Isagenix Journey

In 5 weeks I have lost about 28 pounds using Isagenix products. I feel better, I am looking a little better, though I have a long way to go to look good, and I am encouraged to make this a permanent part of my life.

I have struggled with weight problems for most of my life but especially after I quit competing in football after college. I left football but never left the training table. I have been on diets like Atkins, South Beach, low fat, low carb, low glycemic, Usana, HCG, man that was a tough one!, and others. All worked for a time in my life but not permanently. In 2002 I had gastric bypass surgery. I was 436 lbs prior to that surgery and got down to 270 lbs before I started gaining the weight back. I have recently been as high as 365 lbs and decided I needed to make a change.

Always before my attitude had been that if I could just lose the weight, then I would begin to exercise and keep it off. I never thought in terms of permanent changes in my dietary habits. I wanted to eat everything that struck me and then just exercise it off daily. There are problems with this attitude though. The main problem being that it just didn't work. What is the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. As I have gotten older I realize that my body will not respond to exercise alone for weight loss anymore. I have also found through study and experience that our bodies need nutrition to help fight debilitating diseases, and regardless of how much we workout, without proper nutrition we are going to fight disease more and more as we get older. Another problem with my philosophy on weight loss is that I never really seemed to get the time to exercise regularly. I have always like exercise. I want to exercise. I believe in exercise. But when do I do it. I always thought "well one day you will just start the habit, there will be perfect circumstances for it, and you will be a fit, if not pretty, person." These two problems amounted to one thing for me, I needed an attitude adjustment. I needed to give up the insanity of my diet and exercise philosophy and make some real and committed changes.

Since I have been married I believe I have gained over 70 lbs. My wife and I have both been college athletes and participated in sports in a big way in our lives. That is one of the main things that drew us together was our love for sports. We have both coached in High Schools for a combined 27 years or more. We want to continue this participation. We have three beautiful children, all under 5 years old, that we want to participate in sports. We want to be a part of that.

As I looked at Isagenix and reflected on whether I wanted to use this plan and product I thought about those specific things that are important for my family. I thought about my reasons for failure in the past and my previous approaches to this problem. I thought about my kids. I am in my mid 40's now. I cannot keep up with my kids. Even if I wanted to I could not coach my kids or demonstrate anything in the way of athletic and competitive success. I can't even play with my kids. I determined after these thoughts that I would do this. I will change my approach and my attitude. I knew this would not be easy. I knew I would be hungry for the first little while. I knew I would get headaches. I knew I would be tempted. I knew that I would cheat.

My attitude had to be that I do not care about those obstacles. Being easy or hard would simply have to be a change in my frame of mind. It's a choice I make to be healthy, not a punishment. I would not look at food any longer as a have to have thing. I would remember how it makes me feel. Honestly, I feel like crap after eating a Big Mac even though I crave it like crazy. Why would I want to feel that way any longer? Being healthy would now become just that, a choice and not a punishment. I would determine not to feel as if I am missing something by this choice but that I am gaining something. That is a significant change in attitude.

If I were hungry because of these changes, I knew I would simply accept it. I would look at that hunger as a signal that my body was losing weight. My new choice was working. So if I am hungry then that is a good thing. Get busy thinking of something else and not about being hungry. It has worked!

If I got headaches I would think of them as another symptom of my health getting better. Isagenix teaches about the toxins in our bodies and how they have built up due to many environmental and health problems in our society. This was not a foreign concept to me. I had learned all about this in a former company I was with as well as in personal studies I have done. I fully accepted this and knew that the headaches would subside. So I simply looked at them as another sign that I was getting healthier.

Temptation and cheating are two things that in the past have ruined any efforts  made at changing my diet. I would be strict for the first little while on a diet, lose a bunch of weight, cheat once, still feel good, cheat again because I still felt good, and then eventually go completely off the diet. I determined that this time if I cheated, I would get back on the horse and continue with the new lifestyle and not make cheating a habit. I determined that I would make the decision ahead of time with regards to temptations. I would decide that when I eat out I would pick from the low cal, low glycemic menu options, and that I would drink water not soda before I even went out. Making the decision ahead of time has worked great for me. I cannot put myself on the spot in eating situations, I have to go about it thoughtfully. Keeping my eye on my health and my choices has made all the difference so far. Lastly I determined that if I did cheat I would not rake myself over the coals for it. I would not allow it to make me lose focus. I cheated, so what. I am still committed to my health long term and I will not allow a little cheating to throw me off. In fact I plan on cheating sometimes. It can be a huge relief and in the end a motivator. My next post will talk about the results of my cheating yesterday at a Memorial Day barbeque.

That was the other big difference in my approach this time. This time it is permanent change. I will make this my new life, not a temporary weight fix. I will find a way to afford this because it is my health and my family's health at stake. There is no other way. I need quality of life with my family and I will not have my kids taking care of me in my old age! I want to play with my kids. I want to coach my kids. I want to ski and boat and be active with my wife. I want to add quality to my years left on this earth and I want to provide the best for my family. Isagenix and this new lifestyle is the way to get it done. I am determined.