Fighting For Fitness – Conclusion

 I would like you to take a look at the picture below. 

 

This is a picture of me and my then-pregnant wife taken on the August long weekend, just days before I began Fighting For Fitness.

Study this picture, it’s important. This picture deserves a lot more credit than many people will give to it.

I studied this picture for a long time after it was taken and gained a lot of valuable insight on that day. I saw myself in a state of health that I did not want to be, with my wife happy that our child was only months away from being born.

I knew that in only months, I would be welcoming a little child into the world. I also knew that I needed to be ready for that day and I needed to better myself so that I could be as healthy as I could for this young family.

For three months, I gave it my all; going to the gym four or five times a week, limiting my meals every single day, cutting away so many of my favorite foods, all so that I could achieve one goal that this photo showed so clearly.

I wasn’t just trying to lose weight for myself anymore. I was doing it for them.

This is the result of that effort.

This is a happy father, greeting his newborn daughter Paige Alexis into the world. This photo was taken on the day my daughter was born, October 30th, 2012.

It may look like I’m carrying a little child in this photo, but I’m actually carrying the weight of the world. Paige’s entire world and the future she can look forward to is now dependant on the choices I make, the paths I follow. How I live my life will determine just how involved I can be in my daughter’s life.

Do I want to be panting and wheezing in the dust while Paige is running down the street? Or do I want to keep up with her on every single stride and not miss a single moment?

Fighting For Fitness has run its course. A total of 90 days have passed since I began the Fighting For Fitness program, a combination of a workout routine at Pro Fitness in Cranbrook and 90 days of the Isagenix program.

So the moment of truth has arrived. After 90 days, did I achieve my weight loss goal of 60 pounds?

Here is my current weight, as of Day 90 of the Fighting For Fitness program.

Day 1 – 260 pounds
Day 8 – 256 pounds
Day 17 – 248.5 pounds
Day 21 – 246 pounds
Day 31 – 242 pounds
Day 38 – 238 pounds
Day 51 – 231 pounds
Day 56 – 228 pounds
Day 90 – 218.6 Pounds
Total Weight Loss – 41.4 pounds

After 90 days of the Fighting For Fitness program, I only lost 41.4 pounds, a little less than 19 pounds shy of my weight loss goal.

At the same time, I don’t consider that weight loss to be a failure. I may not have reached my goal, but I lost over 40 pounds in three months! In a ninety day time frame, I lost 15.9 percent of my body weight. To me, that is absolutely incredible.

My overall weight is one number, but take a look at all of my bodily measurements. We’ve been keeping track of these measurements since I began the 30-day Isagenix programs. Although I have not been using Isagenix regularly for the last 30 days of Fighting For Fitness, I have still kept track of my measurements as required by the program.  

Another set of measurements were taken on Day 90. Let’s have a look at some of the changes from my last set of measurements on Day 51 and my first set of measurements taken when this program began.

Here are the updated measurements from Day 90 of the Fighting For Fitness program.

 

Jeff Johnson – Starting Stats – Fighting For Fitness Day 1 to Day 51 to Day 90

Height – 5’11″
Weight – 260 pounds -\-> 231 pounds -> 218.6 pounds – 41.4 pound total loss!
Neck – 17.5 inches -\-> 15.5 inches -> 15.5 inches – 2 inch total loss!
Upper Arms – 16.25 inches –\> 14 inches -> 14 inches – 2.25 inch total loss!
Chest – 47 inches –\-> 43.75 inches -> 43.5 inches - 3.5 inch total loss!
Diaphragm – 42 inches –\-> 36.5 inches -> 36 inches - 6 inch total loss!
Waist – 45 inches –\-> 40.5 inches -> 39.5 inches -  5.5 inch total loss!
Abdomen – 46 inches –\-> 38 inches -> 38 inches - 8 inch total loss!
Buttocks – 49.5 inches –\-> 45 inches -> 44 inches – 5.5 inch total loss!
Upper Thighs – 29 inches –\-> 25.5 inches –> 25.5 inches – 3.5 inch total loss!
Calves – 19 inches –\-> 16.75 inches –> 16.5 inches – 2.5 inch total loss!
Upper Knee – 20 inches –\-> 19 inches -> 18.5 inches – 1.5 inch total loss!

What these measurements show is not only was I able to maintain the losses that I achieved over the first two months through Isagenix, I was also able to improve in some areas over the last 30 days of the Fighting For Fitness program, proving that I have a solid grasp on how to properly balance my weight and maintain my losses.

If the measurements don’t give you an adequate picture, then take a look at my before and after photos, going from Monday, August 6th to Wednesday, November 7th.

The experience that I have received through this program has helped me level up my understanding of what is good for my body and what is the proper amount of food that I should be taking into my system.

Now that being said, I would be lying if I said that I didn’t enjoy some fatty or rich foods over the course of the last month. Without the Isagenix program, I have been enjoying foods like pizza and have had a beer or two here and there. But at the same time, I have been treating those foods and snacks as the exception, not as the norm for my diet. Having fatty foods and other treats are going to happen. What’s important is that you keep on a regular routine and don’t indulge all the time.

That being said, it would be shameful of me not to recognize that I didn’t achieve my goals through this program. There are still 18 pounds of weight that I have not lost that are keeping me from my goal of 200 pounds.

There are a number of factors that I feel went into me not achieving that goal in the time limit that I set. These are not excuses, I am simply recognizing some of the factors that slowed down my weight loss in the last month of my routine.

