What inspired you?

[1fever]

Please, tell me a story people of Nerd Fitness. What inspired you to start on this path to a healthier life style and drew you in to the group? Was it a specific event in your life that made you click or was it something in the back of your mind that you had always wanted to do? I want to hear the story about your fitness muse, per se. As long as its not about Apple. Kidding, only kidding. But yeah, when did you say "enough"?

My story starts in High School and college. I mistook my ability to play baseball very well as a belief that I was "in-shape" or athletic. I went to college on a scholarship, hit home runs, threw the ball around 90 mph as a catcher. All on my God given ability. However, my success in baseball blinded me from becoming a true athlete. As a catcher I wasn't expected to run. So I struggled through running 2 miles and didn't even consider some form of workout other then what I was supposed to do because the team did it. This would be my downfall. I did not take care of myself and I regret it forever. I relied on my size to get me where I was and got hurt, promising career and scholarship over. So I join the Army and struggle through basic training, barely pass OCS and barely is relative since you have to run 5 miles in 45 min to pass. But I was in. "Who cares if I struggle with my weight I can still do my job," I'd tell myself. I'm extremely outspoken and likeable, hence why I never shut up on here. But I was still shunned, by leaders and my Soldiers. Even though I could pass the minimum, I could not hang. It was not the leaders shunning me that hurt it was the Soldiers whom I was to lead and inspire having to encourage me that made it click. So in December of 2009 I transitioned from reading MensHealth, and researching ways to be shape to actually doing it. Then people like Ryan Reynolds (who I have a totally hetero man-crush on) and Matthew McConaughey inspired me, not because they are muscle heads, but because they have generally healthy lifestyles. I made healthy friends who then made fun of my "unhealthy" love of all things nerdy. So in the process I thought hey I'm going to come up with a Fitness Nerd group because there must be those who think like me. So I Google it to make sure its not been done before. Damnit! Oh well, if you can't beat em', join em'. So here I am.

Now, I know there is a better story out there then this, and I am hopeful you all share it since I am constantly looking for new forms of inspiration. Steve's Epic Quest is inspiring. Your challenges are inspiring. So what inspired you?

[Gowaduv]

I did martial arts my senior year in high school and then for about 5 years afterward. There was definitely a bias against strength training- the fear being that any amount of added muscle would somehow make you unable to do basic techniques. This is complete and utter bullshhhh. Anyway, there wasn't a culture of fitness of any kind off of the mats, so when injuries occured or people stopped going to classes for whatever reason there wasn't any continuation of working on the physical aspect of the self- you trained and that was all. It's not unlike the culture that 1fever discussed with his baseball team: you do what the team does and that's all you do, there's no discussion of "more."

The instructor I was working with changed her focus to adopting kids, and had been reluctant to bring in new people because the training area was in her garage. So when she stopped, I stopped. The only other school that was reasonably close catered to kids' classes, and going from a school that focuses on using live blades and weapons to a school that I equated with an after school teen program wasn't going to work. In fact, that school brought me in a few times to instruct their black belts on weapon techniques. Anyway, I stopped in early 2001 after about 6 months of sporadic attempts at finding a school that would be suitable.

Fast forward to this past January. My friend says he's running the Warrior Dash and sort of goads me into signing up. At first I was like "whatever, I'll just show up." Then it dawned on me that it's 3.5 miles of running and obstacles, so my motto changed to "I'm not gonna die in July!" Now that I've been training for about 6 weeks I'm determined to complete the course in less time than my friend and all of his martial arts buddies who spend more time drinking beers after training than they spend on the mat. My highest weight was officially 323.8 sometime around Halloween, then it was 298 for a loooong time. I'm currently at 275.6 and am seeing daily improvements (even if that means just showing up and ploddingly moving some weight around instead of cancelling my training appointment). I also have a half dozen coworkers who are going to run the WD on the same day, and they spend most of their training time running which I know isn't going to be that much of a help with the obstacles. While they're running I'm lifting heavy things and jumping rope for cardio. I know I'm gonna have to get in a few runs to practice my gait so I don't injure myself, but being able to sustain activity for more than 10 minutes at a stretch is the current intermediate goal. But, the Warrior Dash is what got me into thinking about fitness, and the cerebral aspect of NerdFit is keeping it interesting for me.

