Greetings, it’s Motivation Monday, and I have a wonderful and inspiring story to share with you.
This past Saturday, I had the opportunity to attend a Beachbody Super Saturday event. Super Saturday is a quarterly event for current and prospective Beachbody coaches and customers to learn about the company. While it was great having a chance to connect with other coaches and previewing Shaun T’s upcoming new workout (it was awesome!), and learning more about building my own business, I had the opportunity to hear a few transformation stories. These people defied the odds and beat obesity. The most inspiring story was from Toby.
Toby has Becker’s Muscular Dystrophy and is confined to a wheelchair. When he was diagnosed at 6, the doctors said he would not live past 14. much less into adulthood. But here he is.
At his highest weight of 328, he had had 2 defibrillator pacemakers, struggled with arthritis. He had developed severe edema in his legs and it had gotten so bad, his skin had burst in places. He ended up having to wear these special boots at night that would squeeze the excess fluid out.
His turning point was when he had to get fitted for a tux and the man who measured him told him they didn’t have pants that big-he would have to get special ones with sliders on the side. Toby was devastated. He knew there was nothing he could do about his medical condition, but he had to do something.
He was watching TV and saw an infomercial for P90X. He had seen it before, but this time felt like this might be the answer. But how was he going to do P90X? He got online and found a woman who had MS and had modified P90X so she could do it. His co-workers laughed at him when they heard he was going to do the program-they had tried it and couldn’t do it.
He stuck with it, doing the modified program, even when he wanted to give up because of the pain and weakness caused by his muscular dystrophy, and his own inner demons. In 2 years, he lost a staggering 133 lbs! He has even managed to build muscle, despite having MD. His heart strength has improved and he doesn’t have to use the air boot for edema anymore.
This isn’t a P90X sales pitch. This is the story of someone who, despite the odds and the obstacles in front of him, decided he was possible. This is the story of a man who had lost hope and no longer believed in himself and managed to bury it with sheer determination. This man, who is confined to a wheelchair and suffering from a chronic and debilitating disease has improved his health AND his life by refusing to accept excuses.
And I’ll be honest and say his efforts make mine look puny so far! It reminds me that some of the biggest roadblocks are in our minds. It reminds me that Nothing is IMPOSSIBLE, the word itself says “I’m Possible”!
If you would like to hear more of Toby’s story, you can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2ZVsn7xxZo&feature=player_embedded
Or, read about it here: http://www.beachbodysuccessstories.com/p90x/im-in-a-wheelchair-and-lost-133lbs-doing-p90x/
Quit bitching! Get fit! 