I don’t much like people who talk about themselves. Bragging is really, really annoying and I stop listening. But, I must admit that talking about what you have been able to accomplish in the right way is a great way to inspire and motivate other people. That is the essence of the Beachbody Message Boards – not to brag, but rather to inspire.
In my world, most success stories revolve around losing weight and I find a lot of satisfaction in being able to read and hear so many great success stories. These are people that I see and work out with in the virtual SuperGym where I am a proud member. People are always upbeat and always trying to do their very best in every workout that they do. I wish that all of you would at least become a free guest member so that you know what I am talking about and can experience it yourself.
And so it is that I only offer a muted toot of my horn. Not because mine is not a significant success story, but rather because it is success story that far fewer people can relate to in a world plagued by obesity.
Twenty three years ago this month, I had a car accident that transformed me from a super healthy, elite runner to a sickly, whiney, angry guy who struggled every day just to get through life. After three years, 13 different doctors and botched treatments and a botched surgery, I was diagnosed with CFIDS – a chronic illness that was a side effect of all of the “mistreatment” that I received.
At my worst, I couldn’t walk up a flight of stairs. At my best, I was finally able to work as a personal trainer because the lifestyle gave me a way to be fit, since my ability to run had all but deserted me, and at the same time help other people with their fitness. But the overriding fatigue that I felt made life for me an act of will every day and that will was often tested.
Personal training, as I got older, was less feasible as an occupation and I turned to the Internet as a way to express my passion for fitness and as a way of making a living. I became a Polar Authorized heart rate monitor dealer and did my best to be successful. But that business, with it associated high level of stress, began to erode the gains that I made in my health and when it failed, I realize now, it was a very good thing.
So my success story began in late December 2006 when I heard about becoming a Beachbody coach. I signed up as a coach, bought P90X so that I could start working out at home and not have to beat myself up every day because I couldn’t run like I used to, started using Beachbody products, lowered my stress by becoming a coach and saw my health gradually being restored.
Now, just over a year later, I consider myself to be completely healthy. I feel no effects of the CFIDS whatsoever and in fact, at 57, work more than 60 hours a week, work out 6 – 7 days a week, take no prescription drugs and thoroughly enjoy my life as a full time Beachbody coach, supporting his family, including his 3 1/2 year old daughter Grace and 1 1/2 year old daughter Carly.
I hope that my success in overcoming a chronic illness will inspire you to overcome your challenges. Exercise and good nutrition and a low stress lifestyle combined to restore my health. It will work for you, too, if you are ready to make the commitment to change.
