180 Day DDP Yoga Update!

180 days.
6 months.

In the grand scale of life, 6 months is such a small amount of time. In the scale of my life, there has never been a more important 6 months that I have been through.

When I started this journey, I set a goal of losing 100lbs in a year. Here we are after 180 days, and I am down 129lbs. It feels like a dream. I don't know when I actually started believing that I could do this. Somewhere along the way, with the help and encouragement of all of you, I started to believe in myself.

If you believe you can do something, you are half way there.

I can't praise what DDP Yoga has done for me enough. It gave me a life line when I thought there was no hope. At 400 lbs when I started this journey, there was no other fitness program I could safely do. I could barely make it through the intro video when I started this.  There have been so many DDPY milestones along the way. Every time I conquer a move that I previously haven't been able to do, it makes that fire to succeed burn a little hotter.

For those DDP Yoga members out there reading this, last week I was able to grab my feet in human cannonball for the first time. THAT was HUGE.

I'm blessed beyond belief to have my life back. I just want you all to know that it has not been easy, no goal worth reaching is ever easy. I have heard a lot lately that it's "easier" for men to lose weight. I want to squash that myth right now. Men may be able to lose weight faster, but I can assure you there has been nothing easy about the last 6 months. Every day has been a constant struggle, a battle within myself. A battle to make the right choice at every meal. A battle to get my ass up, get on the mat, and put in the work. Thankfully I have had plenty of people willing to keep me accountable. A big thanks goes out to my DDPY family, and my amazing wife Amy.

That does not mean that this journey is over. I still have goals to hit, and a lifetime of keeping on track ahead of me. The difference now is that I have the tools to do it, forever. That is an amazing feeling to have.

If you are thinking about starting your journey, stop thinking, DO IT.  You can do it. I believe in you. Seriously. YOU CAN DO THIS.

Here are the stats for 180 days
Weight  268lbs!!!                     129lbs down!
Inches Lost                              76inches  !!!

I put together a little video of all my monthly pictures for the last 6 months. It's a pretty incredible transition. I hope you all enjoy it.


BE INSPIRED!!!

http://youtu.be/0PtrJzQuVF0

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog! Please share!
The blog is up over 5200 individual page views, that means we are reaching and potentially inspiring a lot of people!! Let's keep it going!

Until Next time

- MATT

Update!

Hey all!

Here with an update on my DDPYoga journey!
We are around 160 days in to our little trip to freedom here. Things are still going fantastic.

I'm beginning to branch out and try some of the more difficult DDPYoga workouts. It has been interesting so far. I have went away from the schedule I followed for the first 5 months, and moved to a four day a week workout system. It gives me a little more flexibility around an already packed work and family schedule.

The weight and inches continue to fall off. On top of that, my body is starting to show some serious muscle definition again. I'm still often surprised when I look in the mirror and see myself. It's really been a beautiful ride to this point.

My nutrition took a small dive for about 2-4 days, over a very busy weekend. We got back on track yesterday, and are looking to keep rolling on with it. I have found that occasionally my mind just needs bad food. I don't like doing it, and my body is quick to let me know it doesn't like it either. A few bad decisions and a busy weekend behind us, we look forward to the future again!

I'm honestly amazed at the number of people, that we know personally, who have ordered DDP Yoga. It's so awesome every time we get contacted by family, friends, or complete strangers about it. YES it works! YES you can have the same results. Just remember, DDPY is only HALF of the equation. You must, MUST be willing to change your nutrition as well.

I truly hope that those of you who were turned on to DDPYoga, achieve the results you are looking for! Maybe someday Amy and I will be able to post a blog sharing the success of folks we have inspired. That would truly make me a very happy person. I want to scream DDPYOGA from rooftops everywhere. It's a beautiful thing!

We are rapidly approaching a big update. 180 days of DDPY. Six months. I have already passed my original one year goal, and we are just about to reach the end of six months. Unbelievable. Truly.

I'm working on a special video for my 180 day update, as well as a videoblog that will hopefully be up this week. Amy will also be stopping by with a blog post of her own. She is still working on her mega nutrition blog(with recipes)!!!

I'm also now available on twitter!

Follow me at

@MattCoonce

For those of you who may not follow me on facebook!
Here is a pic of me in my newest clothes. When I started this journey, I was wearing a size 4x shirt, and 56 waist pants. I recently was able to go into a normal clothing store(for the first time in ten years), and buy these items off the shelf. 
2x shirt
42 waist pants
#BANG

Until next time,  OWN YOUR LIFE.

-Matt

Amy steals the show!

Hey everyone! I decided to steal Matt's blog for a few!  As Matt and I have had more and more success with our weight loss, we have had many people ask us about the way we've been eating. Since I have been the one basically in charge of the learning, buying, preparing, and cooking the food... I wanted to write something up to let everyone know what all I have learned. It has been an amazing journey, and I HOPE you all can take something, ANYTHING, away from this! I have been terrified of putting my story out there in the public, but if my story can inspire one person, then it will be worth it!

Hello, my name is Amy, and I am an over-eater. I have been my entire life. I remember times when I was 9-10 years old and my parents would take us to Golden Corral after church. I remember eating so much that when we would get home I would need to vomit. When a 9 year old girl has to unbutton her pants because it's hurting her overly full stomach... That's a problem. As every person who has struggled with weight, I have tried pretty much everything out there to lose the weight. The most luck I had had previously was on Atkins. I dropped over 50 pounds in about 5 months. The issue was, I was MISERABLE. I wanted bread so badly that I would actually put bread in my mouth, press it between the roof of my mouth and my tongue and then spit it out... True story. And because I was so miserable, as soon as I quit Atkins, I began eating like a horse and gained the weight back within 7 months. A diet that excludes a certain group of foods altogether will always leave you wanting it more. I also had a bit of luck counting calories. I began buying everything I could labeled "100 calorie pack".  I downloaded several apps, and would not allow myself to eat over 1200 calories a day. That combined with going to the gym 5-6 days a week, and I lost over 50 pounds again in about 7 months. The problem was that I never really felt that great. Sure losing the weight was awesome, and dropping that kind of poundage off of your body will absolutely help you to feel better, but I never felt like I had more energy really. Or like I ever fully was in charge of my eating. Sure I wasn't over-eating anymore, but I definitely was not putting the kinds of foods in my body that it needed to maintain the types of workouts I had begun to do. I got pregnant, and once the "100 calorie packs" were off of my grocery list, I began adding weight back quickly. Because I hadn't LEARNED how to EAT HEALTHY. .

