Turbulence Training
Transformation Contest 2013...

This January I decided that I needed to make a change in my life with respect to my health and diet. I wasn't happy with what I was seeing in the mirror and with the way I was feeling. I had been reading up on health and fitness for months and I couldn't deny what I was reading anymore. All the experts seemed to agree that in order to trim down I would need to follow a diet that was based on whole unprocessed foods. I needed to eat foods that were as close to nature as possible. I also read that weight training was essential as we age in order to stop the gradual decline in muscle mass that occurs as we age. I had read "Wheat Belly" and decided that I would eliminate wheat from my diet for 30 days. At the end of 30 days I felt so good that I decided to make that change permanent.

Since the beginning of January I have essentially eliminated wheat and sugar from my diet. I thought it would be really hard because I am married to an Italian and my family likes to eat pasta about 4 times a week. I also make my own bread, but I don't eat it anymore!  Funny thing is that when I stopped eating wheat and sugar I no longer craved it! When my family eats pasta I eat the same sauce with spaghetti squash. I have learned that veggies are like apps there's one for everything. My personal trainer Shelley Turk suggested that I try Craig Ballantyne’s workouts and enter this contest. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays I do one of Craig's 24-7 advanced fat loss workouts and on Tuesdays and Thursdays I do interval-based cardio. I also attend several yoga classes a week for stretching. Guess what? I have lost 23.4 lbs in 84 days and a total of 17.2 inches!

Thank you so much for running this contest it was a great motivator for me. My mantra is 50 by 50. I want to lose 50 lbs. by my 50th birthday, which will be February of 2014 and I am almost halfway there! So far I have lost 9.5 inches from my waist. I need a new wardrobe. So happy to have finally figured out that you cannot outrun or out train a bad diet.

For anyone considering eliminating wheat from their diet, TRY IT, it is amazing. You think it's going to be hard, but eliminating wheat takes so many bad things out of the dietary equation that it actually makes things easier. As for the weight training it too is amazing. It has improved not only my physique but I notice increased strength in my core during yoga poses that require a strong core. It has also improved my balance.

Thank you Craig