I just felt like running...

**Preface: This post features pictures for the sole purpose of showing how exercise and diet can change a person's body...they just happen to be of me.**

...It is an ordinary Saturday night in the summer of 2004. A young man sits, anxiously yet patiently waiting. He has just popped in a DVD and opened the first of many carbonated beverages. "Where is it?" he thought. Though he's slow to anger he starts to get a tad perturbed. Just then he sees his new friend pull into the driveway. Un-paralleled excitement fills the air as he goes to open the door. "Hey, how are ya? Here ya go...it'll be $22.05." "Thanks man...keep the change!" The young man's night was now set...he had his "Matty Special" (2 pizzas) and he was now able to enjoy his night...

The above story is a very simple example of many, many, many nights in my life. I used to eat an enormous amount of food and didn't much care for exercise. Sure, I would play an occasional game of basketball but did not have any discipline in my life. This lifestyle stuck with me for years. I never thought anything of it and then one day...I got completely winded going up a single flight of stairs. I remember the feeling all too well. I tipped the scales at an all time high...311 Lbs. I knew I had to make a change for my own health. Here's a quick glimpse of the "before" Matty...

I thought about joining the local Rec Center b/c it was really close to my house and a tad cheaper than a real Gym but after a little research I knew that Lifestyles Fitness (now Gold's Gym) was the place for me. When I first started going to the gym, I didn't know much at all about fitness or how to properly use the equipment. I would sort of wander and try things out but got a lot of my knowledge just by watching others and how they did things. I gradually got into a groove and found what worked for me. I changed my diet and no longer let myself eat 5 pizzas a week and cut things like: soda, ice cream, white bread, cookies, candy and any other crappy food out of my diet. To this day...over 4 years later...I haven't had a soda, and I'm very proud of it. I found a new lifestyle and something that I genuinely loved and something that I was good at. The stairmaster turned into a literal fat-burning machine and no joke, I would go to the gym and would weigh 7-8 lbs less than I did the day before...it was working and I was hooked! I ended up losing 119 lbs in 6 months. I don't know if this is typical because I was very extreme with my fitness but I know that if my lazy butt can do it, so can you! After my weight loss I was a little too light. The next picture is the "in between Matty," when I was a little too skinny...

I went down to 192 lbs and my body wasn't happy...I became susceptible to illness and got mononucleosis and my body forced me to take a break. After a few weeks, when I was healthy, I went back into the gym and thought..."I need to start lifting and put on some muscle." I educated myself and used anything I could for motivation. It's so easy to just NOT GO but it was so important to stick with it. I'm not gonna lie, putting on muscle mass is not as easy as losing fat but it's equally as rewarding. Thanks to the many locations and convenient hours ;) I lifted A LOT and gradually saw changes in my body. It's so addicting because you start feeling so good and looking so good and I never wanted to leave the gym! Dang you fatigue! The next picture was about 9 months after the last...

Again, this post has two purposes in my mind...(1) exercise and health is vital in a person's life and (B) having a wonderful place to go to (Gold's Gym) where you can feel motivated and dedicated is equally important. I tried the whole working out at home thing but found that it didn't work the way I wanted because it's so easy to cut your workouts short and "cheat."

I never like to boast about my story but felt inclined to share a little bit in the event that someone out there may be motivated by it. If I can change my lifestyle and change my life then ANYBODY can! That's not just a cheesy/overused line....it's true! Whether you have 10 or 100 lbs to lose, find your motivation and you can do it!