DDP Yoga is FANTASTIC. It is PHENOMENAL. I could not sing the praises of the exercises enough. The flexibility is ASTOUNDING. The amount of cardio is INSANE. However, as a wife, as a mother, and as a woman who has been overweight nearly her entire life... I can honestly say that the things I have learned from DDP Yoga regarding nutrition, have absolutely been life changing.

We began with a simple challenge. No fast food and no soda for the month of January. Now that... was tough. The soda wasn't as much of a challenge for me as giving up fast food was. I am a mom of 3! Fast food was my life saver! After a long day there was nothing better than giving my babies a Happy Meal and watching them smile! Not to mention that there would be no dishes left to clean up! It was a challenge, for sure. However, I made the decision to feed myself and the kids before we left anywhere so that I wouldn't be tempted to give into the fast food monster! As the fast food addiction began to fade we decided to add something new to our nutrition. We added a fresh veggie to EVERY MEAL. Once we had accomplished that regularly we began switching our ground beef meals into ground turkey meals... We then traded all white flour products to whole grain... We cut out almost all white sugar... We began grilling our food 4-6 days a week (Matt looks good standing in front of a grill doing the cooking for me, jus' sayin!) Every time we had successfully made a positive change, we added a new one! One of the reasons I believe we have been so successful sticking with these changes is because we never went "cold turkey". We didn't just walk in our kitchen one day and throw out everything we shouldn't be eating. We never shocked our systems. We gradually weaned our bodies off of the junk, and it in turn showed us how much it had been needing the fresh things!! It is absolutely incredible just how good you will feel when you stop putting junk in your body.

I continue to learn new things about nutrition daily. Our new adventure is learning about the world of GMO'S and organics. An incredibly awesome thing happened a few weeks ago. Matt and I both received a phone call from none other than the man himself, DDP!! My conversation with him revolved mostly around nutrition. He emailed me a video I would really encourage you guys to watch.(watch it here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEVcLpMr4iU) It is the story of what GMO'S are, and what they are doing to us. When we began this journey, I thought the GMO thing was just a gimmick or a fad... It's not. Please watch the video, do some research, and come to your own conclusions! Educating yourself about something new is NEVER a bad thing! However, once again we are doing this gradually. Every grocery shopping trip I make I switch out something I normally buy, for the organic version! Some people say that buying fresh produce and/or organic foods is more expensive. Truthfully, some of it is. However, you will realize that when you combine that with NOT buying the chips, soda, cookies, boxed food, and junk... It actually levels out!! Your body will thank you. I PROMISE!

Now this part I believe is the MOST important part of our journey, hands down. All of the nutritional changes we have made for ourselves, we have also made for our children. My ultimate goal in all of this is to make sure that none of my children will ever sit in the back seat of a car at 9 years old, with their pants unbuttoned, trying not to vomit up their dinner. I want my children to never have to teach themselves to be healthy. I want healthy eating to just be... Eating.  When they are in charge of their own diets as teenagers and adults, I want the junk to just be something they choose to eat on rare occasions.  Ella has always been above the 100% at her check ups on height and in the 90-95% on weight. She has always been a big girl. She will most likely always be a big girl. My JOB is to make sure that she is never the "fat girl". Anyone who has ever been the "fat girl", knows what I mean. It is my job to help make sure that a group of boys never chases her around the playground chanting " 1-800-94 Jenny, you're so fat you need to be skinny!"......... It's funny how some things you just never forget...  I know I cannot stop my children from ever being bullied. BUT I can at least make sure that being overweight isn't the thing the bullies go for. In December at Ella's 4 year old check up, her DR informed me that she had surpassed a normal BMI and wanted to see her back in 6 months for a weight check. At first I dreaded it... Then our last 6 months followed and at her check up she was completely back to a normal BMI!! Just from eating clean and adding exercise to our families routine!! THIS is my job. THIS is my goal. I will NOT fail them.

I began this journey at 245 pounds.
I currently weigh 188 pounds! And I ain't stopping there! ;)

Matt has said it, and I will say it. I have learned to OWN MY LIFE. My children will learn to OWN THEIR LIVES. Please, PLEASE begin learning how to OWN YOUR LIFE! If I can do this... If we can do this... You can too!! Please go check out www.ddpyoga.com. You won't regret it!! 
Before                                                                        Now

Before                                                                  Now

150 Day. DDP Yoga update!

Hello Everyone!

Sorry for the delay in getting my 150 day DDP Yoga update out to everyone. It was a great weekend filled with family and fun.

It has now been 150 days since I started doing DDP Yoga. The results to this point have been beyond amazing. I'm still amazed at what I have accomplished in such a relatively short amount of time.
I never could have made this happen without the support of each and everyone of you.

To all the people who make it a point to tell me how happy they are for me. Those that tell me they are proud of me. Even those of you who admit the truth, and tell me how truly worried you were about me before. Most importantly, those of you who look past the weight, look past the new look, and see that there is also a new Matt in there.

One of my happiest moments so far was when the first person told me I looked happier, and that they could see I had more energy. That same person told me it seemed like I was so full of life.
This journey has been about SO MUCH more than losing weight. In the end, whenever that may be, I truly hope that people see the TOTAL transformation that took place in my life.

