**Warning, the following will be intensely personal and a bit lengthy. I’ve not really opened up about this even to myself before** As you know I have been changing my life, my health and my overall wellbeing in the last year and a half. That’s not the story I want to tell you though. I want to tell you the story of two men whose lives started out very similarly, but ended very differently. It’s their story that motivates me to not only change my life, but want to help change others’ lives as well. A young man, with a young family, he loves them, but has a hard time playing with them. He’s 35 and over 300 pounds. His wife lends her support, but he is depressed, he hates the way he looks, he feels lousy. The kids want his attention, but he’s tired and their energy is exhausting. When he’s away for work he sneaks chips and candy, he has a weakness for gas station hot dogs and working men’s cafeteria carts. There are attempts at different diets, but nothing seems to help. He has to want to change. He experiences chest pains and has trouble breathing when he sleeps. He fears dying in the night and having his family find him in the morning. This is my father’s story, but it is eerily similar to Micheal K’s story. The single most emotional moment of Summit (a Beachbody coach conference I attended this past June) was listening to Micheal K’s story as he received his $25,000 award for his total health transformation. At 37 he decided no more! He started drinking Shakeology and doing Insanity. He did things as he could, but he kept pushing! His coach was there to help keep him motivated and focused during the hard times. He changed his life and now he’s changing his family’s lives and so many others as well. Micheal has lost 113 pounds and he’s still going. His journey isn’t over, but his life and the lives around him will be forever changed. (Check out Micheal Ks story here teambeachbody/connect/success/-/user-story/349841334) Why was this story so emotional? Well, let me tell you the rest of my father’s story. At 38 Dad has his first heart attack, I was 13 and it scared me. His father (my grandfather) died of a heart attack when my dad was 13, it was a little too similar for my comfort. He watched himself for a little while, but it was hard for him. Food was his addition. My mom tried her best. My sisters and I did what we could. We must have tried about every type of diet out there. Taking cabbage soup to school for lunch was an experience, let me tell you. I can’t help but wonder if Beachbody had existed then if it would have helped. Shakeology is easy and many of the workouts are really accessible for all types. A lot of what ifs live in this line of thinking. Fast forward a bit, we spent 11 years in and out of hospitals, trying to change my dad’s habits and our habits at home as well. As things at the house changed, Dad just got sneaky. We would find piles of chip bags and wrappers in his car. In the last two years of his life he probably spent 6-8 months in hospital beds, the last time he and Mom went to dinner the server thought he was her father rather than her husband. He couldn’t work and we finally got his first disability check just weeks before that fateful day my mother woke to find my daddy had died in his sleep. He was just 49. I was 24, my sisters were 21 and 19. So young, too young. So the next time you see me, or read one of my posts inviting you to join my next challenge group, or telling you about Shakeology, or my upcoming Fit Club or whatever please keep in mind I’m not inviting you to make you feel bad, or trying to sell you something. I am trying to do what I can to change a life. That’s really the bottom line. If I can help one friend or family member not have to experience what my family did, then it’s worth it. I do it in memory of my dad and the life I couldn’t change. Maybe your day to start isn’t today, that’s ok, I won’t take offence to you saying no, please don’t take offense if I keep asking and inviting. This is the reason I am a Beachbody coach. This is why I love this company that facilitates change on a massive level in so many people’s lives every day. I love you Dad, I miss you. This is for you. This is for me. This is for that one decision that separates Micheal K from John V and the hope that I can help even one person on the path to a longer and healthier life.
Posted on: Wed, 16 Jul 2014 17:35:44 +0000
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