A Taste of Freedom!

It was an incredible summer, full of new adventures and breaking through self-imposed fears that limited myself from experiencing the fullness of life.

It started back in July.  My work asked me to go on a business trip. This was the first business trip I had ever been asked to attend, so naturally it excited me.  However, to get to the destination it meant I would have to fly, and since 2003 I had been afraid to fly.  You might think that is silly, but it had been a fear built out of anxiety based on previous flight experience.    

However, since I have been stepping out of my comfort zone lately, I accepted the challenge.  The amazing thing is that I actually enjoyed the flight.  It was fun!   I had worked myself up into a tizzy because of a bad experience in 2003 when our flight had to abort 3 landing attempts.  However, that wasn't what scared me the most.  What scared me was the change in pressure which was always painful and hurt my ears.   Further stories of friends that had ear drums burst did not excite me to get on a plane anytime soon.   However,  it wasn't really that uncomfortable.  I just drink lots of water going up and when coming down.  Problem solved.

At the end of July I received a call from my mother, asking me if I could help her share our superfood nutrition system with her friends in Newfoundland.  For the past few years, my mother has been spending her summers in Newfoundland.   If you have never been to newfoundland I would suggest you take a trip, it is breathtaking!   I never expected I would end up in Newfoundland this summer.

Climbing gros morne 

Normally I would never have considered the possibility of going on a trip like this at the last minute, but the prospect of doing something so out of the ordinary was exciting!   So I went, and it was amazing!

On the last day I was in Newfoundland, I had a brief whim that it would be fun to hike up gros morne.  Normally I would have left such a thought on the shelf, but I made it a reality.  An hour later I was at the starting point!    I only had 4 hours, so I didn't have time to make it all the way to the top, but I would do it again in a second!  Next year I plan to go back and finish the climb!

The symbolism of climbing the mountain is fitting for me this year.  I feel like I have come so far from where I used to be a year ago.   There is still much work to do in climbing the mountain, but the journey is exhilarating!   I call it a taste of freedom!   Freedom from my own self-imposed prison!

The Final Verdict

I officially completed the IsaBody Challenge!   I had to submit the final 'maintenance' photo by June 20th 2014.   That will allow me to be judged for Celebration 2014.   Anyway, here is a photo of the changes in me over the past 6 month:

I still can't believe I have finally obtained my optimal weight!  It has been a goal of mine since I was 8 years old!!

The main purpose for giving the system a try was to try and get rid of the 'love' handles around my waist.  I had tried everything to get rid of them.  Running marathons, training at the gym 6 hours a week and eating what I thought was healthy food from my local grocery store.  The closest I ever got is the picture on the left in December 2013 after going wheat and gluten free for 6 months.  However going wheat free was not a maintainable life-style.  It was just too complicated and time consuming.

Now I spend less time at the gym, and save time and money by using the optimal nutrition that the system gives to me.   It only takes me seconds to prepare and I have so much more energy!   I am so astonished by the results that I want to share it with everyone.

I truly see this as a gift and a great opportunity for anyone who is willing to take a look and give it a try.   If you want to give the system a try, just contact me and I will help you to get started!

Completed the IsaBody Challenge

I completed the 16 week Isabody Challenge!  I just updated the measurements for May 9th.   I have to submit Maintenance photos for the challenge on June 20th, so I will post those next month.

Here are the measurements over the time period:

	November 30th	December 13th)	January 13th	February 11th	March 20th	May 9th
Weight	168 pounds	160 pounds	155 pounds	153 pounds	150 pounds	152 pounds
Shoulders	42 inches	42 inches	41 inches	43.5 inches	42 inches	43 inches
Upper arms	12 inches	12 inches	12 inches	12 inches	12 inches	13 inches
Chest	37 inches	37 inches	35 inches	37 inches	37 inches	37 inches
Waist	31.5 inches	30.5 inches	28.5 inches	29.5 inches	29 inches	29 inches
Hips	39.5 inches	38.5 inches	39 inches	37.5 inches	38 inches	38 inches
Thighs	22 inches	22 inches	22 inches	21 inches	21.5 inches	22 inches
Calves	15 inches	15 inches	14.5 inches	15 inches	15 inches	15 inches

Most of you probably don't care about the numbers above, so here are the before and after pictures:

Before (Nov 2013)                                  After (March 2014)

Before (Nov 2013)                                   After (March 2014)

Before (Nov 2013)                                After (March 2014)

I am very happy with this transformation!  I never thought such a dramatic change could happen in such a short period of time.   Finally, I have finally found a way to take control of my weight and get healthier at the same time!    It has been so much easier with this system than trying to kill myself at the gym for so many hours without results.

The secret to an easy cleanse day

I have been using the nutritional superfood system for just over 3 months now, and I just completed my 2nd back to back cleanse day today.   That means I did two cleanse days in a row.   It was so much easier this time because I used a secret given to me by my brother.