Life is pretty amazing to me right now. For the first time in my adult life, there is nothing that I can't physically do. My to do list has grown so large that I don't even know where to start. What I do know, is that I'll never go back to being that person again. Not physically, and certainly not mentally.
I realized this weekend that being unhealthy and unhappy had such a huge effect on my relationships with people. It made me a miserable person to be around. Before I reached that point, people enjoyed my company. This journey, this transition to being just Matt again has brought that back, and that alone is worth every bit of the work I have been putting in.

I have two special blog post that will be coming up over the next week or so. My amazing wife Amy is working on a guest blog post about nutrition, including some awesome recipes we have been using. I will also be posting up my first video blog in a bit. It will be a look back at the last 5 months of the journey.

Stats for the last 30 days.

6-15 weight 299
150 day weight 284
Another 13 lbs down! 

6-15 inches total 60.5
150 day inches total 66!
almost 6 more inches.

I'll be honest, the last 30 days has been a little tough. We have had events to attend and of course they all had great food. I was able to stop from overeating, which is amazing, but i certainly had one of my bigger food periods over the last few weeks. Time to clamp it back down on the weekends and shoot for 280 and below!

Keep on the lookout for the two special editions of bigmattgoesbyebye that will be coming out this week!

Pic time! Start and 150 day pic comparison below! Including a bonus pic this time around. The pic in the grey shirt was taken Christmas eve. 2010. It wasn't even me at my biggest. So i took a pic today with that old shirt on to see the difference.

-Until next time

Just Matt

The century mark!

Dear Life,

I own you. Period. There will never come a time when I don't again.


:)


Now that I got that out of the way, on to the fun stuff.

ONE HUNDRED POUNDS. BAM.

As of June 20th I am officially down 100lbs. That is A LOT. Just in case you didn't realize that.
Seriously.. 100lbs. Gone. That is more than the combined weight of all three of my children. I have no idea how I ever carried that around daily, but I can tell you how I lost it.

SHhhh.. wait for it. Here is the big secret.

First.... I started eating to live, instead of living to eat.
Second.... I got off my ASS and did something about it.


It's called OWNING YOUR LIFE, and you can do it too!!!

When I started down this path, my initial goal was to lose 100lbs in a year. Just 2lbs average per week, for the whole year. By the grace of the good Lord above, the help of an amazing woman(Amy), and the guidance of one awesome guy (DDP), I learned how to take control back. To fight the addiction that was killing me. Less than six months after I started, and 124 days after I started DDPYoga, I hit my goal that was expected to take a year.

It seems like it was forever ago, a whole other lifetime. I sat at the kitchen table with my wife, a very broken and scared man. Today I come before you as a new man.
Although this journey has been a lot about physical health, I can't even begin to tell you how it has healed me mentally. I have had nearly as many people comment on how happy and energetic I am now, as I have about how I look.

The even better news! I'm not done yet! I still have more that I want to accomplish on this path. I want to see 250lbs. I was extremely comfortable around that weight earlier in life. It's possible I could take it lower, I plan on shooting for it and seeing how I look/feel when I get there. That is my long term goal now. I WILL get there. My short term goal is to get under 280.

I hope there are still people out there being inspired by my journey. That is the only reason I continue to share this with you all. Although my daily battle with food addiction has become easier, I know it will never end. With that said, I no longer have a fear of a full relapse. It is a great feeling and a huge weight lifted off my shoulders.

If you are struggling with an addiction, poor health, or just plain laziness, get a hold of me. I'd love to chat with you and see if I can help you find the way to own your life. There is so much world to explore and so much life for us each to live.

Thanks again to everyone who takes the time to read my ramblings. I truly hope there are those of you out there who have gained some inspiration from this.

Until Next Time


-Just Matt  :)

DDP Yoga 120 Day update!!!!!!!!!!

Hi everyone!
Thanks for taking the time to look at my 120 day blog update since I started doing DDP Yoga!


It's been two weeks since you have heard from me. It has been a very busy, very fulfilling two weeks. From celebrating our five year wedding anniversary, to spending an awesome weekend at the lake this weekend with our family. I just haven't had time, but today I bring you a blog full of inspiration and awesomeness.

Friday June 6th, I received a phone call from a very important person. This phone call meant a ton to me. I sat for nearly an hour, in my office stunned after it was over. When I started doing DDP Yoga, I never thought I would be sitting on the phone speaking to DDP himself 100 days later, but there I was. It speaks volumes for the man that he took the time out of his day to call and talk to me. He also talked to Amy for almost an hour before he called me. Needless to say, it was a huge boost to my morale, and gave me the motivation to get thru two brutally tough weeks. Thanks DDP!



Three weeks ago, I decided to publicly challenge myself to get from 311 lbs to 300 or less in three weeks. I knew it would require a special amount of dedication to my nutrition, and my exercise if I was going to get there. After three weeks of hard work, the picture below explains where we are at.

I MADE IT!!!! I turned 31 years old this Saturday. For the first time since I was 21 years old, I can say I weigh under 300lbs.

It is such an unbelievable feeling. To know that I will never have to see a 3 at the beginning of my weight on the scale. I have said a million times that this journey is not about weight loss, it is about my overall health. BUT THIS FEELS SOOO GOOD!!!!!!

Thank you again to my amazing wife Amy! Without her the nutrition side of this journey would be a thousand times harder. She also helps keep me accountable to do my workouts, and always finds awesome ways to motivate me.

I would also like to thank all of the people who have continued to support me. Either thru facebook posts, comments on the blog, or in person. SO many of you have contributed to my motivation and in turn my results.

I'm a far way from being finished with this journey. I still have a tremendous amount of work left to do. Starting this week we will be moving on the the DDP Yoga intermediate workout schedule. So we will be amping it up again in the coming weeks.

I suggest anyone who is interested to take the chance and try out DDP Yoga. It has changed my life and DDP has taught me, and so many others, how to OWN OUR LIVES.

