Spread the word...

This overlaps the last post a bit. I notice day in and day out, more and more people who have been inspired by me or something else. I notice the growing trend of being green and being healthy. So I want to try something; I ask you, my constant readers, to spread the word. The word I want spread is; that I am here to help. I want to test with you: my closest friends and family with the eventual goal of this becoming a business.

What it is:
1. I will come to your home and detox your house and educate you on what is bad and what makes it bad...includes kitchen/bathroom/wardrobe (this is called cleansing).

2. We will go shopping and restock with the proper food to aid in weight loss and well being.

3. I will hold a 1 week boot camp (1 - 2 hrs per day) sometime in the summer which will give you the tools and experience a proper fitness regime.

Like I said, this is a test, I want you as my focus group to aid me in refining this program and if there is enough interest...well, the sky is the limit :)

If any of you are at all interested in trying this, please email me at: tdefrenza@thebrandfactory.com

You know what's cool?

Well, a lot of things are cool. But the coolest thing that has happened in recent times is that people whom I know who wouldn't normally excercise or eat healthy are starting to do it.

This is my version of paying it forward. I stated in a past blog that the biggest loser was the motivator to get me going...but, actually, it was my wife who first put the seed in my head. She always ate healthy and I didn't. It was her belief in what she was doing that inspired me and pushed me to be a little more healthy.

Last night, my dad and sister joined my gym. They both have their own goals and reasons for being there. But I LOVE the fact that they are there! I LOVE that I may have had something to do with them being there, and I LOVE that, along with my wife, my other sister, her husband, my sister-in-law and brother-in-law, we are building a strong support system of health and well-being.

I soon hope to have everyone be inspired by someone or something to plant that same seed so they can get on their way to reach their goal!

T

it's been awhile....

Although it's been a while since I've written an entry, I've been consistently keeping up with my routine... (Although YOUR routine should be anything BUT routine. More on this in another post). Let me tell you what helped me transform my self and my mindset:

It was a Saturday morning and I just woke up. Without getting out of bed I turned on the tube. (this story takes place shortly after my biggest loser inspiration). With the myriad of infomercials on tv at 8am, I happened upon a guy named Tony Horton and his brilliant program; P90X. Now, I am still unsure if my mind was already made up to change before I happened upon the infomercial, but let me tell you, that morning put me over the top. After being enthralled by watching, I was determined to start on this program ASAP!

I had the will...now I had the means. (but damned if I was gonna wait 6-8 weeks!) I went to my local mall and found an "as seen on tv" store and quickly purchased the dvd set, the recommended chin up bar and set of weights. I drove home with a huge smile on my face, I was like a kid on Christmas...until I popped in that DVD and hit play. HOLY SHIT!!!!!! that's right 6 exclamation marks! I literally died, came back to life and died again, all the while I was throwing up in between. That first workout was one of the, if not THE hardest thing that I physically ever did. But I got through it. Barely. That's the whole thing about changing your life. It's not the weights, nor the membership to the gym or that shiny new treadmill, it is the belief in yourself and the mindset that you want to change and that is what ultimately made me succeed.

1 yr later, I have finished the P90x program twice, P90x PLUS once, Insanity Once, I can do 50 push ups at a time and 15-20 chin-ups, I go to the gym 5 or 6 times a week, play soccer twice a week and I run a minimum of 30km a week.

YOU can do anything if you put your mind to it. Keep pushing play :)

how do you like them apples?

just ran 10k in 57 min 02 sec...without stopping or vomiting ;) next goal is to do it in under 55 min. this is the 3rd 10k i did this week and its only getting easier, but i do not want to get complacent, i wanna keep setting the bar higher. big goal for this year: run in the toronto marathon in october. there, it is now on record :)

by the way, the title of this post is in reference to good will hunting...will is from south boston, home of the boston marathon, where i eventually want to compete.

