For many years I was involved in martial arts and in pretty good physical condition. Then, along came a family and the pressures associated with making a living. I began to let my training slip and gradually it ground to a halt.
The years ticked away and I began to notice a steady decline in my overall fitness, my physical appearance, and my general feeling of well being. When I looked into the mirror one morning this past summer, staring back at me was an overweight, out of shape, tired looking 59 year old man. I knew I had to do something or my 'golden years' weren't going to be very shiny.
I had purchased the TT program but, as with other programs and equipment I had purchased in the past, it too was sitting under a significant amount of dust. When Craig announced the 9th Transformation Contest, something inside me said this was it, the motivation I needed to finally do something!
I went to the corner store, purchased a newspaper, and had my wife take the 'before' photo. Man, was I embarrassed! But, for some reason, that kicked enough of my butt to get me moving and so I did.
I drastically changed the way I ate, primarily following the Isabel De Los Rios program. In conjunction with that, I began the Big 5 For Fat Loss Circuit workout. The first 3 weeks were very tough as I was trying to get my body to adapt to both physical exercise and, a radically new eating plan. A 59 year old body does not recover like a 29 year old body, and it was more difficult than I thought.
Not much happened the first month but into the second month, things really began to change. I saw real and noticeable changes to my physical appearance and my energy level hadn't been that high since my martial arts days . I really kicked it into high gear then!
Now the pounds were dropping faster than Pavarotti reaching for a pizza. My clothes, particularly my pants, no longer fit and I literally had to purchase new ones. My waist size went down by 2 inches so I bought some new jeans. Then it went down another two inches and I had to buy smaller ones again.
People I knew were commenting on my weight loss and that made me feel very, very good. My before and after stats are:
Weight before: 217 lbs.
Weight now: 198 lbs.
Waist before: 38'
Waist now: 34'
BMI before: 31.1
BMI now: 28.4
Thanks to Craig three different TT workouts, and a new approach to diet, I have made a significant change to my overall physical and mental well being. But I'm not stopping here. This was not some soon to be abandoned fad fitness and diet program. I still have a ways to go but I will achieve my goals because I have made this a permanent lifestyle change.
Thanks again to Craig and TT for changing my life!
Doug Arden