It's a beautiful thing!

Until next time,

- NotSoBigMatt.


 day 1                                                                                  day 120

day 1                                                                                       day 120

Week 14 Update!

Hello everyone!

Week 14 has been amazing!!. I started my 3 weeks to 300 challenge last Monday. I gave my self a goal of at least one hour of exercise every day for the last three weeks before my birthday. Week one is in the books! I actually managed to do more than an hour a couple days. I completed my full 3 day DDP Yoga schedule this week. On the off days I decided to start walking. It was a pleasant surprise! Walking not only gave me a way to meet my hour a day, it also showed me how far I have come in my fitness so far.

I was able to do an entire hour walk. I almost walked 3 miles by the time I was done. I'm very lucky that we have a nice park with a sweet walking trail about a half mile from the house. So I have been walking down there to supplement my DDP Yoga workouts.

DDPY workouts this week were tough! Because of my sinus infection last week, and having to heavily modify everything, we did the week 13 beginner schedule again. 13 is the last week of the beginner workout program. It's killer. Two workouts on Monday and Wednesday, and a killer 50 minute Diamond Cutter on Friday.
For those of you that are not familiar with the DDPY workouts, Diamond Cutter is the longest and toughest workout of the beginner program. There is a reason it is meant to be done at the end of the 13 weeks.  I was nervous as hell going in to it. I honestly didn't know if I could do it for a whole hour.

The good news is we made it through. It is one amazing workout, and I felt unbelievable after.

Food was spot on this week. We managed to find a replacement for the last processed food we were still eating.( thanks to my amazing wife!) No bad meals all week, staying the course and making good progress. Although I know how much weight I lost this week. I think I will make you all check back on my 120 day update to see if I make it to under 300 or not. I'm excited, and pushing hard to get there.

I hope somewhere out there you are having a great week as well. If you are waiting around for things to fix themselves, don't, get out there and own your life!!!!!!!

Until next time.

-BigMatt

3 Weeks to 300 Challenge

Enjoy!!!!!!

90 day DDPYoga Update!

Hey everyone,

BigMatt here with my 90 Day DDPYoga update. It's been about two weeks since I did my last blog update. It's been a long couple of weeks.
I would like to dedicate today's update to my Sweet Aunt Lynnie. She passed away last week after a long fight with cancer. She was one of the strongest people I have ever met. Even when she knew she was losing her fight, she never let it effect her attitude, or take away her beautiful smile. I know how proud of me she has been for being able to Own My Life, and the results I have had on this journey to date.

On to the great update news!
60 day weight:  335
90 day weight:  316!!!

Down another 19lbs!! that brings us to a total of  81 lbs lost!!

60 day inches lost 39.5
90 day inches lost 52!!!!

Lost another 12.5 inches this month.  With the big losing areas being, 3 inches from my waist. 3.5 inches from my chest. and 2 inches from my thighs.

I'm still just amazed that 90 days in to this journey and I have completely changed my life. I'm doing things again that I haven't been able to in almost ten years. I won't lie and say it has been easy, or that it is getting easier. It continues to be a constant struggle with my addiction to food. I have some how managed to stay strong, and not fall hard.

I would like to say a big thank you to my amazing wife Amy! She has made the food side of things a whole lot easier than it would have been. She has totally hopped on board and changed what our entire family eats. She continues to find new ways to make amazing healthy food for us. I could not have come this far without her.

I also could not be where I am now, without the support of so many people. From DDP himself, to all the folks over at teamddpyoga.com. To all of you that read this blog, and leave comments and send me encouraging messages. You all have NO idea how much it helps me daily. Most importantly, my family. You all have been amazing. I continue to be amazed, and so thankful at how all of our extended family makes exceptions for us. They make sure to have healthy options available every time we gather for family events. It truly is a special thing we have. :)

We are coming up on some pretty serious milestones. I'm 16lbs away from 300.(17 from 299!!) I'm also 19lbs away from hitting the century mark for weight loss. WOW.. almost 100lbs down. I honestly can't even tell you when the last time was that I weighed under 300 lbs.

When I started this, I tried to set very attainable goals. Because reaching goals is a great way to stay motivated. My initial goal was 350 by June 14th. (my bday). When we hit that in March, I decided to change that goal to 325. Well I hit that in early May. Now I am at 316 with four weeks to go before we hit the big day.

My new Birthday Goal:  300

WOW. It's amazing what you can do when you make the decision to own your life, start eating correctly, and get off your ass and do something about it.

I have been pleasantly surprised lately by multiple friends of mine that have decided to start their own DDPYoga journey. If you are on the fence, just jump and take the leap. If you have questions or concerns, get a hold of me, I will do what I can to answer your questions. It's all right there just waiting on you to grab it and run.

Enjoy the new pics!

Until next time.

-BigMatt

 Day 1                                                                                                       Day 90

One extra picture for everyone today! This is me in my size 56 pants that I was wearing (and they were a little tight) when I started this journey. The shorts I'm wearing in my 90 day pictures are a size 46!!!!!!!!!

DDP Yoga Week 10

Hey everyone!

I have officially finished week 10 of DDPYoga.

It was a an odd week for me. I was really worried for most of the week, because it felt like I was having a bad week for some reason.

I had a very, very clean week of eating. I'm not sure why I had such a bad feeling about my weekly weigh in. I was able to find something to stay active on my off night from DDPY, and I killed my workouts this week.

It seems like things are really starting to fall in to place around here. We are all starting to see the results of being healthy manifest in amazing ways. Our life as a family has taken an amazing turn over the last four months. As obvious as the changes are in Amy and I, the kids have seemed to pick up on the positive energy going around.

It's really an amazing thing to see unfold. I truly wish that someone would have filmed video of us in our daily life for a week before we started this. Just so you all could see just how different our life is now.

