Carlos Romero's apartment is marked with remnants from his former life: a giant television from his days playing World of Warcraft and a pair of jeans the width of the desk chair. Remnants lingzhi cleansed slim tea of this time -- when he weighed 437 pounds -- mark his body too: loose, hanging skin and stretch marks.

"I strength train and work out and work hard, there is however lasting damage," says Romero.

Yet for the troubles he had dating as he was obese -- all those unanswered requests on dating sites -- shedding weight left him uneasy about how much to reveal. "If you had been to state to someone around the first date, 'I lost 220 pounds,' you're indicating that you had a very serious issue at some point and you may still have that issue," he says. "So it isn't something I put on a dating profile because I don't want people to judge me for it."

The stigma of obesity is so strong that it can remain despite the load is lost. Holly Fee, a sociologist at Bowling Green State University, has conducted some of the only research on dating attitudes toward the formerly obese. This year, Fee published her findings in the journal Sociological Inquiry.

She discovered that potential suitors said they would hesitate to create a romantic relationship with somebody that was once heavy. The biggest fear, Fee says, is "they believed these formerly obese individuals would regain how much they weigh."

The current belief is the fact that people who have never been obese can control how much they weigh, and people who had been heavy tight on willpower, says David Sarwer, a psychology professor and the director of clinical services at the Center for Weight and Eating Disorders at University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine. Physicians and also the general public tend to believe that obesity is "a moral failing, and they can't push away in the table, " Sarwer says.

For males and women who have lost a significant amount of weight, excess, hanging skin holds them back from dating and being intimate. Health insurance rarely pays for costly plastic surgery to fix the issue, which may be uncomfortable and embarrassing.

"I think they can be particularly self-conscious relating to this issue and become concerned about the first time the partner sees them undressed," Sarwer says. "How could they be likely to respond? Could they be likely to be grossed out?"

It had not been sex or romance that sparked the big change in Carlos Romero two years ago. This is when, at age 28, he was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy. Romero knew if he didn't lose weight, his condition could worsen quickly. He stopped eating pizza and ramen noodles and drinking soda and began exercising. Then, a year ago, after he'd dropped a number of jeans sizes, he tried Online dating again. Romero updated his old profiles and photographs and began sending out messages.

"It was amazing at the time," he states. They got responses from girls he never thought he'd hear away from. "I was like, 'Holy crap! This really is so different.' It felt just like a whole other world had opened up."

Now, Romero spends many nights on dates together with his new girlfriend, Kate Rowe. They met on OkCupid.com after he sent her a message. He looked "smoldering and broody" in his profile picture, Rowe says, "and I was like, 'Why not?' "

Their third date was on Romero's 30th birthday, and he decided to tell Rowe about his weight loss, that they thought could be "a potential deal-breaker."

"I don't wish to such as this girl any more than I already do with out her know," he remembers thinking. "I said, 'I have to tell you this thing. Do not judge me.' "

Romero knew the danger he was taking. He thought, "What if she does not want to be anywhere near me?" Instead of being repulsed, though, Rowe says she was inspired by his hard work and commitment to a healthy body.

If she had seen Romero's old profile back when he was bigger, she might not have responded, she says. But now he is into rock climbing and being active, and they've things in keeping.

For Carlos, there are still cleansed slim tea real and mental hurdles to finding yourself in love. It's tough for him to be intimate. He says shyly, "She's seen everything." And when he looks within the mirror, he still sees a 400-pound man. His mind hasn't quite caught up to his body.

Careington International Corporation has partnered with fitness icon Larry North to give the exciting new lifestyle and wellness lida new program, Slimdown America. Through Slimdown America, members will love diet plans, restaurant guides, exercise routines, cooking demos and much more from Larry, who has been successfully helping people lose weight for many years. Larry's motivation can help guide members through this program day-by-day, meal-by-meal and step-by-step.

