walks. And I thought they were really burning calories, yea, I don't think it was enough. I stayed big. And finally, after being miserable with myself, I decided I had to take drastic measures. I had to exercise with more intensity...and I could not eat whatever I wanted, or whatever was there.

That meant, if I was going to a party, if they didn't have some salad without drsg. or any lean meat, I would not eat. I (like my husband who lost over 200 lbs.) typically ate our healthy meal before, showed up to the party and declined eating. "Proper etiquette", I don't know. I didn't care. Maybe the chili dogs was the only thing in the budget & that's okay. But I'm not going to scarf down 1,000 calories in one sitting to 'not hurt the host's feelings'. I would just politely say, 'no thanks, I already ate'. I had goals and the only way I was going to reach them is if I took drastic measures.

This also meant I had to plan ahead. I needed to have healthy choices ready to eat. I had to cook up extra chicken breast, boil up eggs (to eat the egg whites), have fresh produce ready to eat, and I had to try to find ways to avoid wanting to raid the cupboard.

One that I found was that working out crazy hardcore helped me in 2 ways. One, it burned a ton of calories to get to that stored fat that just loves staying glued to my hips off...and it made me think twice about what I put in my mouth. I would tell myself & others, "I work out too hard to eat that". My philosophy is/was: Why am I going to push myself sooooo hard to turn around & eat that? Most people's philosophy is: Oh, I worked out so I CAN eat it! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO that's why you're not losing weight & getting results...you're not creating a calorie deficit.

The key to losing weight is simple math: Create a deficit. Burning more calories than you eat = Results. So, example, yesterday, I burned 805 calories, I ate around 1200-1300, so really my body received only 500, but because I was eating healthy foods, often throughout the day, I didn't feel hungry, my metabolism stayed revved up. Now, if I was to not eat but only 500 calories/day, without working out....well, I'd sabotage my body - period. See that is the beauty of working out! In fact, I've already burned over 3500 calories this week & I have 2 more days of my INFERNO to do!

I went off on a tangent about working out and eating good, because that's what many of you are not doing. And that's why you struggle with your weight. I think it would be safe to say that many are addicted to food.

Now before you get defensive, I want you to do an experiment. Answer this: What is your favorite food? What do you just love to eat? Now, when you eat it, do you eat just one or 2 bites or it until you are stuff? Do you smile and moan when the food is in your mouth? If it's around, and you just got done eating, do you want to eat that favorite food? Now, what is that favorite food? Is it healthy? Is it fries, pizza, candy bars, cakes, ice cream? If you think you are not addicted...I have a challenge for you. Whatever that 'fave food' is - give it up for 1 week. If you can do that, give it up for 1 month. See how your attitude is without it. See how your attitude is when it's in front of it and you don't eat it. (Email me if you do this, I'm interested in your results.)

I have a heart for food addicts because I've experienced addiction before. Addiction is crazy. Shoot, my addiction to home-brewed Starbucks coffee is what got me out of bed today (yes, I'm already planning to address it). But addiction is real, and addiction to food is real. And if we don't start addressing it as an addiction, I'm not sure we can conquer this obesity epidemic.

My heart is to help people who feel powerless against food. It's a real feeling that many experience. If you want help, email me at jennifermorin@beachbodycoach.com. Find me on FB - Jennifer Morin....and I will help you the best that I can!

Exercise is only 20% - but it's key!

I've heard it said over and over and over again: Diet is 80%, exercise is 20% of losing weight. I talk a lot about losing weight thru diet and food choices. I can be a broken record sometimes on it, so I thought I would talk about exercise and highlight somethings to really zero in on to fully maximize your weight loss efforts.

1. EXERCISE. Seems like the obvious, right? But how many try to lose weight withOUT exercising? Just start moving. Figure out what you really like to do & do it. If you enjoy your workouts, you'll do them. (How often have you seen people at the gym, w/ frowns, on a machine, not even into it? No intensity? Yea, don't do that.) Find a class, a program, or something you can't wait to do the next day. I found what I like and that's how I lost my weight and keep the weight off!
2. SET GOALS. Most know the story of my husband (http://www.thislittlepiggywenttothegym.com/). His goal was to lose weight, not be a 400+ lb. man, and not die young. My goals have always been little increments of weight. For example, when I was 159 lbs. (after my 2nd born son), I said, "I'm going to get down to 155"...then it was 149, then I said, "I can get down to 145". And when I reach that I said, "If I work out a little harder, kick up the intensity, I can get under 140". Now I'm about 134.
3. CHANGE IT UP. I know I said, find what you like...but you still have to change it up. If you like the treadmill. Go from walking to jog...then jogging to running...then sprints w/ jogging. Then try to tackle 5 mi. then 10 mi. Like the stairclimber...turn up the intensity, increase the level, increase the speed.
4. USE WEIGHTS. This may take a little homework or you asking someone to help, but you gotta have resistance training. (If you're a woman, resistance training helps prevent osteoperosis.) Weight-lifting/resistance training revs up the metabolism, builds muscle, and gives you that toned, defined look. It's a win-win!

These are just some things to get you started. After you've lost those initial pounds, go thru the list and re-apply them. Somehow, some way, we easily steer off course. Reminding ourselves of some of the basics, helps us get back on track.

A couple of observations I recently made and my husband and I have talked about, that may help if you consider. You've heard it said, 'get a workout buddy'. And that's great if you find someone who has the same schedule as you, but that can be difficult. But here's the thing: don't make your weight loss success dependent on that person showing up. How often do things come up & your 'workout partner' flakes out or gets sick? Then how easy is it for you to miss when they've called in advance and told you they won't be there? Don't put your success in someone else's hand. If you need accountability, get someone to hold you accountable. Find someone to text your weight to every Monday. Find someone to call you and check in with you. But don't make your attendance to the gym or your workout dependent on someone else showing up. Get yourself there and workout to your fullest potential - when you clock out from work, drive straight to the gym. Have you gym bag in the car & just get yourself there. Or set your alarm, drag yourself out of bed and get yourself there. Turn on that dvd. Whatever you do, just get yourself dressed & show up. Then apply the tips above. Heck, use me as accountability. Beware though, I'm a little diehard and can come across as a drill sergeant sometimes, so you may get results if you ask me!!!!

All this to say, if you have weight loss goals. Don't depend 100% on dieting....get yourself moving & grooving at least 3-5 times a week for 30-60 minutes each time & you will lose!

Benefits of exercise:

1. Metabolism boost
2. Encourages body to burn calories
3. Revs up your heart & lungs to work at maximum capacity
4. Healthier bones
5. Increased stamina & energy
6. Lowered risk of heart disease
7. Overall improved health
8. Body transforms & leans out
9. Improved self-esteem/lessens stress

EXERCISE - it will change your body...it will change your life!