- Brian Fitzsimmons, Revelation Fitness' new photographer, via text 7/07/2010
Michael's "Before" picture, from his Vision Board
"My journey to single-digit body fat began sometime in the spring of 2009, when I tipped the scales at 215 pounds. I was tired of going to the store to buy new jeans every month to accommodate my ever-expanding waistline and had decided enough...was...ENOUGH. I started exercising again and I was able to lose about 18 pounds on my own in roughly five months. That would have been ok for some people, but not for me; I knew at the pace I was going, it might take me another entire year to lose the 40+ pounds I still needed to rid myself of.
They say desperate times call for desperate measures, and seeking a personal trainer was in some sense a move of desperation for me.
Enter...The...Mariah...
As someone from an engineering background I like to think in numbers, so I dug up some significant "numbers" from my training log last fall:
Michael's scale weight on August 28, 2009 (day of my two-hour consultation with Mariah): 196.6 lbs
Michaels scale weight on November 24, 2009 (day of my "after" photo shoot): 154.0 lbs
Total weight loss = 42.6 lbs in a little over 12 weeks.
Yes, you read that correctly. I was losing MORE THAN THREE POUNDS PER WEEK FOR TWELVE WEEKS.
Now, let me be candid: this was the most rigorous training program that I have ever been through. And if you are reading this right now, I'd be willing to bet money that (unless you are a former Navy Seal or a former Division-1 college athlete), this is tougher than anything YOU have ever been through. There were days (especially in the beginning) when I would start PRAYING during a workout ("Sweet Jesus, please just help me get through this next set without vomiting!"). It was not uncommon for me to say "Praise Jesus!" at the end of another torture session (er, I meant "training session"). And besides the sheer intensity of the workouts Mariah put me through, I had to make some significant personal sacrifices in terms of my eating habits. But at the end of the program, I was in the best shape of my life (at the age of 34).
I asked to Mariah to be a drill sergeant on me...and well, I got what I asked for. I also asked for single-digit body fat...and I got that too.
So what did Mariah do for me, you might ask? Well let me tell you.
Mariah educated me on metabolic conditioning exercises (excruciating, but fantastic for burning away unwanted fat).
Mariah introduced some tweaks to my diet which were simple but effective in helping me reach my fitness goals.
Mariah taught me how I can get a quality workout at home with a minimal set of equipment (although I still like going to the gym).
Mariah taught me a few dozen other tips or tricks along the way which have become "habits" for me.
Mariah gave me an education which has continued to yield a return on investment six months AFTER I completed the original twelve-week program (I now write my own programs and make diet tweaks as needed along the way...something I lacked confidence in before).
Mariah helped ignite a passion for fitness that I didn't realize I had (pushing myself to my limits and achieving new milestones is more "fun" than I had ever imagined).
But the best thing Mariah ever did for me was helping me to BELIEVE. Once Mariah helped dismantle some mental barriers in my mind, the physical barriers became easier to break through. As someone who has struggled for years with unhealthy food addictions (and the accompanying struggles with the scale), I used to think that the dream of ever having visible abs was a little "unrealistic". I guess the world needs to get used to having one more person who is starting to set more "unrealistic" goals (not just in fitness, but in all aspects of life).
One last thought: as of this writing (July 2010) I'm about to turn 35 and currently training for a fitness model search competition. While leaning out for this competition I was worried I was losing weight a little too quickly, so I made a note in my food journal to try to increase my caloric intake the next day and to do less cardio. It didn't hit me until later in the day that I had just had a historic milestone: eating healthy food had become such a habit that I reached a point where I HAD TO MAKE A CONSCIOUS EFFORT TO KEEP FROM LOSING WEIGHT TOO QUICKLY. I've never, ever had that type of "problem" before...but I think I'll somehow manage to get used to it."
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