I needed a life change. I needed to lose weight, become more active and mostly important --- I had to get healthy. I was in my early 40's and just became a dad for the 3rd time and I felt terrible. My clothes were tight, I was lethargic and I was tired all the time. I didn't want to walk upstairs to give my daughter a bath not because I do not like giving her a bath but because I did not want to climb the stairs. The final straw was when I bent down to pick up my little girl and as I stood back up, I became dizzy. Right then and there I knew I needed to change. I would be damned if I was not going to be able to pick her up. But, where do you begin? I was a high school athlete and for a long time I ate and drink what I wanted. I trained for my sports but I trained hard and I trained long and I knew I did not have that kind of time any more. In my late 20's I gained some weight and lost it by completing the Power 90 workout and sticking to a diet of brown rice and chicken. At 40 though, I knew I would not have the time to commit to 90 straight days or working out and my brown rice and chicken days were over. I knew that diet would not last. Tried low carb diets. They worked but could never stick with it and ended up gaining it all back. I knew I needed help. I knew Dr. Ryan was in the health business and so I decided to send him a Facebook message. We played baseball and basketball together starting in grade school thru high school so I tried him. I told him I was in a bad place health wise and I did not know if I should start with diet or exercise. He told me, diet "because you cannot exercise yourself out of a bad diet." That made sense. Plus, I became frustrated with exercise. Being 40 and weighing 80 pounds more than I did in high school, I still felt I should be able to rattle off 70 push ups without a problem---but I was struggling to do 7. I was on board with diet. However, their was so many diets---eats this, don't eat this, oh, you can have that, no you can't. I was tired of it. I just needed someone to tell me what I can eat and what I cannot. You do that and I will follow it. Dr. Ryan challenged my to the 30 Day Stark Naked Challenge and told me what I could eat and what I could not. When something was in question, I would email Dr. Ryan and he would say "yea" or "nea" to the food in question or even how to prepare certain foods. I completed the challenge and decided to continue the diet for another 15 days. In 45 days I lost 40 pounds. But, it wasn't the weight lost----I actually felt great. I had a ton of energy. Coming home from a hard day of work and my first inclination was to no longer go straight for the couch. I wanted to do things, fix things, place with the kids, etc. After 45 days, I went back to eating the foods I love and drinking the drinks I love (I love a good beer(s)). However, I only indulged in them when it made sense. For example, breakfast I always ate healthy unless we were eating brunch at a friend's house. Why eat a sugar cereal before work when it is just as easy to choose a healthy breakfast. Same with lunch. Dinner is a little different. I would mostly eat healthy but on pizza or taco night----I'm having pizza or tacos. On the weekends, if friends come over for a few beers---I;m having a few beers. But, if nothing is going on---no reason not to eat healthy. Dr. Ryan gave me a program that fit me, he provided me support and guidance through the program and it worked for me.