Longer term? I dunno. I was thinking about entering the local Highland Heavy Games circuit in 2012. There are nine events between July and August in western Washington, northern Oregon and Vancouver, British Columbia. At least a couple of them have a novice category for unranked participants. I don't know if I want to get big like that, though.

[Speedy]

I never had much interest in physical activity growing up, I preferred books, TV and computer games. A couple weeks after graduating high school I get a call from the Marine Corps recruiter. By now, I had brushed off several attempts from the other services' recruiters, and was about to hang up on this one. But, somehow, he convinced me to come down to his office for a chat. He asked me a few questions, then his boss came over to look at what my answers had been and had the gall to tell me I shouldn't be here, that I wouldn't survive boot camp. O HO! Are you challenging me!? Gimme that contract! I'll sign it right now! One year later (I had already applied to college and wasn't about to put that off) I'm on a bus headed into Marine Corps Recruit Depot, San Diego. If you've seen any documentary on Marine Corps boot camp, it's actually much worse. The Drill Instructors are on their best behavior in front of the camera. Anyway, I barely make it through boot camp and I just kind of coast for the next 6 years. Can you believe it? Here I am, a card-carrying jarhead and I still have little interest in fitness. I do just enough to keep my Sergeants off my ass. Eventually, I become a Sergeant myself and I attend Sergeant's course in Quantico, VA. Now, the climate in Quantico is much, MUCH different than Colorado. Mainly it's the humidity, it kills me, saps my strength, it's kryptonite! Now, all of the students from Colorado lost about 2 minutes on their run time due to the humidity. Unfortunately, I was the only one who didn't have 2 minutes to spare. For the first time in my career, I fail the Physical Fitness Test. Of course, I got a stern talking-to from the instructors *cough cough*, and they helped me to realize that I'm a fully-fledged leader now and Marines lead from the front. How can I lead my Marines if they're out-running me and are 500 yards downrange? So, for the rest of the course I ran as much as I could and when I got home I ran some more. That year, I knocked off about 3 minutes from my run time.

[1fever]

@ Gowaduv I always wanted to get into martial arts. I am leaning towards Muay Thai because I am 6'3" and 245 lbs. There is supposedly a good school on Oahu that I will be looking at when I get back from Iraq. Plus, 15 years of catching has made my legs pretty strong. The Warrior Dash sounds like a lot of fun. I will have to check it out if its something they do nationwide. Good call on putting your long term stuff on there I'm gonna have to add mine now. Great job on the weight loss and good luck in the Warrior Dash

@Speedy I was wondering if we had any other service members but a Marine, never woulda guessed it. I didn't think you guys had fun. I was at Fort Lee for some training a few years back and I lead a Marine Platoon as OPFOR. Those were some hard core mfer's. Much respect for them and we actually had a blast. We had to tone it down b/c we were beating the Soldiers. Good times though. You ever been to Kaneohe Marine Corps base in Hawaii? The base is garbage but the Island is sick. Let me know if you head out that way. What kind of deployment cycle are you on? I'm in month 9 of 12 here in Iraq and man I'm tired of the rockets flying in. But yeah glad to meet you.

[Brometheus]

I've been heavy since I was about 10 years old, on thyroid meds for about 10 years or so (I'm 30 now), and just started really considering where I was going in the last three years or so.

Did two or so years in gyms (age 27-29), with associated trainers, spent about 5-6k on trying to get into shape. That didn't work, I couldn't lose weight if I tried (and wasn't willing to change my diet). I'm not sure if it was my attitude that lifting weight would fix all my problems, that bosu balls were the savior of mankind (no, they aren't), or that I really didn't have my thyroid med's under control.

I fired my doctor a year ago, and found one who was willing to work with me to make sure that my metabolism was up to speed (I know, bad pun). I started working out with kettlebells, but had a flare-up with an old shoulder injury. Fast forward several months and I'm 50 pounds heavier, but we (my doctor and I) finally figured out a good dose and now my metabolism is awesome.

I had some real issues with friends trying to pressure me into weight loss, but since nothing worked, I wasn't really motivated at that point. I didn't see how I could get out the trap with the usda recommendations, and wasn't enthused about atkins (who really wants to give up pasta or bread?).