Speaking of my brother, he has been using the system for about 2 months and has lost about 35 pounds.  I am so proud of him.  Even though I know he won't admit it to me, I know he is feeling much better about himself.   He let me in on his secret the other day while my family was visiting for March break:

It is the Energy Shot!
It works!  I had avoided doing a back-to-back cleanse day because my previous experience was very difficult on the second day.   This time it was a piece of cake!  I used 1 e-shot yesterday and 1 today along with the regular cleanse for life, and had ample energy.  I even went to the gym today with the intention of taking it easy, but instead pushed myself much harder than expected because I had so much energy.  That is amazing considering it is day 2 of my cleanse.  

The energy I get from an e-shot lasts about 6 hours, and I don't have a crash afterward.  It is not like having a spoonful of sugar that makes you energetic for about 10 minutes, and then feel like crap when coming down from the insulin response.  It is long lasting and does not cause a crash.    So thanks to my brother, I have learned his secret and will use it whenever I do a cleanse day.

Now you know the secret of an easy cleanse day!

Hmmm…..   I guess it isn't really a secret because it is listed as a cleanse day option on page 4 of the cleanse day planner…

The Smile

Since I started the nutrition superfood system 3 months ago I have come across a new phenomenon that comes over me from time to time.   It arises when I think about how the system has transformed my life and the lives of friends and family.  It shows up when I realize that I have been able to take control over a part of my life which always seemed uncontrollable.  It will often make an appearance when I find myself doing things I never dreamed possible.

I call it the Isagenix smile.

It is a feeling of happiness, gratitude, thankfulness, excitement and joy all put together!  I get tingles up and down my spine and my face breaks out in a huge smile!  It usually makes an appearance a few times each day.  Some days more often than others.  Some times my eyes even get a little wet.  Not something that happens to a guy like me too often!

I thought the Isagenix smile might wear off after a month or two, but it hasn't.  In fact, it is probably more abundant now than it was at first.   I am seeing lives transformed around me, and it is not just because of the benefits of losing a few pounds, gaining energy, or sleeping better.  When these transformations start happening people start to get more confidence in themselves, and then the belief starts:  It can happen!  We can step outside of what we have always known and go after that dream that may have seemed impossible before.

So when I think of these things, and what the future could hold, no wonder I can't help but smile!

The Image in the Mirror

I recently turned 39 this past February 3rd.   It has taken almost my entire life to get over the image of myself as being lethargic and over-weight.   Most of my acquaintances in the past 15 years would not know this about me.   I would often torture myself at the gym every day to keep up the appearance of not being "that fat little boy".  I let my self-confidence be government by the number that appeared on a scale.   I know it is not logical, but it was an image that built up over time based on a false sense of self.

I was always the kid that was last to be picked for the team sport event because I was overweight and slow.  I remember hating track and field day because it was a day of ridicule: I almost always came in last in every single event we were forced to participate.  My wonderfully optimistic mother would solace me by saying "someone always has to come in last,  so you helped someone else by being last  -you have a strong character so you don't need to let it bother you".    So I thought it didn't bother me, but somewhere deep down it did.

However over time I let this self-thought turn into a false image of myself.  I put myself in a box.   I struggled and fought to get out of the box, but I didn't realize it had always been opened.  I just had to turn around!  I no longer need to look at myself that way.  It is not the truth, and never was the truth.

This program has helped me to come to this realization.   It is like a mirror that has allowed me to look at myself from a different point of view.  When you look in the mirror, you see an image of self, but what is there under the surface?  It often takes stepping out in a new direction to see what is there.  I have started to take steps in a new direction and that has allowed me to see myself from a different point of view!

I wrote this poem when I was in high school which seem appropriate at this time:

Beauty is a mask that has been well designed:
but when the mask becomes
worn,
whethered,
and
wrinkled
it becomes transparent revealing what is inside.

Measurements Month 3!

Here are my measurements for the 3rd month since I started the program

	November 30th	December 13th)	January 13th	(Today) February 11th
Weight	168 pounds	160 pounds	155 pounds	153 pounds
Shoulders	42 inches	42 inches	41 inches	43.5 inches
Upper arms	12 inches	12 inches	12 inches	12 inches
Chest	37 inches	37 inches	35 inches	37 inches
Waist	31.5 inches	30.5 inches	28.5 inches	29.5 inches
Hips	39.5 inches	38.5 inches	39 inches	37.5 inches
Thighs	22 inches	22 inches	22 inches	21 inches
Calves	15 inches	15 inches	14.5 inches	15 inches

I initially started the nutritional superfood system to lose weight, which happened very quickly as you can see by the above results.   In January I switched my focus to use the system to help me gain lean muscle.  I worked a lot on my shoulders and chest over the past month, and it appears it paid off as those measurements have gone up!   I am leaner now than I have ever been in my life.  This program makes my life easier, and at the same time I am getting perfect nutrition!

Back in November I entered the Isabody Challenge which is a transformation challenge that occurs 3 times a year.  I am at about week 10 of the 16 week challenge.  I will continue to work towards my transformation.  It doesn't matter if I win the contest, I know I have already won.