We still have a long way to go. The daily struggle is still alive and well. Battle by battle I seem to be winning this war over obesity and poor health. I wish I could tell you all that it is easy. It's not. It's terrible at times. There are days when I just want to grab a two liter of Dr Pepper and a large pizza and inhale it all. There are still days that I don't want to do my DDPYoga. So far, I have been able to stop those things from happening. I am keeping on track, staying the course, and winning this war.

One.Day.At.A.Time.

I do have some really good news from this weeks weigh in.

I originally set my first weight loss goal at 350 by my birthday in mid June. I was able to hit that in March. So I decided to modify that goal and change it to 325.

Without telling you my actual weight! (Sneaky I know.. we just have to save those for monthly updates so it looks better!!!!!!)

I was several pounds under 325 for this weeks weigh in.

I still continue to be amazed by my progress so far. It has been hard, but it is so rewarding.

Thanks again for all your encouragement and kind words!

Please share this so we can reach people who need to see this message!

Until next time.

-BigMatt

Week 9 Update

Hey all,

This is my week 9 DDPYoga update. The last week has been an interesting one. After the hype and excitement of last weeks 60 day update, and recovering from Easter. This was probably the toughest week I have had in a long time.

Doing my workouts wasn't an issue. Week 9 of the beginner DDPY workout program is certainly a step up from the first 8 weeks. It's a great workout, and I killed all of them this week. So from the stand point of exercise and staying active, it was a great week.

This week was killer when it came to staying on track with my nutrition. For the first time in a while now, I had some seriously bad cravings for some seriously bad food. With a little timely support from some very encouraging people, I made it through without a slip up.

It was not easy. The truth is, nothing worth having is easy. I know that. I also know that my will in that department is getting stronger. Which is possibly the coolest revelation in this journey so far.
I tend to talk an awful lot about DDP Yoga on this blog, and rightfully so, but I can't stress enough just how important nutrition has been. I have always had horrible nutrition. The things that I ate, and the sheer amount of food I could, and often would consume.

There have been a lot of people that have asked Amy and I how we have changed our food. I just want to touch on that for this blog.

I can't stress enough that we are not on a DIET. Diets DIE.(ThanksDDP) It's true, typical diets are not sustainable long term. They are restrictive, and in many cases they eliminate one certain thing from your diet.

There is no magic pill that you can take. Outside of taking a daily vitamin, we don't use any supplements at this point.

It is NOT easy. It's hard and it sucks.

We have made our changes to our diet gradually. The first month we didn't actually change what we ate at home. We just simply stopped drinking all soda, and stopped eating fast food. After January was over, the results were pretty amazing. From that point on, we just started swapping in healthier options for each meal we made. For spaghetti we started by switching to lean ground beef, and whole wheat noodles. Tacos were changed to chicken first, then we doubled the amount of fresh ingredients we used, and cut back on the cheese and sour cream.

The point I'm trying to make, is that it has been a very gradual process. It has worked tremendously for us. We never could have just made all the changes we have in one week. We literally would change something little every week. We continue to find ways to cut some of the junk out. We no longer eat ground beef at all. Almost everything we eat has either ground turkey, or some type of chicken. We eat a ridiculously awesome amount of fresh fruits and veggies. Amy has started learning how to cook with fresh herbs and spices. So we can eliminate pre-made seasonings. So we know EXACTLY what we are putting in our food.

I eat close to NO processed foods. My body is thankful for that.

Just know this. As hard as it will be, you CAN do it. You just have to make the honest decision
to OWN YOUR LIFE.

I continue to be amazed at the progress that Amy and I have both made in the 4 months since we changed our nutrition. As amazing is DDP Yoga is(and it really really is) the results I have seen would not be possible if I didn't face down my addiction to food.

Just like any addict, I will continue to fight against those urges. After the last week, I feel like I may be one step closer to beating it forever.

Thanks to everyone who has been, and continues to be so supportive of me. You all have no idea just how much it helps.

Until next time.

-BigMatt

60 Day DDP Yoga Update!

WOW!

That is all I can really say. I have been nervous all week about today's update. I have been working so hard on my nutrition, and my DDPYoga. I was really worried that the results for 60 days would not be nearly as awesome as they were at 30 days. I continue to be surprised and absolutely amazed at what I'm accomplishing. It's almost unbelievable that I have come so far in three and a half months.

Lets start with the front shots.
2/2                                                                                                 3/9                                                4/19

Now to the Side!
2/2                                                                                                3/9                                                 4/19                                 

Folks, the pictures don't lie! This is what 60 days of eating clean and healthy,(with a few cheat meals) and doing DDPYoga three nights a week has done for my body in 60 days.
On to the official numbers!
Weight
1/1    397
2/2    377
3/9    361
4/19  335 !!!

That is 62lbs down in 3.5 months. Here goes the MOST important number. Inches lost.

2/2-3/9      I lost 21.5 inches
3/9-4/19    I lost 18 more inches!!
Grand total for 60 days doing DDPYoga  39.5 inches!

As many of you know, my wife Amy has been going through this journey with me. She has been cooking all the healthy grub, and constantly finding new recipes and ways for us to eat cleaner!. She is also my biggest motivator, and has been right along side me doing DDPYoga. I asked if I could share her numbers with everyone and she agreed! Keep in mind, I have WAY more work to do to get healthy than she does. If you are just looking to lose 20-30lbs and tone up, here is proof that this works for all different fitness levels.
 Amy has lost.
22lbs
22.5 inches

I can't explain enough what finding DDPYoga has done for us. It's truly amazing.
Owning your life is attainable by everyone.
DDPYoga is doable by ANYONE.
Make the choice to OWN YOUR LIFE.

DDPYOGA

Go to the website. Check it out. Own your life.

Check out my DDPYoga 60 day video blog below!
#Bang

Until next time.

-BigMatt

60 day DDPYoga VLOG

Additional update because I forgot something awesome!!

