My name is Mark Davis of Buena Park.
I saw a couple months ago in the Buena Park Independent a story about a woman that lost a lot of weight, and I used it to motivate my friends to make more healthier choices. Now that February is almost over, I am sad to see many local gyms starting to become empty once again, so I wanted to offer my own story, if you think it would help people to continue to be motivated.
My name is Mark Davis of Buena Park.
I saw a couple months ago in the Buena Park Independent a story about a woman that lost a lot of weight, and I used it to motivate my friends to make more healthier choices. Now that February is almost over, I am sad to see many local gyms starting to become empty once again, so I wanted to offer my own story, if you think it would help people to continue to be motivated.
At my worst, I was around 210lbs. Being 5’6″, that’s really no good at all. I had constant heart issues, a couple times of which I ended up going to the hospital for since I felt like I was having a heart attack with so many irregular heartbeats. Poor food choices (McDonald’s three times a day with a lot of ranch was my daily diet at my worst), and lack of exercise led me to that state of being.
In December 2011, I was around 195, and at a low point in my life. Recently single, unable to find a new job in the Orange County market, I decided as my “New Years” resolution to not “diet” or “promise to go to the gym more,” but instead to become the person I knew I could be, and take pride in myself once again. After a sitdown with my father, I signed up for the Camp Pendleton triathlon in the summer of 2012, and started my training on my own.
> I did not “diet” as that too often leads to temptation to return to “normal food,” nor did I use protein shakes or supplements, but instead focused on making healthier eating choices. Neither did I sign up for a gym, opting instead to start running around the block and using a used weight system I had at home in my garage. It was hard, very hard. In the first couple months I had a lot of setbacks; injuring my knee from running too much, and giving in a couple times and overeating. Each time I fell, I bounced back with that much more determination. I ignored the people in my life who kept trying to tempt me with the “Just one won’t hurt” logic, and cheered silently to myself as I lost weight, pound by pound, inch by inch.
The weight slowly came off, and I felt better with each pound shed. My heart issues went away, I wasn’t tired all the time anymore, and my skin cleared up. I found that, as I became more fit, I had more motivation to do good in other aspects of my life. Friendships became stronger, family bonds became tighter. Halfway through the year, at the end of April, I was able to use my newfound confidence to land my dream job, working for Goodwill Industries with individuals that have mental or physical disabilities, and I have never been happier.
Summer came, and, although I was deathly afraid, I went and tackled that triathlon. When my body felt like giving up, I reminded myself that the past several months had not been the work of a quitter, and I sure as heck wasn’t going to quit now, and so I gave it my all. The feeling of accomplishment was amazing, and I was even more deadset to continue my healthy lifestyle after that race.>
Fast forward to today, February 2013. I now lead hikes with people every second Saturday of the month, and help many other people on an individual basis to lose weight, hoping to share what wisdom I have acquired with others. I have also formed a team with coworkers to do
Tough Mudder 2013, and will be starting to lead training sessions regarding that event very soon. I did all this without the gyms, without the protein shakes, or other magic diet pills society tries to throw at us. Nor did I go to the gym for hours a day. I simply made better food choices, practiced portion control, and exercised for only a half hour a day, five days a week, which is what I still do today.
Some statistics:
Starting pant size: 36
Now: 28
Shirt size: Large
Now: Small
When I first starting running, I couldn’t even make it to the end of the block without stopping and wanting to puke from the pain, but now I can run eight miles comfortably without issue or even feeling tired.
Starting weight: 195 (210lbs at my worst)
Now: 139lbs.
I hope you may be able to use this story to help motivate people to continue to be fit and live longer, richer lives. If not, I hope it may have had some positive influence on at least whoever took the time to read my story.
