Before (201lbs)

After (188lbs)

1.       Motivation

By visualizing what I wanted to look like in a bikini next summer, as well as taking photos of my progress every few weeks, I stayed motivated to achieve my goals. I used negative feelings about my body as fuel to push me through my workouts on days I didn’t feel like going to the gym because I wasn’t seeing results fast enough. Since I decided to do a review on this program, that helped push me through as well. My friends on My Fitness Pal were also encouraging as well as family, friends, and co-workers.

 2.       Clean Eating & Supplementation

Clean eating was easier for me to embrace and accept as part of my lifestyle than it is for most people who have done reviews or made comments about the program. I honestly believe that doing further research on clean eating, and keeping a diary of recipes helped make eating clean easy and delicious. I also took supplements to help aid me in my weight loss. By paying attention to my body, I learned what supplements work for me, and which ones do not.

 3.       Attacked the Challenges

Although Jamie Eason asks a lot out of you, I did what I call “attacked” the challenges. I challenged my body and didn’t let pain get in the way of my goals. Towards Phase 2, people starting asking me was I a personal trainer. I never gave up. If I needed to decrease the weight to keep my form I did. If I couldn’t perform all the reps in a given set, I did what I could and kept a record of it. That way, the next week I could beat my record! I may have tweaked the workouts to make them doable for me, but I never gave up. I also never let the fact that I couldn’t perform the exercises like a pro in the beginning frustrate me into giving up on the entire program. I kept going, and built up to perfection.

 4.       Weekly Preparation      

Sundays was church and food preparation day. I went to church to clear my head of the week’s past, and prepare for the upcoming week mentally and spiritually. I prepared foods such as Turkey Chili, Italian Turkey Burgers, protein bars, and made sure my refrigerator was stocked with fresh fruit and vegetables for something quick to snack on. Using My Fitness Pal really helped me to pre-plan my meals, keep track of my caloric intake, as well as track my progress.

 5.       Realistic expectations

My goal when I first started the Live Fit program was to lose 61 pounds. The Live Fit program is twelve weeks long, and I started the program in September 2012. Therefore, there was no way I could expect to drop 61lbs in a three month period. Although I knew I would not reach my goal weight by the end of the program, I knew I had to start somewhere. I loss 13lbs on this program and dropped 4 dress sizes.