Insanity Results

Yesterday I finished up my last fit test for Insanity. I won't lie, there were times during the first two weeks that I honestly wondered if I would even make it to the last fit test. Unlike RevAbs, which I really, really enjoyed doing, I did not like Insanity. I was pleased with the final results, but I did not enjoy the journey to get there. When I finished yesterday, there was a big feeling of relief that it was finally over. Whereas with RevAbs, I was honestly a bit sad that it was done. Not so with Insanity. I could not wait for it to be finished :-)

But now that it's over I thought I'd share my results. Here are a couple shots with my fit test results attached at the bottom of each picture. I was very pleased that by the end I was able to keep up with the people in the fit test video in virtually every routine. And while I didn't reach my ultimate goal of getting my waist down to 36", I was only an inch away, I did manage to get my body fat down to 10.5% which I think is crazy!

And here are a couple pics of the overall progress that I made for 2012. Not too shabby I must say :-)

Round 2 of RevAbs Final Results

Yesterday was Day 90 of my second round of RevAbs so now it's time to share the results with everyone. For this round of RevAbs, instead of doing Phase 1, 2 and 3 from the "Basic" version of the program, I did  Phase 2 and 3 of the "Basic" version and then Phase 3 from the "Deluxe" upgrade version (Phase 3 is the only difference between the two versions).

For this round, I lost 32.6lbs, 4.5" off of my waist and 15.5" overall and my overall body fat % dropped from 22.5% when I started this round to 14.8%. For my overall numbers since I started the program back on April 16, I've lost 102.7lbs, 14" off of my waist and 50.5" overall and my body fat % has dropped 57% down to 14.8%. And now for the photo evidence, first off, the final results comparison for this round of RevAbs.

And here is a side by side progression look for the second round

And finally, a look at the overall progress from when I started back in April of this year.

RevAbs Round 2... Done

Today is my last day of my second round of RevAbs! I can't believe it's here already. I can remember ordering the product back in March. I remember planning out the menus for those first two weeks of the jump start diet like it was yesterday. Hard to believe that was 6.5 months ago. And here I am... a changed person... a different person... but still me, just a new and improved version :-) I'll share my pictures and final results in a couple of days.

I can honestly say it wasn't as hard as I imagined it would be, not that it was easy, but there were a whole lot less "difficult" days than I anticipated. I guess if you just really put your mind to something and give it everything you've got all the while believing AND KNOWING that you've ALREADY WON then it does make it easier. Your attitude and mental perspective plays a bigger role than you might realize. YOU choose how YOU want to live today. 

Mission Accomplished

I admit it. It was crazy. Maybe unrealistic to expect it but not unrealistic to achieve it. What I am talking about? I'm talking about my goal of losing 100lbs in 6 and 1/2 months. If someone would have told me that losing that much weight in that short of a time span was not possible, then who knows, maybe I wouldn't have been able to achieve it. But nobody told me it was impossible and guess what... I ACHIEVED IT! In fact, I did it with a week to spare! Here's my "to-do list" from yesterday with a picture of my scale added to it :-)

Could not have achieved this without the help of my Coach Brenna Smith, RevAbs, Shakeology and Brett Hoebel!

Is Your Heart In It?

Earlier today I started thinking about some of the conversations I've had with people over the last few weeks about losing weight and getting healthy. Lots of people have asked me how I was able to lose all the weight I lost as quickly as I did. And while there are several different things that contributed to my success such as a balanced diet with proper portion sizes that's low in sugars and (bad) fats, drinking plenty of water, exercising on a consistent basis while having FUN at it, and also being involved with some sort of peer support group, I think the real answer is that my heart was in it from Day 1.

Actually, my heart was in it BEFORE I started. Had it not been I doubt, no actually, I KNOW that I would have never started. For months, and probably even years, I knew that I needed to lose weight. I knew that I needed to get healthy, but I wasn't at a place where I was ready to make that change. My heart wasn't in it.