I meant to add this to my newest post and I forgot.

There was another amazing thing that happened this weekend. It truly shows how far I am removed from where I was when I started.

My wife's family has an amazing family treasure. Her grandfather bought a 40 acre section of land 30 years ago, that has long been the families hunting land. I was blessed enough after we were married, to be invited to go hunting with them. I fell in love with it. Being down there completely out in the country reminded me of a lot of time spent in my childhood. One of the biggest rules of going hunting out there, is that you have to go for the "work days" during the rest of the year. You can imagine what work day entails. It's hard, sweaty, dirty work, with a good mix of fun thrown in.

Over the last five year, those days have been pretty miserable for me. The work just hurt. I sucked. I only did it because I had to. I only went and was miserable because I love getting to go down with the guys and hang out and go hunting when the time came.

Yesterday was the first work day of this year. It was the first work day, that I truly got to enjoy. I worked my ass off. Building a fence, cutting down and hauling off trees to clear paths. It was an amazing thing. I honestly kept waiting to hit that wall, to feel miserable, and it never happened. Even today I feel pretty good. I also mowed my yard Friday night, then killed a DDPYoga workout before I ever went to the work day.

Three months ago I would have been MISERABLE today. I left my house about 3:45 am on Saturday, and didn't get back to bed until after midnight. When I was woke up this morning before 7 by my sweet babies who missed me yesterday, I wasn't miserable. I'm SORE. Just not miserable, and not irritable. Just healthy, happy, and loved.


Share this story!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Until next time

-BigMatt

Week 6 +7 Update

Hi all.

I finished week 7 of the beginner DDPYoga workout program this week. It's still going fantastic. My diet took a small hit this week. I was on the road for work all week. It's so tough to stay on track when I get stuck out of the house for multiple meals a day. All in all, it wasn't to bad. I managed to minimize the effect by making smart choices when I had to eat out this week.

It's still a daily struggle. Even more so when I'm out to eat with someone other than my wife. It's so easy to just fall back in to the habit of ordering the same things I always have. I'm sure at some point I will get to where it isn't such a struggle to make those good food choices.

The good news is that I killed my workouts this week, and I still continue to feel better by the day it seems. I have developed a personal motto that has really been keeping me going. I have no idea who said it first or where I originally heard it, but I love it.

"What can I do today, that will make me better tomorrow."

So each day I strive to find something I can do, that will make me better tomorrow, than I was the day before. From owning my workouts on the nights they are scheduled, to having a really great food day, to being positive when things are going crazy in life. Small attainable daily goals that keep me motivated.

DDP refers often to a Lou Holtz quote, and it is so true.  "Life is 10% what happens to you, and 90% about how you react to it." He calls it living life at 90%. It's amazing what the power of positive thinking, and doing, can do for you.

I have said before that this journey is about so much more than weight loss. It's a journey to health. Mental health is equally as important as physical. Be positive to yourself, and to others.

Good news number 2. I have finished and posted my first video blog, you can see it below!! Enjoy!

Next Sunday will be a big day for myself, and for the blog. I have decided to start doing my updates(measurements, pictures, weight loss) to coincide with my month marks on DDPYoga. So next Sunday will be my 60 day update since I started DDPYoga. I will be adding pictures and updating my .lbs lost and inches lost then!

Until next time

-BigMatt

Weekly Update! ON TIME!!!!

I have finally managed to get a weekly update done on time. Fantastic. That is how I would describe this week. It really took a lot for me to reveal this page, and in turn my struggle, with the world last week. The response has been amazing. Thank you all for your kind words and encouragement this week. I'm planning on setting up a you tube channel to go along with this page, so I will hopefully have my first video blog(vlog) up this week. I may wait and do it for my month check in next week.


This week has probably been my easiest one from a diet stand point. I had zero problem staying on track. This is the first week that I can say it wasn't difficult to eat healthy. I even had a great meal with family today, and was able to keep myself on track. I continue to feel my body getting stronger and more flexible. I truly can't believe how far I have come in just three months. I have caught myself looking ahead to the next six months, or year, just excited and curious of where I could be.

This was week 5 of DDPYoga. I was actually able to do an extra night of Yoga this week. I'm finally able to get all the way thru the first workout without having to modify any of the positions, and I'm getting considerably closer to doing the same with the second workout. I'm absolutely still shedding pounds and inches. (I'm only going to update those numbers once a month, unless I hit a milestone in the middle of the month) With that being said, I'll be updating those numbers next Sunday!!!!

I want to scream from the rooftops how amazing I feel. This weekend showed me just how different my body and mind are. Saturday was a long, exhausting, amazing day. It all started by getting pounced on by a two year old at about 6am. Since I was wide awake after the dive bomb by Jack, I decided to get up and knock out an extra fatburner workout on DDPYoga. We left shortly after breakfast and went to our Ella's soccer game. After soccer we had a quick lunch, and headed off to take the kiddos to the circus. The circus was amazing, and I actually was able to FIT comfortably in the seats. After the circus, I immediately left for an overnight fishing trip. Two hours crammed in a truck with two other people my size, then three hours on my feet fishing. Casting and reeling in a 12 foot fishing pole. Followed by two more hours crammed in a truck with two guys my size. I got home about 5:30 this morning and fell asleep about 6.

I told you all of that, to tell you this. I was FINE today. Not only was I fine, I felt GREAT. In the past, a day like that, would have left me miserable, irritable, and given me the desire to do nothing by stay home and veg. Instead of that, I spent today at another soccer game. Then I spent an afternoon and early evening having a great cookout with family.

That is how far I have come in three months. It is truly amazing what you can do, when you make the decision to OWN YOUR LIFE. I refuse to let my addiction to food own my life anymore. I refuse to let my lazyness and unwillingness to get up and be active control my life anymore.


