Before…
Mike was 230lbs, wore size 38 pants & had a 17.5″ neck.

Now…
Mike is 170lbs, wears size 34 pants &has a 16″ neck!

 
My story began five years ago. I was always big all my life but when I reached 325 lbs I decided it was time for a change. I drove by achieve fitness one day on my way to work and saw that they had a promotion set up for 100 dollars for the year. I called my wife and told her to sign us up. In a year I loss fifty pounds, (two dollars a pound not bad). The second year I lost another fifty pounds. Yes, this wasn’t easy. I was in the gym twice a day for four hours each day. The third, fourth year I lost another twenty five more pounds.

Now I am at 195 lbs and building muscle. My mile is around five minutes, my bench is around 375lbs, and my squat is around 800 lbs. when I started my mile was 15 minutes, my bench 200 lbs, and I never squatted in my life. Not so bad for an old man. Here are some before and after pictures. The before picture is after being in the gym for a year
(2006 already had lost 50 lbs) and the after picture is from Sept 2009.

 
I missed being energetic and I missed the athlete I used to be. In high school I loved being active and competitive in softball, swimming, field hockey and gymnastics. After college I continued to stay in shape by running, biking and weights. But life happens and twenty years later I was almost 100 pounds overweight with health problems. After several very frustrating visits to three different orthopedists, I decided enough was enough. The orthopedist said my ankle was gone and I needed it fused or get a total joint replacement. Years of stress due to weight had taken it’s toll on my other joints, too. The only way to delay the surgery was to lose a significant amount of weight. I didn’t want the surgery, so in May of 2009 I decided to change my attitude and my life. It was time to get the life back that I had slowly lost over many years of inactivity and not so healthy eating.
 
With that decision made, my eating got healthier in June and I joined Achieve 24 in August. I initially joined because it was close to home, fit my budget and had the right equipment.
 
I’ve stayed for the same reasons (and now that they have some new cardio equipment there’s no waiting for the treadmills). The atmosphere is a perfect fit for me too. People are friendly and most everyone seems as serious
or dedicated to getting fit as myself, so it keeps me motivated on days I just don’t want to put in that extra umph!
In October I had hit a plateau and knew I needed something different. I signed on for 4 sessions with the Personal Trainer. The trainer helped keep me motivated by defining short term goals, giving me new exercise routines (to decrease the boredom) and some nutritional suggestions to keep the pounds coming off.
 
As of today (June 9, 2010) I have lost 65 pounds and have gone down five sizes in clothes. But best of all my health is back on track and my ankle is much better due to the significantly less stress on my joints. I can do an hour of cardio without blinking an eye and walking up and down the stairs is a breeze. In fact, in May I ran all the way up the steps of Philadelphia’s Museum of Fine Arts – just like Rocky! I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished so far and hope to reach my goal by the end of the year. Wish me Luck!
 

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