What it really takes...

[Frank]

It's funny...everyone wants to know how I did it, but no one wants to
believe me when I tell them. Even people in my own family think I'm
lying...

A year and a half ago, I weighed 275lbs. I was out of shape and
sliding further down hill. I ate and drank like a horse.

Today, I weigh 200lbs and I'm in the best shape of my life. I lost
75lbs (and kept it off), went from size 42 down to 34 jeans and I wear
medium sized shirts.
Sometimes, it really does seem impossible. But it's true. I am the
proof.
Even more unbelievable is the FACT that I still basically eat garbage.
I LOVE buffalo wings. I LOVE scotch and beer. I LOVE cigars. I suppose
that more than anything makes people think I must have some "quick-
fix" secret diet.
I DO NOT.
I did it through nothing but hard work and sacrifice. There is NO
OTHER way. I've known this all along, but I never did what I knew I
had to do...until one day I looked at my daughter and decided at that
moment I wanted to see her graduate college...I wanted to give her
away at her wedding...I want to be alive for those things. I remember
that day vivdly...how I stared at myself in the mirror for so
long...how I decided there was NO OTHER way.

If anyone cares to know the truth, here is everything I did...
In the beginning, I worked the elliptical 30 minutes a shot, 7 days a
week, followed by 200 minimum crunches and 80 minimum push-ups. That
was EVERY day of the week. I even broke the elliptical...sheared the
pedal clean off. I beat the hell out of that machine.

I changed my TERRIBLE eating habits. I kept myself to one helping at
meals. This in itself is a powerfull tool...I used to have 2
sandwiches at lunch and 2-3 helpings at dinner and way too many
snacks. When I cut down on the helpings, I also added some small
things...I had a Snickers bar as my only snack about 8 pm to curb
appetites and give me a little extra boost for the next day. I started
(and still do) to have a tall glass of grapefruit juice just before
dinner (to help kick up my metabolism). These are little tips I picked
up from Men's Health magazine. I'm not exactly sure what their total
(if any) effect was, but they helped me press on.

The hardest part was fighting my own mind. Hardcore workouts and runs
are really not that hard...if your brain keeps the hell out of the
way. I don't know about anyone else, but my brain came up with EVERY
possible reason why I should stop and take it easy. Another part of me
fought it back. Once you realize that you CAN do more, you WILL work
harder...the reasons become excuses. I looked at the excuses as
ridiculous and became indignant with myself. I remember the first time
I pushed past 8 miles to break 10 miles...I remember saying to myself,
"Suck it up, Chumley and quit your bitchin'...don't you dare f***in'
stop...You ran into it, You run it out.". I finished the 10 miles and
I felt stronger at the end than I did at the beginning...it was hot
and I was a little bit delirious, but I did it.
When I run into people I haven't seen in a while, their eyes are lit
up when they ask what I did to change. But then they dim, when I tell
them...people are expecting the quick-fix...the "Atkins approach" and
they seem discouraged when I don't give them some miracle diet. There
are people actually sitting back waiting (in vain) for me to balloon
back up...they're convinced that I'll yo-yo and put all the weight
back on. Not happenin'...
I can tell you...from YEARS of doing it...that those fad diets and
quick-fix workouts DO NOT WORK. There is only one way to do it...

You have to know very clearly what you seek.
You have to work damn hard and then work even harder as you get
closer.
You have to WANT it and want it BAD...if you don't, if it's just a
thing to do, you WILL fail. There can be absolutely NO OTHER WAY to
go.
And most importantly...NEVER give up...NEVER listen to the people
telling you that you're crazy, that you can't do it - they only say
that because they can't do it.
These days, I run 5-6 days a week, and work the elliptical on the off-
days. I'll take a day to rest every so often. I'm running a max
distance of 10 miles and very soon, I'm going to destroy that barrier
because I'm going to run the half-marathon this year. I still watch
the amount of food I eat, but I have to admit I still LOVE wings and
beer.
I carry on and it has never gotten easier, and it never will. That's
the part that stops most people. You reach a point where you think,
"I've worked so hard to get here, so now I can ease up." If you listen
to that thought, you've lost. I block those thoughts...the brain can
be such a pain.

One of the best parts of my long runs is the end when I stop, look
back at the road and know that I did what they told me I could never
do...and know that I'm in better shape than they can ever
imagine...and know that I have the heart to carry my convictions when
they don't...and know above all else, that I will be there for my
girls as they grow up.

[Jim]

Amen.

It takes work and dedication, and with those, you can do anything.
Enjoy your first half.

Jim.

[Heather]

I agree. It does take hard work, dedication and sacrifice.

I would rather NOT get up at 5:15 a.m. to run. I'd rather NOT go out
into 23-degree weather at 5:30 a.m. I'd rather go home right after
work instead of the gym, but...it's all worth it. The feeling -- and
the results -- that you get are just fantastic.

I am constantly listening to women whine about how they need to lose
weight, curse their bodies, hate their thighs, starve themselves (and
gorge later) but...if they'd just channel that energy into one lousy
hour a day of exercise...they'd see that all it takes to be fit is an
hour a day. Stop talking, stop obsessing, quit your whining and start
moving.

People see me (I'm fairly petite and thin..though..um..winter weight
is clinging to me now!) and assume that I was born this way and am
lucky to have this frame and blah, blah, blah. Well...you know what? I
have to work for this. EVERY SINGLE DAY. This is not natural for
me...it's not my God-given body shape, it's one I work hard to
maintain. It's not easy.

The nice thing is...it affords me the calorie deficit to enjoy a few
libations or the occasional pizza. So...we get to have our cake (or
beer and chicken wings) and eat it, too!

[Suzy]

As someone who waited until almost 50 year of age to lose 45 pounds it
is not a quick fix but a constant daily choice. I started to run only
a year ago to help maintain my weight loss and very slowly got a
little better at it. I do think at the end of a run how many calories
I can have extra! It took several months to get to the point that I
felt that I was a runner and that I started to enjoy it. Due to a
stress fracture in my foot have not been able to run for the past
month, in fact walking is a struggle. I will volunteer tomorrow
because I know that everyone who is there will understand why I need
to start to run again no matter what instead of looking at this injury
as a reason to stop. Suzy