In January of 2009 I weighed over 220 lbs. I had been seeing a Doctor who prescribed weight loss pills and was diagnosed with a slight thyroid disordery.  I was able to lose 10 or so pounds with the pills, but I wasn’t exercising and I still had horrible eating habits so I wasn’t really making any progress.

That month I received the book “Making the Cut” by Jillian Michaels for my birthday. I am a huge fan of hers, but after reading the first few pages I realized that I had the wrong book.  “Making the Cut” is for someone who is trying to lose those last 20 or so pounds, and I knew I needed to lose more than that to get to a healthy weight.  So I went out and purchased her first book, “Winning by Losing,” and followed the program she lays out.  I was fortunate to have free access to a small gym about 5 minutes from my home, my parents friends owned it at the time, so I did the workouts every morning about 4 a.m., then went home, got the kids to school and went to work.  I used her nutrition plan as well. I knew how many calories I needed to burn, which I monitored with a Polar watch, and I knew how many calories I could eat in order to average a 2 pound weight loss every week.  The program in the “Winning by Losing” book was 12 weeks and I lost about 70 lbs during that 12 weeks, not usual I know but I was determined!

After the 12 weeks I was ready for Jillian’s second book, “Making the Cut” which is a 60 day program.  Again I followed this program to the letter and was able to lose an additional 15 pounds.  I finished the 60 day program in May of 2009.  During the months that followed I continued to exercise and eat right and in August of 2009 I signed up to run my first 5K.  I finished 3rd in my age group. After that I was hooked and have been running ever since.  I also earned my Personal Trainer Certification from N.E.S.T.A. in August of 2009, hoping I could help others do what I had done.

In September of 2010 I ran my first 1/2 Marathon in Nashville with a time of 1:51:44.  I used P90X and a running training program to get ready for that race.  Currently, I am training for the Knoxville 1/2 Marathon in April.  I am doing a 60 day program called Insanity as well as run workouts to prepare for this race.  My big goal for 2011 is to run my first full Marathon, but I want to do a couple more 1/2 Marathons first.

I could not have done any of this without the support of my family.  My husband is a great cook and made it so easy for me to eat what I was supposed to eat.  In fact, I do not enjoy eating out anymore because he makes my favorite dishes better than any restaurant that I have ever been to.

Also, my husband and kids have always been so supportive and understanding when I am off on a run or enter yet another race.

Thank you for your time and letting me share my story with you,

Becky Morgan

Maryville, TN