Lee’s story is inspiring, and I think many of us can relate to it. Watch his video and check out his story. He plugged in with teamRIPPED over 2 years ago when he began this journey, and what a journey it’s been for him! Congrats to you my friend!!! Keep bringing it!
Lee’s Story =
PART I: FATTY MCPHATT
Tired. Moody. Frustrated. Self-conscious. Angry.
Sad, hopeless, rejected. Ugly. Embarrassed.
These feelings and mindsets had influenced me far too long over the past 3 years.
Enough.
I reluctantly stepped onto the scale at the small gym in Forney, TX.
Disbelief.
I couldn’t believe the number staring back at me.
232 lbs?
Impossible.
I did not weigh 232 lbs. I mean, sure, I knew I had put on some weight. After all, none of my clothes fit anymore, but I thought it was because I had added 15 -20 lbs of adult weight.
“How have I put on 57 lbs in three years?”
“How will I ever lose this weight? Is it even possible to lose this much weight? How will I keep it off?”
All of these questions bombarded me as I stepped onto the scale again, and again, and again. “Surely, this thing is broken, right?” In complete shock, I slowly entered the gym and stepped onto the treadmill.
Running. I HATE running. But how else do you lose weight?
And that was the beginning of my imperfect weight loss journey.
PART II: AWKWARD & IGNORANT
I was at the gym 4-5 times a week, 1-2 hours a day.
It was torture.
I was losing weight, but it was coming off…so…s…l…o…w.
I didn’t know what I was doing when I was there at the gym. I was intimidated by the other men. They looked amazing and had a routine. I, on the other hand, made the mistake of turning to quick fixes from health magazines out of frustration. I tried to incorporate every suggested workout into my time at the gym. As a result, I ended up with Frankenstein workouts – messes of unrelated weight lifting and running sets mashed together that were completely ineffective.
In fact, I know now that they were doing more harm than good because I was often working out the same muscles group every day.
I was going backwards and didn’t even know it.
I was clueless about fitness and nutrition and my lack of results proved it.
One painfully-long year later, I was 30 lbs lighter and still 202 lbs.
But I was not celebrating.
My body was not what it could be. Knowing that caused me to do something I thought I would never do in my life.
PART III: LATE NIGHT INFOMERCIALS
I ordered a product from an infomercial on TV called P90X.
I must have watched the infomercial 10–15 times over the course of two weeks. I was completely captivated by what they were telling me.
“Can I really have the body I’ve always wanted in only 90 days?”
I mean, here I was, sitting on my couch and looked nothing like these people…and it had taken me 1 full year to even get to this point. Every time I watched it on TV, something rose up inside of me. I knew it would be the hardest thing I would ever try. But, I was fueled by that.
I needed a challenge. I needed a change.
So, I bought it. I was so excited.
This was it.
This was the key to unlocking my potential. I would finally have the body I always wanted.
But I made two crucial mistakes:
- I didn’t stay connected to anyone during my new journey.
- I flat-out-ignored the VITAL NECESSITY of feeding myself the right foods.
As a result, my first 90 days of P90X were just as frustrating as the early days at the gym.
I knew this feeling and I hated it.
Once again, I saw weight coming off (I lost 13 lbs in 90 days) but not at the pace I knew it should be. Like many others, I lived this lie: If I am working out, I can eat whatever I want.
Sure, I was making an attempt to eat better. But it was a weak attempt at best.
The breaking point came when I began to put on weight again during my second 90 days of P90X.
I couldn’t believe it.
“How can I work out EVERY DAY and gain weight?”
I was ignorant.
I thought I needed more cardio. After all, I thought that was the main way to lose weight: CARDIO, CARDIO, CARDIO. So, I bought Insanity.
I did all the workouts for 60 days.
And at the end, I had put almost all of my weight back on.
PART IV: THE TIPPING POINT
I was angrier than I had ever been in my life. I was yelling at my wife and little boy a lot, pushing my frustration out on them. Weeks of that turned my house into a hopeless atmosphere where everyone was constantly on edge trying not to make me upset.
It was miserable.
Something had to change.
I searched Google for “P90X results” and began to read and watch all the success stories. I devoured all the information I could find and compared it to what I was doing. I found a video of a man whose 90 day results amazed me. His story inspired me. I went to his website and found all the information I needed to make P90X and Insanity work for me.
I must have emailed him two to three times a week for a month. Each email consisted of 15–20 questions about why he succeeded and I failed.
He showed me the missing puzzle piece: Nutrition.
One thing this man emphasized continuously was eating right. He didn’t answer my questions like, “How much weight did you lift on the [insert] exercise,” and “How many times a week do you work out your abs?”
In fact, my questions showed him how lost I was.