I started doing a ton of reading regarding thyroid, paleo, primal blueprint, why we get fat, good calories / bad calories, etc. I figured out that I was killing myself faster than I could train my way out of the hole, and that I wasn't doing anything in my favor. I tried several different ways of accountability and support, but nothing was working with me pushing myself towards the goal of actually doing something. I always thought I could do a paleo diet, I just could never muster up the courage to actually start it, or stay on it...or do anything long term for that matter...

Fast-forward to about mid-december (I had discovered nerd fitness several months prior) and the whole travel hacking thing that Steve wrote hit gizmodo. Got me enthused about really doing this, and I remember reading about OMFG and hearing about some cool nerds on the forum. Decided to join the challenge ( a few days late, but oh well ), and get started on a different journey.

All of this story can only be a testament to the hell I found myself in, because the real inspiration was reading some challenge threads over the first couple days of my first challenge. I remember discussions about yoga, squats, deadlifting, snurpees and parkour. I thought some of it was insane (sometimes still do), but I remember thinking that these are normal people, who started where I am, and got where they were. So thanks to the rebels for inspiring me on the journey I'm on now

[CokeCanNinja]

In 6th grade I was bullied a lot because of my weight. So I decided to workout a lot so I could beat them up (not the right reason for getting fit, I realize). But back then I didn't know what to do, and I didn't realize the importance of diet. I'd try for a few weeks at the most, usually only a few days through, give up, feel bad about giving up, and eat to get rid of the guilt. However, I slowly started working out for longer amounts of time, and less amount of time in between. I actually found NerdFitness through ArtOfManliness.com because of one of Steve's guest articles. I left the site alone for a while, then something piqued my interest and I came back. See, I originally dismissed the site as a site just to sell the rebel fitness plan. Boy was I wrong!! I eventually found the beginner's workout and wandered over to the forum. That was December 17. The rest is history.

[CapN_Tommy_Sunshine]

The thing that really got me was a photo of myself that I saw. Halloween of 2009, one of my good friends got married, and there were a couple of photos of me hanging out with the wedding party (in Vegas, Baby!). I have been heavy most of my life, but I did not realize until I actually saw these photos, how bad I had let myself get. I realized at that time, it was about a year and a half until my 40th birthday, and if I did not change my ways I wasn't going to make it out of my 40s. I found this site through the Art of Manliness. It was still pretty new at the time, so it wasn't too intimidating to join a forum that only had 100 members or so. I did a lot of research on changing my life (like any good nerd would), and am pretty close to my goals (less than 3 months until Judgement Day (my birthday)). I may or may not be at my goals by then, but I have made so many positive changes, that I know I will be there. I found unconventional methods to be the most interesting (my leftover punk rock spirit, I don't like to be told what to do by "society"), and thus went paleo, and swing clubs as my primary workout (although I did just join a gym so that I can do deadlifts (Spezzy's crazy workouts are inspiring)). The most important thing is how much better I feel.

[Speedy]

@Speedy I was wondering if we had any other service members but a Marine, never woulda guessed it. I didn't think you guys had fun. I was at Fort Lee for some training a few years back and I lead a Marine Platoon as OPFOR. Those were some hard core mfer's. Much respect for them and we actually had a blast. We had to tone it down b/c we were beating the Soldiers. Good times though. You ever been to Kaneohe Marine Corps base in Hawaii? The base is garbage but the Island is sick. Let me know if you head out that way. What kind of deployment cycle are you on? I'm in month 9 of 12 here in Iraq and man I'm tired of the rockets flying in. But yeah glad to meet you.

I'm pretty sure Glenndingo is also a Marine. Unfortunately, I've never been farther west than Camp Pendleton in California. Also, I'm a career reservist (yeah, yeah, I know) so I'm not on any deployment cycle, we volunteer to go places and get shot at. I was involuntarily mobilized in 2003 for OIF, and again in 2004/2005 where I participated in Operation Phantom Fury (aka Second Battle of Fallujah). As soon as I get some personal issues worked out, I'll be raising my hand for the next available opportunity.

[Alethea]

I had always been inactive and unhealthy, as were my parents before me. I was a computer sitter, reader and gamer who never EVER cooked and ate chips, chocolate and lots of pop every day. I would occasionally try to run for longer than 2 minutes or lift a heavy weight, but always gave up after a few weeks. Fortunately, I am the gains-weight-easily type instead of the skinny-as-heck type, or I might never have changed.