After I shared the blog for the first time last week, I started paying attention to the statistics of who was reading the page. It is truly amazing that this blog had almost 700 views last week. From all over the world. From the US, to Canada, UK, Germany, Denmark, Israel, and Ireland. I truly hope that someone out there is seeing this, and they are making the decision to take control back.

That is why I am taking the time to share this journey with you all. If I can do this. If I can come back from feeling like I had no way out. So can you. Regardless of what your vice is, or what your journey to owning your life will entail. You can do it.

Until next time

-BigMatt

First off, thanks to everyone responding to my Facebook and TeamDDPYoga post with such great comments.

For any of you out there who may be inspired by this, please feel free to contact me. You can reach me on Facebook, or feel free to send me an email. I am by no means a fitness instructor or nutritionist, but I'm more than willing to take a little time, and discuss with you the things that have worked for me.

-Big Matt

email @  MCFootball79@yahoo.com

Mid March (Day 30 of DDP Yoga) Update.
I'm about a week late getting my mid march update up, but today is a special day. I have now been doing DDP Yoga for a month.  I have decided to finally post some pictures, and share this page with others. When I first started this back in January, I wanted to set very realistic and attainable goals.
I also decided to give my self several different types of goals. Some of those have included not drinking soda (I still haven't had a single one), eating better, and of course weight loss.

My first major weight loss goal was to get under 350 lbs by my birthday in June. In order to do that, I would have to lose 47 lbs in 6.5 months. A reasonable goal.  This morning was my weekly weigh in. I try to only weigh myself on Saturday or Sunday each week. Any more than that, and it ends up discouraging me more than helping.

This morning when I got on the scale I was 350 LBS. I have officially hit my first major weight loss goal.  I still have 2 moths and 3 weeks until my birthday. I'm on a high today. It's such a great feeling. I took my pictures today to show my 30 day progress. As much as I hate posting pictures of myself, I feel it is needed.

Any of you who are not familiar with DDP Yoga. Get online and watch some of the crazy changes people have had in their life by doing the program and eating a healthy diet.
 You can find out more about DDPYoga here.
The Arthur Boorman Story 

I'm feeling better than I have in years. The pictures below are two of the set I'm keeping to track the progress of my body.

The shorts I'm wearing were probably tight enough in the Day One pictures that I shouldn't have been wearing them. Now I have to roll the waistband down and use the drawstring just to keep them on. I will be doing my 60 day measure sometime in mid to early April. I will post my inches lost for the month then.

I'm most likely going to be taking this blog to more video updates instead of writing. We will see if I can find the time to get that up and going.

I still have a long way to go in this fight, but it's nice to have that first goal behind me.
If you have taken then time out to read all of this, Thank You. Hopefully this will reach someone and help them start their journey.

Until next time.

- Big Matt

Day One

Day 30

Day 30

Day one

3/9 a little late :)

So it's official.... I'm pretty bad at finding time to update this. Thankfully no one knows about it yet anyway.

3/9 update.

Things have been going pretty well. Yoga is going solid (at the end of full week 2 on 3/9). The diet took a small hit for about a week. We had some family health issues that kept us away from home, which always makes it a little harder. Good news is, I got right back on track, and even still managed to lose a pound during that bad week.

Eating healthy is getting a little easier. I staying pretty consistently between 1200-1500 calories a day. The really cool thing is being satisfied with that amount of food. I have continued to cut back on white flour and sugar. I can't stress enough how bad those really are for your body. The other thing is ground beef.. as much as I hate to admit it, it's hell on your body. We went about three weeks without eating any of it. The first time I ate it after three weeks, it made me sick. I felt lethargic and tired. Oh the lessons you learn.

On to the really good news.


Weight on 2/2 = 377

Weight on 3/9 = 361

16lbs more down over 5 weeks. We also measured using a tape on 2/2.
From 2/2  to 3/9 I lost a total of 22.5 inches off my body.

I can't explain how I feel right now.

I just know, that I still have a long way to go. It would be so easy to bask in the glory of the first 2 months of this journey. I just know if I do, I'll never get to where I want to go.

Until next time

-Big Matt

Mid month update!

Well maybe not mid month.. Let's just say I tried to get a post done mid month.

Due to some sick babies and a little bit of a crazy life. We didn't actually get to start our DDP yoga routine on 2/6 like we planned. We started on 2/17. With that being said, I have managed to stay more physically active so far this month, than I have since high school.

The nutrition side of things has been going great. I'm really starting to feel great. I did have my first bad food episode. I was traveling for work, and my coworkers decided to go get BBQ. I went along with it and ate way more than I should have. The positive news, the next morning I woke up ready to go. I didn't get derailed, I just took a one meal detour. I have also still not had a soda!!

I'm not sure how much I have lost so far this month. I know I'm still shedding inches at a pretty alarming rate. At this point none of my pants that I have bought in the last 6 months fit me. I have had to add two new holes to my belts.

I feel so great, but I'm trying to keep it in perspective. I know I'm still in the first battle of a very long war. The Yoga sessions are going great. Amy is keeping me accountable to do them. It's a huge help to have her pushing me, and pushing herself to do this. I'm beginning to get a lot of my strength back in my body. I'm able to do things I could not do a month ago. A few nights ago I spent 40 minutes playing, and wrestling on the floor with our oldest two. When it was over, I wasn't tired, or in pain.

I still haven't decided if I will ever share this blog with anyone other than my wife. If you are reading this, it means I have. It's a tough pill to swallow knowing that I put myself in a situation like this. The good news is things are looking up. What used to be a mountain, is shrinking every day. Some day I will be walking on flat ground again. Until then, I'll keep putting in work.

Hopefully I will get an end of month update on here close to the first.


Until next time,

Big Matt

Round 2

Although I just started the blog today, I wanted the first two post to catch everyone up to speed.

2/4/2014

Goal: Exercise 15 minutes a day.

