My Beachbody Bio

I am the son of a type one diabetic (my mother) and the grandson of a type 2 diabetic (my maternal grandmother). My mother is in good shape for a type one diabetic in her 50s, but suffers from several small ailments (at least she doesn’t let on that they are serious…). After years of being overweight, improvements in her health have let my maternal grandmother improve her weight and her quality of life. Health has always been a major issue right smack in the middle of my life.

On my father’s side, my father has been over 300 lbs for the last 20 years at least, reaching a highest weight of around 410 lbs. I barely remember the man in the old photographs who was handsome, strong, and fit. My father is a warm and strong man, but he still needs to lose weight. A few years ago, my father lost 100+ lbs over the course of a year with Weightwatchers. Later, he stopped, only to regain around 25 lbs. However, lately he has been getting away from his WW habits and is rapidly gaining weight.

What about me you ask? I have been big all my life. I remember being around 180 at 10 years old. I was always shopping in the “husky” boys department of the stores. Food was always a comfort in a split home, being shuttled between homes.

In high school, I don’t think I ever got to over 200 lbs because of a martial arts hobby, thankfully, however in college lack of organized exercise led me to gain weight, coupled with calzones and wings at the cafeteria. Still I didn’t gain that much until I graduated and went overseas to China as a brand-new Chinese/Business major… There, as a working man/stiff suit expat employee, I had money to eat and to party. I ballooned up to 220, then to 250 lbs. I remember trying to exercise, but it never lasted. Then later, I found an even better job as a manager for the guys who check shipments for quality problems (no suit required!). The factory bosses would take me out to lunch and dinner without hesitation. The food crowded the tables and the liquor flowed. I gained even more, getting to a 48 inch waist and more than 330 lbs. I didn’t actually know how much I weighed as my scale only went to 330 lbs. I estimate I have weighed as much as 350 lbs. I was addicted to online roleplaying games in my off-time, which was often for 10 hours a day. My health began to suffer greatly, which caused my work to suffer. This became my rock bottom. I was laid off and returned to the United States with my wife.

I joined Weightwatchers, inspired by my father’s previous success and he joined me for a time as well. I joined at 332 lbs, and seven months later, I had lost weight to get to 257 lbs. I rejoined at my old kungfu school, which helped greatly with exercise and discipline. However, my discipline was not complete. Life was hard and finding work harder, I fell back into smoking, overeating, left Weightwatchers, and suffered from depression. I regained up to 310 or so in a few months.

Then one day I watched a P90X infomercial and I was very much attracted to it. I had re-quit smoking by that time and my kungfu teacher had kicked my behind to restart my discipline. I needed a tool! P90X seemed to fit. I asked around with some online weight loss buddies and some of them had been doing P90X. However, at the time I felt P90X was too expensive. I asked around and found out about Team Beachbody Club Members getting 10 percent off. Then, one of my online buddies recommended Power 90 In-home Boot Camp as a stepping stone, so I bought it and was on my way! I worked out in the mornings at 5 in the morning, and did kungfu 3-4 nights a week. It really helped with my discipline, confidence, and my waistline. I lost about 20 lbs and my kungfu uniform felt much more comfortable. What’s more I could do pushups again! By that point my kungfu teacher, my Sifu, had enlisted me to help teach children at the school. I no longer needed to slink by when the kids needed to do their calisthenics, I could JOIN IN!

Now I have begun Power 90 Masters Series with some Stretch X and P90 Sculpt ¾ thrown in the mix. As of this draft, I am on day 9! The thing I love about the P90 programs (P90, P90 Masters Series, and P90X Extreme In-Home Fitness Program) is that it asks you to commit to 90 days. As new habits take 6 weeks to take hold, doing a DVD program for 13 weeks is a great way to keep a fit and active lifestyle. In fact, you can do them over and over, even switching between a wide variety of programs.

I have become a coach because I believe in Beachbody’s mission of eradicating obesity in America. I have been too fat to serve in the defense of my country for too long. I have been too fat to dance with my wife for two long. I have been too fat to properly keep my part of our apartment’s mess clean for too long. When living in China, I was considered a monster for being a fat, Caucasian foreigner. The next time I visit China, I want to be stared at for my muscles, not my fat. I want to be a shining example of what an American is and can be. For my country and for my family!