1. The sudden loss of the third month of my Isagenix program.

Unfortunately, I did not receive the third month of Isagenix product for the Fighting For Fitness feature. At first, this shipment was delayed due to monetary constraints. Then, the third shipment was cancelled outright. Not having the third month’s worth of Isagenix product was a game changing moment that forced me into a trial by fire situation. The benefit to this is that it allowed me to put my lessons to the test on proper eating without the Isagenix product. Given that I lost 8 pounds in a 30 day period, I feel that I managed quite well without the full Isagenix program for the third month.

Financial constraints can happen to anyone and I totally understand when cutbacks have to be made. That being said, I am incredibly grateful to Rick Voisey and Kathy Proudfoot for the support they showed me through the entire Fighting For Fitness program. From supplying the first two months of Isagenix product to providing ongoing support and advice throughout the three months of the program, I have tremendous respect for everything Rick and Kathy did to ensure that I would achieve my weight loss goals.

2. Preparing for a new addition to my family

I am not going to say that having children can negatively affect a workout routine. My newborn daughter Paige Alexis served as my primary motivator to achieving a better lifestyle for myself. However, taking time out of my regular routine to get my house ready for the new addition, along with the time away from my workout routine close to my daughter’s due date, really hit hard when it came to the progress that I was making through working out.

I was no longer burning the extra calories through my workout routine as I was in the first 70 days of Fighting For Fitness. With the workout put aside, my body was burning only the amount of calories used in day-to-day living. That was a big impact to how much weight I would lose in the final stretch of Fighting For Fitness.

3. The cold weather

A regular part of my fitness routine was hiking in the Kimberley Nature Trails. This is a great outdoor activity that added an additional hour of cardio to my day-to-day routine.

But as many of you know, I live in Canada.

And as many of you know, it gets FREAKING COLD in Canada by the middle of October. This put a serious damper on the amount of physical activity that I could do outside as my body shifted to winter mode.

4. Personal Injury

While getting my house prepared for the arrival of my newborn daughter, I ended up getting the mother of all wood splinters in the index finger on my left hand.

To put it mildly, this splinter was about as long as my finger was wide. It took about two weeks to get all of the splinter out of my finger and for my finger to spot creating puss for the splinter festering in my finger.

Now I’m sure that many of the fitness buffs reading this article are probably thinking “Oh C’mon! Stop whining and get back to work, you big baby!”

You would be fair enough to think that. I was thinking that myself and was disappointed with myself at just how long it took to deal with this injury. The biggest problem was that a good chunk of my workout routine involved weight lifting of some form, which involved me being able to GRIP the weights as I curled, bench pressed, shoulder shrugged or whatever movement the lift required.

When you can barely bend your left index finger without pain, this has a tremendous impact on your grip in your left hand. This also means that the amount of weight that you can lift with your left hand is no longer equal with your right hand, completely throwing your entire lift off-balance.

I feel I made the right decision in cutting out certain workouts because of this injury, even though it is a very LAME injury to receive.

That being said, this didn’t cut out the amount of cardio that I could do or exercises that revolved around other body parts for lifting (ie. butterfly press, leg press, squats, etc.), so I was still able to do certain exercises. It did put a damper on my entire routine though.

When you combine all of the factors listed above, it is safe to say that not achieving my weight loss goal is pretty justified.

That and I did have a few splurge days here and there. I’m human, what do you expect?

Anyway, with all of that being said,  I never said that I was done trying to get rid of that weight.

Let’s face it, despite all the great advancements I have achieved in the last three months, I am still not at the level of health that I would like to be. At 5’11″, 218 pounds is still a lot of weight for a 27-year-old man to be carrying around.

I may look good right now, but I could look even better. That’s why I’m keeping this workout routine going. 

As of November 15th, I will be going to Pro Fitness in Cranbrook and purchasing a gym membership. At that time, I should be used to the new commitments in my life of being a father and should have the time to return to the gym and get my regular exercise. I saw a lot of success in my time at Pro Fitness and I am looking forward to keeping my exercises going with the equipment and setting that Pro Fitness has to offer.

Also, while I will not be purchasing the 30-day Isagenix products in the future, I still intend to buy IsaLean Bars when I go to the gym to serve as supplements to certain meals and as a great source of added protein. My routine of buying an IsaLean bar before I began a workout and making sure I burned off the calories of that bar through my cardio alone worked wonders for my routine and helped in achieving the success that I have already seen.

So after 90 days of this workout routine, would I suggest that people try Isagenix for themselves?

Yes, I feel that Isagenix has a great range of products that will help in achieving your desired weight loss goals. That being said, I do not believe that all of the success seen here can be attributed to Isagenix alone. It is important that you keep in mind that a healthy workout is essential to achieving your weight loss goals.

This could be anything from going to the gym 3-4 times a week, or buying a membership at your local YMCA and swimming laps in the pool 3-4 times a week, or going for regular walks and bike rides. Everyone’s style of working out is entirely different. What works for me may not work for you.

The important thing to remember is the old mantra from Body Break, that TV informercial with Hal Johnson and Joanne McLeod… “Keep Fit and Have Fun.”

If you enjoy the exercise you are doing, you are more than likely to keep doing it.

The more exercise you get, the healthier you will be and the more healthy you are, the more likely you are to enjoy physical activity.

Keeping that in mind with your exercise will produce a self-replenishing mental state that will only improve your well-being through physical activity.

I would like to thank you for following my journey to better health. the Fighting For Fitness feature may be coming to a close, but my fight for fitness is just getting started.

Fighting For Fitness was brought to you by Pro Fitness of Cranbrook and Independent Isagenix Consultant Rick Voisey.

Remember, if you are planning to begin any sort of dietary program or exercise routine, always consult your physician first. Make sure the program you are doing is the right one for you.

Fighting For Fitness documents my results through Pro Fitness and Isagenix to show just what this program can accomplish.

What may work for me may not work for your own personal weight goals, so be sure to research the options that are available to you.