Sick of being unhappy and not liking most of the life I’d built, I decided to Stop Sucking. I quit my dead-end job, went back to college for something that sounded more interesting, and joined a gym to get thinner. I was approaching things from the wrong angle, but I threw everything I had at it. I went HARD at the conventional, stupid style of fitness for over a year. 30-60 minutes of cardio every day, 2-3 strength sessions and 3 yoga classes a week and an average daily diet of 1200 calories (mostly carbs) resulted in losing 45 lbs, gaining a fair amount of muscle, endurance and agility, and a WHOLE lot of aches and pains. I could workout for 3 hours straight, but I couldn’t do a proper squat. It took up a lot of time and effort, I stalled out on progress, I lost a lot of friends due to my obsession, and I missed my nerdy lifestyle. After my poor starved body stopped gaining any strength or losing any weight, I was constantly achy and tired and my knees were wrecked from running and squatting poorly, I quietly stopped and sunk back into the life I left. I gained back 20 of the lbs I lost.

So. It was a few books that gave me a push, a little over a year ago. Fantasy books are full of strong protagonists, and they all determined their own destinies. I was sitting, wishing I lived in a book instead of my unsatisfactory life, and wondered if I was writing a story about me, who would my character be? Obviously, my character is intelligent, creative, athletic, cheerful, strong, determined, and weird as hell, so lets work on that. I did a TON of research on both character and health, which lead me to Art of Manliness and MarksDailyApple in the same week. Both very inspiring in different ways, but still didn’t find the push to embrace a fitness lifestyle fully.

AoM, obviously, lead me to NF last August. I was delighted to meet so many intelligent, creative, athletic, cheerful, strong, determined, and weird as hell folks who kicked ass on a daily basis, and decided I’d kick ass right along beside them. All in the same day, I read a lot of the website, a fair amount of the forum, posted an intro thread and jumped into a 28 day challenge (even though it started a week before). And haven’t looked back since.

[werwolf]

I wasn't inspired so much as diagnosed. lol

I was a thin (although always bigger than everyone my age; once a giant, always a giant) and active kid who suddenly started gaining weight as puberty reared it's ugly little head. Because I come from a family of obese people everyone just assumed that I was merely another fat child of a fat parent who hadn't taught me any better. None of my doctors (which I had many of since we moved around a lot) thought to inquire after my eating habits. If they had, they might have revealed that I didn't eat the way my family did. I wasn't the kid asking for a butterscotch sundae (that was my brother). I was the one begging for sprouts and kiwis. I was also involved in gymnastics, dance, and cheerleading. (Side note of shame: My cheerleading uniform had to be custom-made by one of the other girls' mother because I was already too fat at 12 to fit into any of the regular ones. Come to think of it, I believe my Brownie uniform at age 9 had to be custom as well, although that was a height thing rather than a weight thing. Nobody sane wants to see a Brownie in a mini-skirt.) There was even a point when one of my doctors asked if I had difficulty getting out of the family car because of my weight. (She had obviously not seen many fat-tacular children doing double-hook jumps or cartwheels the way I did every Saturday.)

Thus began the cycle of doctors who deemed me 'fat and lazy' (though, of course, never in that exact language for fear of litigation). I couldn't see a doctor for any reason without them bringing up that I was a fatty. "Yes, it seems you do have a sinus infection, but has anyone ever talked to you about losing weight?" Last time I studied physiology (and yes, I have studied physiology, I'm not an idiot like most of your patients), unless there are fat deposits causing the infection, I don't need to talk about it now either. ... Anyway, I bought into my own guilt. I completely believed that it was all my fault. I was fat because I was lazy and I ate too much and I was going to die young. And every time one of my friends would work up the courage to say "You know, for a big girl you don't eat very much," I would just shrug and feel a little worse about things.

When I moved to Glasgow for grad school and went from a completely sedentary lifestyle to having my feet be my only means of transport, and I watched all the other North Americans losing about 30lbs. each, I couldn't understand why I stayed exactly the same. I even mentioned it to my UK doctor, only to be recommended a stint with a 'Weight Management' group, A.K.A. Fat Farm. I couldn't think of anything worse than having to sit in a room with other fatties listening to them cry about how they didn't like themselves and having some condescending counsellor tell us that eating fish & chips for tea every night wasn't actually healthy. Ugh. Even thinking about it now makes my skin crawl. lol Because I knew I wasn't like that. I didn't hate myself. I had gotten over all that teenage insecure bullcrap years ago and embraced who I was. I just didn't want to die early if I didn't have to! (But, if I was going to die young anyway, I was gonna go out like a champ. Triple Whoppers all around!)

