GUEST POST: You CAN do it!! Part One, Craig S.

Below are before and after stories by real people. Not celebrities nor reality show contestants. With hard work and determination they all met their goals. Inspire.Motivate.Move.

Craig S. Before and After

I have been very fortunate to have found such a great group of people at Fluent Fitness. They have helped keep me motivated and on my toes as far as keeping myself in very good shape. It wasn’t always that way, however. Back in 2005 when I first moved to Colorado, I weighed probably around 300 pounds, but I don’t know the exact number. The highest I ever weighed myself is 285, but that was after I had already started to eat better and exercise. I was not really in too much of a hurry to be jumping on a scale at that point in my life so I certainly could have topped out around the 300 mark. My diet was horrible. It wasn’t uncommon for me to eat an entire pizza or an entire prepared box of Hamburger Helper in one sitting. And don’t even get me started on buffets; especially Chinese buffets. It really hit me that I needed to start losing weight and getting in shape when I played an easy game of pick-up football with my cousins and couldn’t keep up at all. Everyone else was running circles around me. I hadn’t dated any girls or even have a girl interested in me in multiple years at that point. I also looked at the before picture posted and was just disgusted. I knew I needed to do something.

I really didn’t know the best ways to start losing weight, so I went in the gym at my apartment complex and just started running on the treadmill, elliptical, bike, etc. As far as my diet, I started eating a lot “cleaner”. I stuck to the outside of the grocery store where the lean meats, fruits and veggies and whatnot were. I also started using some diet pills but discovered that they really weren’t doing anything for me. It took me a few months to really start seeing results. Mainly, my clothes were fitting better and I found myself having to go shopping to buy smaller clothes. That is one of biggest satisfactions right there. As I went along, I kept reading more and more articles online and in magazines on the best ways to live a healthy lifestyle. I stumbled upon an e-book called the ‘Trust About 6 pack Abs’ written by Mike Geary. The book completely goes through how to do just that, get a 6 pack. It goes on to say that about 98% of getting a 6 pack has nothing to do with doing ab exercises. It tells you how to eat, what to eat. Also, why you should and shouldn’t eat certainly types of foods and when to eat those foods. It also had a killer workout guide. It basically shows you how live, eat and workout like a professional athlete. The workouts are full body workouts, not ones that are necessarily going to get you ready for a body building contest. That book has helped me in so many ways!

During the summer of 2007, 2 years after moving to Colorado and being at my peak, I weighed in at 177 pounds. Wow!! I had lost well over 100 pounds. I felt so good and I had a ton of energy. I started playing pick-up football again and discovered that I was actually in better shape than most of the other people playing. Quite the difference than when I was at my peak.  I had people; including my mom tell me that they thought I looked almost too skinny! At that point, I changed up my diet to include more complex carbs and started lifting a lot heavier. I wanted to start putting on size. Now I usually hover around the 190-195 pound mark with a goal to actually be about 210-215, but in muscle obviously. I currently live a very healthy lifestyle, working out 5-6 days a week and eating very clean. I eat about 6 meals a day and include high amounts of protein and fruits and veggies with every meal. Since I’ve been introduced to Fluent Fitness by my good friend Michelle, I have been that much more motivated by great people to stay active and continue to live a healthy lifestyle. Because of going to the boot camps, I have also met a girl that I have fallen in love with and share a lot of the same things with as far as living a healthy life. I couldn’t be happier at this point in my life and I hope I can continue this and help other people in similar situations.

Lisa D Before and After

January 2010 after fighting a battle of depression and being overweight I decided it was time for a change! I had hit an all time high weight of 226 pounds!! My goal was to lose weight! I have always been an active person, but after my two children, life slowed down, and I stopped doing what I loved, working out. With a friend I decided to start training for a sprint distance Triathlon. We made it our goal to train for Tri for the Cure, which was eight months out. I joined a gym, started biking, lifting and swimming again. With a whole lot of dedication, sweat, blood and tears I finished my first tri in August 2010 and I was hooked! I fell in love with multi sport events. Being a swimmer from the time I was 8 years old, the swim for me was cake, I also loved biking, but the run was my weakest event. Now two years later and 56 pounds lighter running is my passion! I still love biking and swimming but I have branched out and race in mud obstacle races and snow races!!

I average 20+ miles a week and lift on my off days. I eat sensibly and try to be the best example for fitness to my children. It is all about being healthy, active, and showing our children how to lead the kind of life we strive for daily!