He answered my questions with a simple statement: “Tell me about your nutrition.” I responded with a generic, “I try to eat healthy.” He had me pinned down. He uncovered why I wasn’t getting results.
I finally saw light at the end of the tunnel.
He pointed me to articles on his site to educate me on how to fuel my body correctly. His articles covered all aspects of nutrition, from what supplements and vitamins to use, to what ratios your carbs/fat/protein should be, to when to eat during the day.
Now, it was all spelled out for me.
All I had to do was humble myself and apply it. I had been preventing my body from changing. It was my fault.
My workouts did not make up for my poor eating.
This set me free.
And my body changed as a result…drastically.
PART V: FULLY ALIVE
It felt like I could do no wrong. The pounds seemed to fall off by the minute. Stepping on the scale was no longer dreadful. It was invigorating!
After a couple of months I decided I wanted to try on my favorite pants. They had been sitting in the back of my drawer for two and half years unused because I couldn’t get them over my thighs. So, I pulled them out. After I buttoned them and let go, they slowly began to fall off.
THEY WERE TOO BIG!
I will always remember the moment when I had to take them to my local tailor to get them resized because they were too big.
Combining the P90X/Insanity workouts with proper nutrition threw my weight loss into overdrive. All the endless months of frustration and the morbid emotions that come with being fat were falling off with the weight.
I was not only losing weight physically, but also reconnecting my body with a healthy mindset about myself.
My confidence resurfaced. I was reminded that I was alive for a reason and had powerful things to contribute to my family and friends.
Life was beautiful again.
It’s not that it had ever stopped being beautiful, but when the focus and priorities of your life are unhealthily focused on you, it blurs your vision. I was now dreaming about what I wanted to do with my life and soaking up every fun moment I could with the people I loved.
I gave people a reason to be around me.
I started sharing my story with my closest friends and connecting with people again. I joined challenge groups on Facebook (groups of people who do a Beachbody program together and keep each other accountable, motivated, and help with any issues that arise) and learned from these new friends how to maximize my results. They shared their insights on nutrition and the exercises and it benefited me tremendously.
I finally experienced what I knew to be true from the beginning: Beachbody programs (P90X/Insanity) work! But, I discovered on my imperfect journey that they work only in proportion to your eating habits. They work even better when you are bonded with a group of like-minded people that you can share your progress, pain, and story with.
I was proof. I had become the next Beachbody transformation story.
My friends and family noticed the changes, both physically and emotionally. The sense of pride and accomplishment that arise within when you are praised for your changes has no equal.
I was now inspiring other
PART VI: MAKING THE CHANGES PERMANENT
Months later I added another Beachbody program, Insanity: The Asylum, to my workout library. After I completed it, I was the most fit and lightest I had been since high school.
I weighed 172 lbs with a little over 7% body fat!
I had officially lost 60 lbs!!
As soon as I stepped off the scale, I immediately remembered how my journey began. I saw myself stepping onto the scale at the small gym in Texas. I looked into the mirror and said out loud, “You did it, Lee. You did it.” I will forever remember that moment, buck naked in my bathroom, grinning from ear to ear, and flexing like the whole world was watching.
But, I wasn’t finished. I felt like I had only just begun. Yes, I had my dream body. Now I needed to learn how to keep it and take care of myself…for the rest of my life.
For me, the true test began: Could I eat right and push play every day? Could I daily encourage and push myself to be the best version of me my circles of influence needed?
June 2012 marks one year since I completed Insanity: The Asylum and weighed in at 172 lbs. Have I learned how to take care of my body? Am I still enjoying the journey?
YES and YES! As of June 2012, I weigh 177 lbs with a little over 6% body fat!
I have also recently completed P90X2 and currently use it as my foundation for all my workouts. I own P90X, Insanity, Insanity: The Asylum, and P90X2 – I use them all and continually make new hybrids to keep my daily routine fresh.
Yes, it took longer than 90 days for my transformation.
But it didn’t have to. It shouldn’t have.
It was my fault, not the programs. Sure, I lost some weight and noticed minor changes in my body during the first 90 days, but it wasn’t until I locked in my nutrition and found the power of relationships that my results grew at an exponential rate.
I haven’t set foot in a gym since I began my Beachbody journey in April 2010. They are the only programs I use for my training. I don’t do extra running or weight training – just one workout a day for one hour (sometimes less!)
Now, I workout every day (one day is an active recovery day). Now, I eat clean every day. The best part is that I don’t miss one thing about how I used to live and eat. I have discovered that eating right is more fun than pigging out on food that damages your body. Focusing on others is way more fun than negatively focusing on yourself.
This is the way to live. Nothing else even comes close.
Need a coach?
My email: coachwayne@teamripped.com
IG: @wayne_wyatt