I came back to the US after getting two (completely useless, I'm very VERY sorry to say) Master's degrees and moved into my parents' basement because I was unemployed. I happened to mention to the doctor I saw there, while talking about Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome actually, that my hair falls out. It was the first time anybody said they words "thyroid problem" to me and it was the first day I had a glimmer of hope that maybe all this wasn't my fault after all. I got the blood work done (and was in abject terror that it would come back normal and I would never know why I was such a massive massive woman) and as it happened, my thyroid was busted and based on my symptoms it had been since I was a pre-teen. I started taking the medication and immediately began losing weight. It honestly still seems like a magic trick. Sure, I put in the work and I pay attention to what I eat, but I'd done that so many times before and gotten absolutely nowhere, that when I do it now and the scale says I'm lighter... I don't always believe it.

Even now I have this tickle of fear in the very back of my mind that this will somehow all go away and I'll be back to 'the old me.' I have trouble seeing the change in my body, but even more trouble FEELING those changes. I don't know if I can express properly what I mean by that. ... I still expect to look down and see my gut staring back at me. I still expect to have trouble finding a bracelet or a necklace that will fit. It's like when your pet dies but you always kinda think you're going to see them trot around the corner one afternoon. I'm living with the ghost of myself (and in all her old skin, which is point of annoyance if ever there was one).

But I come here to be with my Rebels and feel their sorrows and celebrate their victories. I come to share my knowledge and learn from others. I don't talk about fitness with anybody but you guys, so it's really nice to be able to say how much I love my gym or debate the pros and cons of carbohydrates with people. It's also nice to be able to throw in a good Dr. Who or Star Trek reference while I'm at it.

[1fever]

Very cool stories...thanks for sharing, I like seeing the success stories. Also on a side note I never put the 2 and 2 together on the Art of Manliness and this place. I have been visiting AoM for over a year now and it ranks up their with menshealth.com, askmen.com, and t-nation.com for my fill of manly websites. Small world.

[kahn265]

My initial inspiration - Fear.

Back in 2004, my (now ex) wife pushed me into getting Weight-Loss surgery. I did indeed loose 225 lbs. However, for as many things as I find got better, new problems came in. I'm no longer borderline diabetic with high-bloodpressure. However, I have osteopenia and iron-poor blood.

I noted in the past couple years, the weight started creeping back up. I didn't want to be in the position of being 430 again after paying the high physical price I paid and I was terrified. I started looking into what I needed to do to fix this problem. I tried basic exercises, but couldn't really find anything that stressed me enough to feel like I was making progress. So, I thought about it, researched, and found this site - starting with Steve's "Jedi" post on exercise. Further reading got me inspiration from Alecto and Tyler and 344pounds.com

So, my thoughts went this way:

1. I've always wanted to be a Jedi. They have strength and grace and are warriors.

2. Well, Military are warriors, what do they do.

3. Navy Seals do Crossfit.

4. Studied Crossfit diet and exercise philosophy.

I found the "Crossfit"-ish class at the YMCA and adjusted my diet accordingly.

[lwow]

Growing up, I was always bigger, but also into sports and very active, however my diet could have been better. Our kitchen was "the matrix" stocked with "healthy food" low fat, diet, and lite labels abound. We didn't have candy or sweets so when I could get them I would go completely overboard. In my first 2 years of college I was in the best shape of my life doing div I rowing, but still soft around the edges for sure. Then I got hurt and put on a ton of weight, and then lost most of it over the next 2 years.

After college I entered the corporate world doing graphic design at a desk 60-80 hours a week. I got rid of my car, so thankfully I was doing a lot of walking and doing well with portion control, but when my hours spun out of control to 80-100 hours a week and the company would feed us "for working so hard" I felt like I deserved to eat junk food all day, and I had no time (more likely energy) to work out.

I decided that job needed to go, so I went out and found a 40hr/wk with better pay. I switched jobs right around Christmas 2009. I wanted to spruce up my wardrobe because my new job is a little dressier, but nothing was fitting and I got a wake up call about my size. I told myself I would get right on that after starting my new job once the holidays were over.

