This post was written by Fit Dad Nation member Chris Rainey.

You may be in a place of doubt, fear and even hopelessness when it comes to your health. Or, maybe you have been making positive steps forward but need a little extra motivation.

Just a couple of years ago, I found myself in the first group. On and off, over the course of twenty plus years I had tried to get healthy, tried to get to get to a place where I felt good and didn’t mind looking in the mirror.

After failing more times than you can count you start to doubt yourself. You start to question your ability and that doubt can turn into fear. You begin to fear what your life will become if you can’t overcome it and become healthier.

You start to fear what your future as a dad and husband will look like.

Change Begins In a Moment

The moment my change began was a few days after my 45th birthday. I found myself in my doctor’s office for an annual physical and all was NOT WELL. I was busting the scale at more than 270 pounds and the future was not bright, as a matter of fact it was pretty dark.

My 47″ waist was as round as my 8-year-old was tall. My blood pressure and cholesterol were out of control. I was never diagnosed with sleep apnea but when you wake up in the middle of the night gasping for air you don’t need a doctor to tell you something is wrong.

My mind was in a continual fog. I wasn’t able to concentrate and focus which impacted everything from my personal to professional life. The list was long.

What Was I Thinking?

That visit only confirmed what I saw in the mirror every single day – the guy I was looking at needed to make some significant changes quickly. But the biggest thing I struggled with wasn’t what I could see in the mirror. My biggest obstacle was found between my ears – my thinking.

Food has always been my “go to” for comfort and quick relief in times of stress and challenges.

Life hasn’t been short on challenges and stressful situations to find lots of “comfort” in food. Late night snacks, early morning snacks, mid-morning snacks, afternoon snacks, fast food and junk food binges were the norm for me.

Many mornings I swung by the convenience store to grab a slice of “breakfast pizza” and a large diet soda – yeah, I said diet, because you don’t want to add unnecessary carbs and calories, HAHAHA!

And then, on the drive home, after a hard day at work, I would stop by the store again to grab a soft pretzel (my kryptonite), something sweet and of course a diet soda, HA! If you work hard you deserve to “treat” yourself – right?!

Decide to Fight

The “moments of change” continued to take place. I began making the right decisions and saying NO when I wanted to grab fast food to “comfort” myself. I made continual decisions to fight to change my mindset and I do mean FIGHT! I knew if I didn’t change how I thought about food, exercise and overall health the future was not bright.

I was not willing to let the middle of my life become the end of my life because of bad decisions and stupid habits.

Challenges & Transformation

I started making changes with my diet and began to exercise and over the next two years I lost over 50 pounds and almost 10% of my body fat.

During year one I started to make small changes in my health. I participated in a weight loss challenge and placed in the top 20 of almost 1000 participants. This challenge was a catalyst for me and as the year continued I made several small changes that added up.

Year two was pivotal. I got serious about my eating habits and embraced more of a paleo, ketogenic, low-carb lifestyle. I got serious about exercising, hitting the gym 5-7 days per week and working out for 1-2 hours each time.

Half-way through the year there was a psychological shift and I started to crave working out. I could literally feel a change taking place in my brain; the fog and unclear thinking started to disappear.

Even in the midst of a handful of sports injuries throughout the year, I didn’t stop. At times I had to take some days or weeks off to let my body heal. But, as soon as my body was feeling good enough to resume workouts I was back in the gym.

This year has been the third year of my journey. I started the year by joining four different health challenges; two twelve week challenges (Gold’s Gym and Bodybuilding.com), a six month challenge at my office and then a year-long challenged sponsored by 1stPhorm called My Transphormation Starts Today.

(As a side note from Steve, Chris won $10,000 and 15 months of free supplements as part of this challenge and the video can be found here. His announcement is around the 8:10 mark). Holy shit!!

All of these challenges brought me together with other people who are on the same journey. Each one at different stages but all with the same goal of becoming healthier. As a result of the challenges, community and commitment I’ve made to myself and those around me I’ve continued to see my weight and inches decrease and my mental health increase.

I’m more motivated than ever to continue to transform my life. I’m not settling with where I’ve been. I know I’ve got more and I’m determined to do whatever it takes to live my life with NO REGRETS!

I don’t want to stop continually changing my life and want to inspire and challenge others and let them know that transformation is within their grasp as well.

About The Author

 

Chris Rainey is a husband, father and grand-father (it’s true!). In addition to these amazing roles he’s also a digital marketing strategist, writer and speaker.

With more than 25 years of marketing experience he’s helped a variety of businesses (retail, publishing, apparel, media) grow their revenue and influence. And most recently he’s been motivating and helping people pursue a healthy life so they can experience a healthy career. Find him at www.chrisrainey.net

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