#drop50run50

Drop 50 lbs run a 50K race!  Many of you may be wondering what am I up too?
After getting my first corporate job after leaving the Marine Corps and the fitness model world my lifestyle has drastically changed from running around all day to being sedentary to a chair and front of the computer looking at spreadsheets, emails, charts, graphs, and PowerPoint presentations.
As my new career emerged, my subscription to muscle and fitness and runners world has been replaced with PMI Magazine, wall street journal feeds, and Bloomberg news.  I’ve enrolled into a full-time MBA program and volunteered to serve on a Nonprofit Board.  As competitive as I am, there is no longer a need to be competitive in the fitness world but now my new sport is the world of business.  I was no longer surrounded by hard charging Marines and top fitness competitors but now with the best and the brightest in corporate america.

With a new lifestyle comes new habits!  I’ve started to drink coffee (a lot), fast food lunches, late night dinners, and time in the gym started to diminish.  In my first two years in the corporate life I’ve easily put on 50 lbs.  My cholesterol has risen to an all time high and started to feel joint problems in my knees and feet.  At first it was ok because many people around me are as unhealthy or in worse condition than I am. Despite feeling my all time worst, people in the office still looked at me as the “fitness stud.”

I suddenly woke and realized that my standard of fitness has dropped and that my performance was dropping with it. I was unable to stay focused and started to see that I was hitting that 3:00 pm wall and depended on more coffee to get me past the  day. After my day in the office was over my work did not end as I had MBA homework and squeezed in time for my volunteer work and networking activities.

I knew I need a lifestyle change as I woke up, looked around, and saw 95% of people around me are unhealthy and digging themselves an early grave.  The turning point came after Thanksgiving after realizing how sluggish I felt eating all the wrong foods I put into my body.  The marketing person that I am, I came up with a slogan to drop 50 lbs and run a 50k!  I’ve done body transformations before and completed full marathons but was never finished an ultra-marathon.  I attempted one ultramarathon and did not finish and until this day that moment of defeat still haunts me.

So there you have it, my #drop50run50 is my own personal goal for better health and to accept a challenge greater than myself.  I want to prove to myself and others that with mental determination and discipline anything is possible.  There is no award, medal, or notoriety after I complete my journey other than my own self fulfillment.

Finally I want to set the example for everyone who makes the lame excuse “I have no time to workout” that there is always time for fitness and it is a matter of the quality choice you make.  The busy schedule that I have, I wake up at 4:40 in the morning to get my workout in.  If I come home early and having nothing planned for the evening I will spend my time in the gym or complete a home workout.

I started #drop50run50 after Thanksgiving and already I’ve nearly lost over 20 lbs.  I am not following any fad fitness and weight loss programs but to simply eat more fruits and vegetables, drink more water, cut the unhealthy foods, and get into the gym at least 5x a week.

In the first month people are already complimenting my progress and noticed that my work performance and energy has been increasing and much more productive!  There is nothing special I am doing but simply set a goal, commit to my goal, and work towards it.