Image by Stig Nygaard
This is guest post from Chris Spann.
Last year, on March 20th, I drove the 4 miles from my house to my best friend Mark’s house. I’d made the journey countless times, but this time was a little bit different.
Why? Because I’d been made homeless. I was driving to his house because I was going to live in his spare room until I found somewhere new to call home.
What had happened was this: my long term relationship (of almost four years) had finally crashed into the ground, despite both of us doggedly ignoring the death knell for months. This meant that I no longer had a house to live in.
That night, I sat in my friend’s spare bed and considered my life. I was overweight, (well, obese), had allowed myself to slip back into being a smoker again, and I slept about 4 hours a night. I was a mess.
“Well”, I thought to myself: “At least things can’t get any worse.”
Obviously I spent the next few days doing very little that wasn’t crying or smoking, but once that was out of the way, I decided that it was time to sort my damn life out.
So what was the plan? Well, first I was going to lose some weight. I’d definitely allowed myself to become Fat and Happy, except without the happy.
The first thing to change was my diet, which at the time essentially consisted of bread, meat and Pringles; not a good combination. I completely re-wrote my day’s food intake, cutting out bread and dairy almost completely. By the time I’d finished, my day basically consisted of eating fruit, lean meat and veg, coupling this with fibre and calcium to help my body process it all. Gone were breakfasts full of sausages and bacon, replaced with fruit salads; lunch became jacket potato with beans or a salad, and my evening meals were now all hand-cooked from scratch from fresh ingredients – it’s amazing what you can do with a few basic things.
I also undertook a rather vigorous exercise schedule: to begin with, I made a point of hitting the exercise bike at least three times a week, thirty minutes a time. Now, that probably sounds like quite a lot, but if you think about the amount of time you spend sat in front of the TV each week, I reckon you could devote an hour and a half to getting a sweat on.
I’ll be honest with you, the first few times I did my half hour on the bike, it was a real struggle to walk to the shower afterwards – that’s how badly my legs were hurting. However, after the first week or two, I found that I was soon looking forward to getting home, sticking my iPod on and working my behind off – if nothing else, it was my opportunity to check out some new tunes.
So, what I’m sure you all want to know is; how did this affect my weight?
Well, after a week of doing all this, I stepped on the scales to discover I had dropped a whopping 5lbs – and over the next 26 weeks I lost an average of 3.5lbs – not bad going, I think you’ll agree.
One question people have asked me time and time again throughout my diet was this: “What’s your secret?”
Well, I’ll be honest: There isn’t one. It’s hard work and conviction that get you through and nothing else unfortunately, but once those numbers start dropping it really helps to motivate you – so you might actually find that the harder you work, the more committed you are to carrying on.
I know it sounds hard, like no fun; but I’m sat here writing this over 100lbs lighter than this time last year; happier and more full of life than I’ve ever been. I managed to quit smoking as well, and shifting the weight has helped my sleeping too – I now sleep like a normal human being again, rather than a few hours here and there every so often, as used to be the case. If you want my advice, it’s this: If you want to lose some weight, DO IT! I waited until my world had completely fallen apart before doing something; and I really don’t recommend doing it that way.
By day, Chris is a blogger and writer who has spent years telling people how to get cheaper life insurance quotes. By night, he is a keen cyclist who can often be found caroming down a hill in North Wales, or struggling to complete the hundred pressup challenge.
Wow! Very inspiring story. I’m glad you turned your life around. Not everyone has the motivation that you do.
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Thank you for sharing this very motivating and inspiring story. Glad for what you have achieved.
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Excellent post. I like what you told people when they asked you what your secret was. It’s the same with any other major achievement.
Successful blogger? What’s your secret? Successful network marketer? What’s your secret?
The answer is always the same. There is no secret. Do the simple things that work, and do them every day.
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very motivational post, very inspiring, we always learn something from listening to others stories, its a shame that its not untul we`re in dire straights or have something like a near death experience that we do something abvout it, glad things are better for you now, take care
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Thanks for sharing. It is motivational post. I remained always failed even to reduce 10 lbs of my weight and now I will run myself on your suggested track
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Thanks for the very inspiring story. I have no problem with my body, but for some people I think, it will be a great inspiration for them. Thanks for revealing your secret
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Hi there Stacy, I think that once we are motivated in something we really like to do and to be, we can have it. I think that the most important part of life is goal setting planning something that it good for us. I was really impressed about your post because it is really true, I really want to thank you for sharing this great article.
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Awesome post! Very inspiring story to read at, it actually made us to have motivation in our life. Thanks for this wonderful story!
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Thank you for your inspiring story. When a love ends is always a devastating situation…
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That’s a real inspirational story about losing weight. Thank God I’m not overweight, though I know how difficult is to lose weight. I daily go for jogging and do some easy exercise to remain fit and avoid any weight gain and till now trick is working fine.
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why is that that we always have to hit rock bottom to change our lives around, instead of counting the minutes and days doing what we should. You are awesome to picking up and changing your life.
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It takes a lot of courage to change your lifestyle, therefore I can say I really admire you. I like people who can find inner motivation to change their lives and inspire others.
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You should be so proud of yourself, Chris. You’ve done something that a lot of people couldn’t. Well done!
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I really amaze reading you story..Its an inspiring kind for me..Looking forward to lose weight also..
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Amazing success story. I promise to myself I can do it like you did
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What a truly wonderful story. I think everyone can loose the pounds if they think about it and take the action ! That’s a lot 100 pounds. Great job.
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I am happy to hear about your weight loss. This is such a good news, feel good story. I enjoy these success stories. So many people in my life, including me, have struggled to lose just a few pounds. You have shown that we can muster the raw determination and persistence to make lasting changes.
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Awesome story Chris. I would also suggest running as a great way to improve health/ lose weight as well. Thanks for the post!
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Very inspiring story! You’re right, sometimes we have to hit rock bottom before we are willing to change. I’m sure you’ll find a new girlfriend any day now
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You are awesome. I don’t know how hard you was fighting to able losing 100 lbs. For myself it’s impossible to be done.
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Fantastic story of success and inspiration.
Not all of us can be as motivated but it often happens when we get to a point of no return.
Kudos to you, Chris for going the hard yards and putting in the exercise time and effort to drop all that weight and be a better guy.
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