This month, my challenge is to exercise every day. That could be some type of cardio on xbox fitness, a long stretching session, a walk with the kids. Something to change my life from sedimentary to ACTIVE.

Amy and I decided to order and start doing the DDP Yoga program. It is great for folks who can't physically do normal exercise programs. At almost 400 lbs, it's hard on my already torn up knees and ankles to run. So I'm going with an alternative method, that has had amazing results for people in my situation, and those in much worse. It was hard for me to get past the stigma of doing yoga, but I need something.

We did the introduction video on 2/2, it is basically 30 minutes of learning the 13 frequently used positions. I was surprised at how much it was really working my body out, and it was kind of fun.
So we ordered it and will be starting the full program on 2/6 when the DVDs get here. Until then, we are going to continue doing the intro video each evening.

At this point, I'm a little nervous. I know that I need to exercise to reach my goal, I just don't know what I can do at this point. Part of the program is to take pictures before you start the program. I have those and will post the beginning pics, and my 30 day pics together when I get there.

If you are curious about DDPYoga, Go to www.DDPYoga.com. There is a lot of information there, you can also search you tube and see tons of videos about it. I'm anxious to get started and see what it can do for my journey.

Until next time.

-Big Matt

The first 30 days.

    I knew going in to this that it would be the toughest thing I have ever done in my life. I also knew that I couldn't  do a fad diet this time, that I couldn't do this in a month. It took a life time of horrible eating habits to get to this point, it wasn't going to change over night.

I knew that I have a serious problem. I'm addicted to food. My portion size is so ridiculously out of the realm of what any human needs, that I have literally been killing myself. I knew I had to beat my addiction to food, if I ever wanted to do this. It was time to start eating to live, not living to eat.

After I told Amy that I was ready to do this, we sat down and made a plan. Actually, she challenged me to a goal she set for her self for January.

Month 1 Challenge: No soda, No fast food.

WOAH! Hold on. Seriously, I'm on the road for work 3-4 days most weeks, and I live on Dr Pepper. You want me to go without both for a month....
I didn't think I could do it. That small challenge seemed monumental a month ago.

Now it's January 1. Here we go. No soda, no fast food.

This was a crazy month. I worked a ton of hours and was on the road for work almost as much as I was home. It would have been SOOO easy to give up before I ever got started.

BUT

I made it. The first week wasn't horrible. I did pretty good outside of a few insane cravings for soda. By the second week, I started actively tracking my calorie intake each day. Using the my fitness pal app. I was given about 2500 calories a day, and I was staying under that without feeling hungry. Towards the end of the second week, I got stuck out on a job and had to get fast food. After an hour discussion with Amy, she convinced me that it was ok. That I just needed to make smart choices when I was faced with those situations. So I did. Over the course of the month, there were 5 times that I had no choice, but to grab something quick. I found that there are several healthy options at every fast food place, and when in a crunch, they actually work for me.

By the third week, I really started paying close attention to what I was putting in my body. I cut back even further. I started eating a lot more fruits and veggies, both for snacks and at mealtime.  By the end of the month, I found myself staying around 1800-2000 calories a day. It was working. The soda cravings were dying down, and for the first time in my life, I was content eating "healthy".
Amy and I had started really looking at the meals we eat on a regular basis. We started finding things in each meal that we could change, to make them healthier. Whole wheat pasta and lean beef for spaghetti night, chicken instead of beef for tacos. Eating less cheese on EVERYTHING. Simple, small changes that make a HUGE difference.

It's really crazy, just how much I ate before. Learning what I have about calorie intake over the last month, I realize just how bad it was. I could easily sit down and have a plate of food with over 3000 calories.. for one meal. My mind had convinced my body that it needed that much to be full.

It's been an interesting, informative, and hard 35 days. The journey is still just beginning. I still struggle DAILY with food choices and the temptation of just saying screw it. The results fortunately speak much louder than my doubts.

One month down. 24lbs lost.
Start : 1/1/2014    a miserable 397 LBS
Now : 2/1/2014    a less miserable 373LBS

I know it's one small victory on the road of my LONG journey. It's a pretty damn good start. I know I won't lose everything I need to just from changing my diet. Which brings us to next months goal. Exercise!

Until next time.

-Big Matt

The start.

Hello all,

My name is Matt, and I'm a fatty.

I'm 30 years old, I have an amazing wife Amy, and 3 amazing kiddos, Ella, Jack, and Molly.
This Journey is as much about them, as it is about me.

The majority of my life has been spent overweight. It has ebbed and flowed, went up and down. There have been times where I was certainly big still, but not obese. The last five years has been a roller coaster ride of weight loss and weight gain. When Amy and I married in June of 09, I weighed just under 320 lbs. I certainly wasn't healthy, but with my frame, I didn't feel terrible. I was still able to play football and do pretty much anything physically that I wanted, or needed to do.  I quickly shot up to 360lbs over the next year and a half. When our second child was on the way in 2011, I decided it was time to do something about it. I started a fad diet (atkins) and was working out/ walking 4-5 times a week. I lost 35lbs in 3-4 months. When Jack was born, we spent 10 days with him in the NICU. I completely stopped following atkins, and never got back in to working out after that 10 days.

Fast forward to December 2013. We now have 3 amazing little kiddos.There are so many things I want to do with them, but there is so much that I can't. I step on the scale the week before Christmas, and I'm 396lbs. WOW. I knew I had gained a little weight.. But I had no clue.

I have known for longer than I care to admit that I would have to face this battle some day. If I truly wanted to have a long happy life, I had to do this. If I wanted to see my kids grow up, and be an active part of their life, I had to do this. You would think that would be enough, that those things alone could force someone to change.

Unfortunately, it's not that easy. If it was, no one would be overweight.

I have decided to share my journey. Partly because I think it will help me stay accountable, and partly because I hope it helps someone else start their own journey. Please keep in mind that I'm working to find what works best for ME on MY journey.  Everyone will be different.