I think that's probably the most important aspect of the weight loss journey. Having your heart in it. See, it doesn't matter if your mind knows that you need to lose weight. As I mentioned, my brain knew that I was overweight and needed to lose weight, but it couldn't convince my heart to get on board.

Think about that for a moment. How often do we find ourselves in a battle between our mind and our heart.? And how often does the mind win? I'm not saying it never wins, but in my life, my heart tends to win out in those battles more often than not.

Once my heart was in it, everything else fell into place. My attitude about eating organic foods changed. My attitude about drinking water and giving up diet coke changed. My entire perspective about food changed. My entire life changed. Why? Because my heart was finally in it.

How Big Of A Challenge Do You Need? (Video)

Last month I started leading my second RevAbs Challenge Group but because it was a last minute decision to do so, not everyone who was interested was able to get the materials in time. So this time I'm going to put the word out much earlier. In fact, I'm putting the word out today :-)

Beginning on Monday, October 29th I will be starting up FOUR new Challenge Groups. Each one will be a different workout program, have a different purpose, and will be a different length of time. So what are the different programs, purposes and program lengths? I'm glad you asked :-) Here they are

1) RevAbs: 90-day Intermediate level program for people wanting to lose weight while also toning up at the same time.

2) Insanity: 60-day Advanced level program for people wanting to really tone up their bodies but not necessarily looking to lose weight (but if you are, don't worry, you can lose weight with this program too). I'll be going through this program with you and I'm gonna need all the support I can get too!

3) Slim In 6: 6-week Beginner level program for people wanting to lose weight and tone up but at a slower, easier pace than RevAbs or Insanity

4) The 10-Minute Trainer: 30-day Beginner/Intermediate level program for people wanting to lose weight and tone up but only have a very small window of time to workout. And you can do more than 10 minutes per day if you feel up to it or have the time. It may be only 10 minutes but it's no walk in the park :-)

And if you want to learn more about what exactly a Challenge Group is then just watch the video at the top of the page. If you have any questions you can reach out to me on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/bigbluehealthandfitness or you can email me at bigbluebarry@beachbodycoach.com.

RevAbs Day 60 Progress Report: Round 2

Yesterday was Day 60 for me in my second round of RevAbs and I wanted to take a moment to share my results with you. Since this was my second round of RevAbs I decided to change things up a bit. Instead of doing Phase 1, 2 and 3 from the "Basic" version of the program, this time I'm doing Phase 2 and 3 of the "Basic" version and then Phase 3 from the "Deluxe" upgrade version (Phase 3 is the only difference between the two versions). So today was the end of Phase 3 from the "Basic" version.

For this round, I've currently lost 23.2lbs, 3.25" off of my waist and nearly 11" overall and my overall body fat % has dropped 7% from when I started this round. For my overall numbers since I started the program back on April 16, I've lost 93.3lbs, 12.75" off of my waist and nearly 49" overall and my body fat % has dropped 39% down to 20.9%. And now for the photo evidence, first off, the Day 60 comparison for this current round of RevAbs.

And here is a side by side progression look at the 60 day mark

And finally, a look at the overall progress from when I started... looks like I might have grew a bit taller thanks to my better posture now :-)

RevAbs Challenge Group Starts October 1

I've been leading a Challenge Group for a little over a couple of weeks now and I have to say that I'm absolutely loving it! The group consists of some friends that I've known from as little as one year to as many as four years, all of us are also musicians too. I'm so proud of how everyone in the group has committed to not only doing a workout routine, but also committed to healthier eating. And they're sticking to it! 

And while every one has been doing a great job, I wanted to take a moment to give a shout out to Trent for the job he's been doing. Trent reminds me of myself in a lot of ways. First off, we're both big guys. We're about the same height and he started out at about the same weight that I did. After he completed the two week jump start program, he had lost over 16lbs and at least 8" overall!!!! But the thing that excites me the most about what Trent has been able to accomplish is that not only is eating better and smarter, he's actually enjoying the workouts AND he's gotten his family involved in the process. I have no doubt that Trent is going to be a Beachbody Success Story one day. In my mind, he already is.