I was given the real kick in the butt that got me moving when the person who I was closest to growing up told me that she has has had an eating disorder for the last 10 years. How could I have never noticed? And I started thinking about my attitudes toward food and realized that while I have avoided the any disorder, I really needed to rethink what role food has in my life. It is not a reward, it is fuel for the cool things I want to do. It is not something I should feel guilty about, it is wonderful to prepare and savor.

So I posed a challenge. I said we are both in a bad place, let's run a half marathon in June. We signed up and trained remotely and both completed a half marathon last June. It got me off my ass and got my friend a motivation to get her food in order so she could train. We are still both getting better.

I did a second half marathon in September and started to add work at the gym to my routine when I started here. In October of 2010 just when I was starting to lose focus on running, I was still doing a lot of reading about training, I found NF through a link on caloriecounter.com where I track my food. It was to the article about 67alecto (thanks for getting me in here you are a true inspiration) I read a few articles, found the forum, signed up and haven't left since. I have been lifting heavy for a few months now, I can run any distance (though slowly), I can deadlift more than half my bodyweight, and I can erg (rowing machine) as fast as I did in high school. My blood pressure hadn't been bad, but it's now 115/45 as of my last Dr visit. I've lost 20 lbs while putting on a great deal of muscle. I feel so much better.

Thanks for being an awesome community.

[Raincloak]

Hate to disappoint, but I didn't have a dramatic epiphany or a ton of weight to lose. I was slim to normal as a kid and not hugely athletic, but not completely inactive either. I was pretty fair at soccer and martial arts, but when the opportunity to do those things went away, I did not pursue them. I love walking and I still do it a lot, the hard part is finding time/excuses given my current location. As an adult I gained a little weight, but not enough for most people to notice. I still don't have a regular doctor, so there was no doctor to notice either, but whenever I got my pulse/BP checked it remained fine.

I just have an interest in food and health, and I ran across this website from a link on the NaNoWriMo forums, and a couple months ago I woke up and decided to get moving on a New Year's resolution I've had for a couple years now, but not actually stuck to before. Right now that particular goal looks about as far away as ever, but I have begun exercising every day or two, and I think I am looking slightly better (not enough that anyone else would notice, and it might still just be my imagination). I'm pretty sure I have gained a little strength, but how much is hard to say because I am not using graduated weights or timing my runs. I was already physically healthy so I don't really feel any better, and I'm still waiting for those vaunted mental health benefits to show up.

[Crowbeak]

I'm overweight, but I've always been comfortable with that. Not optimal, but whatever. Weird happenstance had me with an hourglass figure anyway. Like, I'm obviously overweight, but there must be going on here than just being overweight because for all that I weighed 275 for a long time, I never looked it. People are typically shocked when I tell them how much I weigh (though it's gone down, now). I didn't realize how odd I was until I found out that I weighed the same as my sisters now-ex-husband... and he's obviously very, very unhealthy. He's been compared to Fat Bastard from Austin Powers.

Anyway, I was trolling the internet to see if I could find an awesome jump rope routine to Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger and it led me to the What Would Daft Punk Do? post here on NF. I looked around and loved what I saw and decided I wanted to get in better shape.

In short, NF itself inspired me. xD Hahaha.

[mjmetcalf]

I got tired of being a fat ass with a bad back.

[1fever]

I got tired of being a fat ass with a bad back.

Good motivation...I like it

[Adonaijah]

I started exercising because I straight up needed the endorphins of a good workout to get out of an abusive relationship. Nothing sucks more than being a strong person who doesn't take crap from anyone to being someone who avoids confrontation and gets stepped on. So I worked out in secret. I literally was rebelling every time I worked out. Then I got out. Around the New Year I looked back at that relationship, and further back at who I was before it. I decided I wasn't going to be broken like that again, so I joined up here.

I have to admit, if it wasn't for the Beginner's Body Weight Workout, I'd still be a prisoner in my own apartment.

So, Thanks Steve.

[Crowbeak]

That's awesome! Good for you.

[sumdawgtwigg]

I saw photos of myself and I didn't recognize the person in them. I felt sick all the time and I was very very depressed! It's really amazing what exercise, diet, and dedication can do for you mentally and physically.

[LizLightshow]

What inspired me? My bad knee. I can't ride my bike because it hurts so bad. I want to ride my damn bike on the Cape Cod Canal again.