I surprised my family by losing 50 pounds!

On Wednesday, March 27, my family visited me from Utah. What they didn't know when they arrived, was that I had been doing Take Shape for Life and had lost some weight. They beat me home from school so I had my wife sit them down in the front room and told them that I had a surprise for them. I changed out of my scrubs in the garage (into something that was a little more form fitting) and I walked in to the room. My family couldn't believe how good I looked. It was an incredibly awesome moment.

My weight loss is now at 50 pounds in the past 11 weeks. It has been an awesome experience. I feel so good. I fit into size 32 pants now! I can't remember the last time that I fit into size 32 pants.

My family was so impressed at my weight loss that my mom and sister are now going to start the program. They will start the program when they return to Utah, but their food has now been ordered and they are ready to begin on Tuesday when they return home. I am excited to be able to help them get to their weight loss goals!

This is after 10 weeks of being on the program! 

I'm feel like I am living in a dream

I have to say that I feel like I am living in a dream right now. My mind keeps thinking that I am going to wake up and be the 220 pounds again, but when I wake up and get on the scale, it still is in the 170s! What a great feeling! Never would I have thought that I would be here ever again, but here I am.

Also, I have to say that I feel so much better with all the sports I am doing. I am actually a threat on the basketball court. On Thursday when I was playing I scored 14 points. That is more than I have ever scored in a game. Most of my points were on fast breaks too! That means I was the first one down the court. In fact, there was one time where someone on the other team set a pick on me when I had the ball and then told me he had to slow me down because I was getting down the court too fast. This never would have happened if I would have weighed 220. Plus I was able to play practically the whole game and was not nearly as tired as I was when I used to play.

On Friday night I played soccer. The position I play is goalie. Normally I have always played this position because I was not able to get up and down the field very well. I was never an incredible goalie because I mostly didn't get to the ball before they were shooting it and it would go past me way too easily. However, now that I can move more easily and have more confidence about my abilities, I was able to make some blocks that I never dreamed I would have been able to make. My reaction time is quicker and I was able to block almost 15 shots that otherwise would have gone in. We won our game 3-0 and I was so excited that I was able to contribute as much to the team as I did.

I really say that I am living in a dream because pretty much everything has become easier (even my pushups and especially my sit-ups). This morning I did 50 pushups and 50 sit-ups each one taking only about a minute to do. I used to hope to get 30 in one minute so I could pass my PT tests. That feels amazing to me.

Only 1 more pound until I get to my goal, but I may choose to lose a few more pounds to make it easier to maintain a healthy weight. I have lowered my BMI by 6 points already and I feel amazing! I am right where I wanted to be when my family comes down on the 27th of March. Only 2 more days until they come. I am so excited to surprise them when they get here. They have NEVER seen me this thin and I can't wait for them to see me again. What a wonderful opportunity I have to live the life I live!

This is me this morning after 10 weeks of being on Take Shape for Life!

Thank you Shantelle Flake (my health coach) and Take Shape for Life for helping me on this journey!

This was my beginning weight on January 13, 2013.

Today (March 19, 2013) I weighed in at a weight that would likely pass height/weight!

I COULD PASS HEIGHT/WEIGHT!!!

Today I hit another big milestone. The Army told me when I joined three years ago that I needed to be 179 to pass height/weight and not have to be taped. I had just assumed that I was going to have to be taped my whole life because 179 seemed so light and that I would never get there.

That wasn't true. Today I weighed in at exactly 179. I COULD PASS HEIGHT/WEIGHT!!! This is so exciting! Now I am only 4 pounds away from my goal and am feeling so good! I haven't hardly been tempted to cheat and go off of my program because I feel so great. I'm not hungry, I feel great and have more energy! What an amazing day for me!

2 Month Mark!

I rode my new bike to school today. What a great experience. Last year I used to ride my heavy mountain bike (plus my 220 pound self) to school. By the time I would get to school (or back home again) I would be exhausted. I did it several times and it never seemed to get easier.

Now that I am down 42 pounds (and have a road bike), it has become so much better. I felt like I could get there without a problem. It has been so awesome to have this experience. 6 pounds away from my goal and wearing pant sizes that I haven't worn since 8th grade!

Today marks my 2 month mark on the program Take Shape for Life. I have to say that it feels so good. I am weighing in at weights that my friends (who are skinny) weigh. It feels great. If you want to learn more about the program, feel free to contact me or you can learn more at http://www.davisaj.tsfl.com/explore/

So now I am starting week #8 in my weight loss journey. This week I hit a really important milestone. I broke out of the 190s. I haven't weighed in under 190 since I was in 9th grade. Also, today was a very important day in my weight loss. I weighed in at 185. This was a milestone that I determined was important because now I am only 10 pounds away from my weight loss goal. My wife and I determined that I would be able to buy a road bike when I got to this point so now it is time to go shopping. So AWESOME! If you want to know more about the weight loss program I am doing, click here.

Background to My Story

To give a little background to my journey, I have to tell my story. Starting in junior high school, I was told I was too small and that I needed to bulk up or I would not be a successful football player. I quickly gained weight to the point that I was bulked to the point that I wanted to be. I was exercising constantly and was very healthy. However, after high school, I was no longer exercising and I was still eating the same amount. I quickly gained weight and got to the point where I was uncomfortable with myself and my circumstances.

After I got married, my wife and I decided that it was prudent for me to join the Army. I met with a recruiter and told him what we wanted. He laughed at me and told me that I was in a hopeless journey. The amount I needed to lose was 25 pounds and with my timetable I needed to do it in a month. This was back in July of 2009. My drive allowed me to lose the 25 pounds in the months time, but it was a strenuous (and probably unhealthy) way to do it. I kept the weight off while I was exercising 3-4 hours a day. I weighed about 205 back then. Over the course of 2 years I was able to lose another 10 pounds. I was feeling good and was getting skinny weighing in at about 195.

After losing this weight I felt good and felt successful. I was feeling skinny and good about myself. In 2011 I graduated from Utah Valley University and commissioned as a 2LT in the United States Army and I was set out to Dental School in Arizona. I started dental school in August of 2011 and my exercise was almost nonexistent. My weight started to come back and when I got on the scale and saw 220 I realized that I needed to do something about it. I had always dreamed about passing height/weight in the Army but it seemed so far away (179 for my height).

Over Christmas break my wife showed me an email she had received from Shantelle Flake. It was talking about the health program she was coaching for. I gave her a phone call and she answered all my questions. This sounded perfect for me.

On January 13, 2013 I started my weight loss journey with Shantelle as my coach. It was a great start to getting healthy.