So what that in mind, I'm going to be starting up another 90 Day RevAbs Challenge Group on Monday, October 1st. I realize that's a quick turnaround but I wasn't sure if I would be able to fit it in to my schedule. Well, yesterday I decided that I was going to make it fit into my schedule. So, if anyone is interested in signing up, I've got 5 slots available. Here's a link to the Challenge Pack you're going to need for the program.

http://www.teambeachbody.com/shop/-/shopping/BCPRA180?referringRepId=172968

Let's do this!

Behind The Scenes: The Making of the Progress Photo

So last night as I was reading through the various responses I got on my facebook page from the progress picture I posted yesterday I had an idea for another picture. A "making of" kind of picture. One that shows more of a "behind the scenes" look into what it took to make that progress photo from yesterday happen. And while there were lots of elements involved, it can basically be broken down into three things: RevAbs, Shakeology and hard work

#TransformationTuesday

I noticed a hashtag on Twitter today for #TransformationTuesday so I thought I'd put together a new Before and After shot to show what my transformation looks like after 5 months of my new lifestyle. So, here it is...

The more things change...

The more things change... the more things change... What? You expected me to say something different?

Before I started on RevAbs back in April I remember thinking that I was going to enjoy the cardio workouts more than I would the weight training workouts. And for the first month that was the case. Then when I got to Phase 2, the Cardio workouts were a little bit more intense and I began to prefer the weight training workouts more. Even though I was overweight, I did have some strength before I started so the weight training exercises were a bit easier for me to get adjusted to.

Now that I've started my second round of RevAbs I've noticed another change. While I still do enjoy the weight training workouts, now that I've lost over 80lbs, the cardio workouts are a bit easier for me to keep up with now.

I can remember a time when I used to dread the Rev It Up Cardio routine. It's basically 45 minutes of pure cardio. Now... I LOVE it. So much so that since Saturdays are my rest days, for the last two weeks I have been doing an extra session of it every Friday night in addition to my regularly scheduled Friday morning workout. This is something that I'm going to continue doing for the remainder of this round of RevAbs as in I move in to the last two months of the workout program.

RevAbs 90 Day Challenge Begins September 3, 2012

As of today I've now lost over 80lbs using RevAbs. Hard to believe I started this journey just over 4 months ago. Now I'm wanting to pay it forward so I'm starting up a RevAbs 90 Day Challenge Group on September 3, 2012. As of right now I've got 2 open slots left. If anyone is interested you can message me at my Facebook page or send me an email via my Contact Us page here on this site.

RevAbs Results Are In!

I completed my first round of RevAbs on Sunday and wanted to share my results with everyone. When I look at the before and after shots, I still have a hard time believing that either shot is real. First off, I just can't believe how big I used to be. And now I can't believe how quickly I was able to lose 70lbs! So I want to thank my wife, my Coach Brenna Smith, Brett Hoebel, the RevAbs crew, everyone at Beachbody, and all my friends and families who supported and encouraged me in my journey over the past 3.5 months. I could not have done it without you. On to the results!

For the program, I lost 70.1lbs overall, 34" overall from my body, 9.5" from my waist, my body fat dropped 34% from 34.2% to 22.5%, and my pants size dropped from a 48 to a 38. Those are the things I lost during this transformation. What I gained was muscle, strength, endurance, energy, and confidence.

Now for the photo evidence...

My (New) Beginning

I thought this first post would be a great way to share my story of where I came from and where I'm at now. It's been an incredible journey that I've been on and it's hard to believe that it only started a little over 3 months ago!!!

I'm a web developer by day for a radio station/publishing company in Nashville and I'm a music composer for film and TV during the evenings and weekends for shows such as the Oprah Winfrey Show, Dr. Oz, Nate Berkus, It's A Brad, Brad World, Duck Dynasty to name a few. I have a blog for my music career that you can find at http://blog.bigbluebarry.com. I've been including some of my weight loss updates on that site but I wanted to make a clean break and start a new blog that focuses on the health and fitness aspect. So here I am :-)