(ps. in order to compete in the BM I need to finish the toronto marathon in 3hrs and 10 min or less...CRAZZZYYYY!!!!)

up in smoke

Before I delve into my story of transformation I have to finish telling you how I got to where I was in the first place. Anyone here like spicy food? I do. In fact I don't just like it...I crave it. Writing this now is making my mouth water :P The reason I am telling you this is; more than spicy food, I loved a beautiful, comforting cigarette right after a hot meal....mmmm. Now, that would have been fine if all I had was one directly after a meal. But those who know me, know that I have an addictive personality and 1 quickly turned to 2, turned to 10, turned to a pack, finally turned to 2 packs (would have been more if there was more time and more opportunity to smoke). 2 packs a day! 50 cigarettes...looking at this number, I am dumbfounded and astonished at how much I used to smoke and how happy I am now that I don't. See, my decision to get healthier started with changing my mentality. But no matter how much you tell yourself, "tomorrow I will start to eat healthy" or "next week I'll start to go to the gym" or "today I won't smoke", it all means nothing until you actually do it. For me it wasn't too hard. To quit smoking, you can't be told or forced to quit, you have to literally make a conscious decision each and every time you have craving...eventually the cravings will be less and less. For me, all it took was an overly tight seatbelt and the inability to breathe that did it. I haven't smoked since. and that was really the first step to successfully living a healthier life.

biggest loser and the aha!

I'm a HUGE fan (pardon the pun). I started watching and became a fan years before I started losing weight. I watched in awe as these enormous people having the hearts and minds of lions, running marathons, working out 6 hrs a day, eating strict meals; slowly but surely shedding their old selves to become whom they always thought they were... I watched this with a tinge of jealousy, envy... I think it was, season 7 or 8 where watching it was no longer entertainment, but it became wholly relevant. Cheesy as it sounds, this show, was a massive inspiration to me and was actually the catalyst in getting me off my ass.

The Tuesday night after I was called obese (see previous entry) The Biggest Loser premiered, and if you are a fan of the show you know that during some commercial breaks, Bob and Jillian give; "trainers tips" one of these tips was literally, get off your ass during commercial break and do something...

So I did. Man, it was incredibly hard. I remember doing knee raises and sit-ups as a circuit for 5 minutes (try doing this after the blog) for me and my unfit ways, it was like trying to climb Everest. Let me tell you, the feeling that I got after I completed my 5 minutes was the same. It was at that moment that my brain was telling my body, "no more bullshit Tony, you lazy sack of potatoes...we're in it now, and come hell or high water, we gonna cause some ruckuss!" (I'm paraphrasing of course). But that was it... that was my "aha" moment.

anyone else want to share their "aha" moment?

it all began with...

Quickly, an introduction;

My name is Tony, I used to weigh over 250lbs, I was unhealthy and I was unhappy. This blog is really so I can get this down on paper, maybe inspire a few people along the way and hopefully release the demons that I have carried for so long...

It all began with... Christmas eve 2008. Gorging as usual. To the point of sickness. All the while, the voice in my head continued to give me motivational speeches; "it all tastes soooo good. It's ok, it's Christmas! People are supposed to gain a few extra pounds..." The problem with that logic was, I was already 246lbs.

So, Christmas comes and goes. Enter stage left; the wii fit. oh man!!! So, my sister in-law gets this as a gift. I think it was for her birthday that we all went over and tried this thing out. What a marvel of engineering! I loved it, until it was my turn... the damn thing called me obese, in front of everyone no less!!! I wanted to chuck this thing into the TV, right after I survived my embarrassment! This was my real low point. I knew I was overweight, like way, way, way deep down inside; but I never actually admitted it, not even to myself. But now, there was no denying it, I had this marvel of technical achievement, telling me, point blank; "YOU ARE FAT!" Besides being my low, this was also a big wake up call... enter stage right; the "new" me... 1 year later, don't smoke (yeah, forgot to mention, I was a 2 pack a day smoker), rarely drink (occasional glass of wine with dinner), and 70lbs lighter :)))).

This is about my journey, from then to now and where to next.

hope you join me.

Tony