"We are very excited to be partnering with Larry North," said Chuck Misasi, Careington's senior vice president of promoting. "This is a unique and revolutionary program to help Americans and individuals around the world attain a healthier lifestyle. This is not just another diet trend; it is a classic behavior-changing opportunity. It's part of Careington's ongoing drive to assist promote health and well-being."

The 21-Day Slimdown may be the core element of the program. Larry encourages the followers of the program to reach out to him on the way for questions, concerns, motivation and inspiration. This program itself is made to teach members an operating, healthy way of life they can follow well after the core 21 days. One of the compelling options that come with this excellent plan's those meals is a vital part of the program.

"A program you can't do throughout your lifetime isn't worth doing for one day," said Larry North. "This is what makes my program so successful, and that i couldn't become more excited for that launch."

Together with daily guidelines of the items to eat, how you can exercise along with other helpful tips from the 21-Day program, members will also enjoy an entire book of delicious and healthy recipes, a repertoire of exercises to operate various areas of the body that easily fit lida daidaihua pink into an active schedule, access to Larry's weekly motivational blog plus much more. An intense, seven-day program designed for losing inches off the waist and searching great for a special occasion is even included.

Even missing a high-level meeting of North Korea's Supreme People's Assembly. Few individuals be aware that where he's. He could be sick. There could be a power struggle in 2 day diet strong version Pyongyang. He could be going for a vacation. He could have secretly emigrated. The point is, the world really doesn't know.

To provide you with a feeling of the paucity of information right now, it's worth taking a look at one of the most credible and interesting reports on his absence from Reuters' James Pearson. Pearson was able to find a glimmer of official information inside a new documentary about Kim shown on North Korean state television: "The wealth and prosperity in our socialism is thanks to the painstaking efforts of our marshal, who keeps lighting the road for the people, such as the flicker of the flame, despite suffering discomfort," the voiceover states over footage of Kim walking with a limp.

That quote relies upon a word - "discomfort." This is a word that could refer to quite a lot of various things. It could mean a chronic ailment or perhaps a life-threatening disease, but it may also mean a poor pair of shoes. The New York Times offered a slightly different, though equally vague, translation: that Kim was not "feeling well."

Those who have taken time to see North Korean state media will not be surprised at the lack of detail. While official news outlets such as Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) and Rodong Sinmun often use remarkably elaborate and bellicose language to attack their enemies, domestic North Korean news is presented within the most bare-bones way imaginable, with little explanation and certainly no scrutiny.

The conditions of Kim's predecessors Kim Jong Il and Kim Il Sung weren't mentioned on tightly controlled state television, which is why the mention within the documentary is so surprising.

In circumstances like this, these flickers of knowledge from state media might be the best the world can hope for. Foreign reporters are continued a tight leash once they visit North Korea, and the only Western news agency to be permanently based you have the Associated Press, which operates within number of restrictions.

Worse still, a lot of this news that makes it overseas originates from less reliable sources: South Korean intelligence officials, unnamed operatives in China or North Korean defectors, for instance. While such groups can sometimes provide reliable information (reports of a power struggle between Kim and the uncle, Jang Song Thaek, were later confirmed by North Korea), additionally they provide most of the more spurious reports that can dominate foreign headlines (untrustworthy reports that Jang was executed with a pack of wild dogs, for example, or even the theory that Kim had killed his ex-girlfriend).

The world is fascinated by North Korea, and often seems happy to believe the wilder stories - whether there is evidence or otherwise. Kim's absence isn't any different: Among the strangest stories doing the rounds is definitely an ambiguously sourced one in an english newspaper that implies that Kim is becoming addicted to Swiss cheese. "The tubby North Korean dictator is becoming hooked on Emmental," the Daily Mirror reported this week, adding that Kim had "gorged on so much that he has ballooned in dimensions and it is now walking having a limp."

There can be a kernel of truth there: Kim has clearly put on weight since becoming leader, and analysts express it may be causing wider health issues.

"Any perceptive viewer from the evening news inside the DPRK will already know that Kim Jong-un has been limping about, even requiring the use of a golf buggy on several occasions," says Adam Cathcart, editor in chief of North Korea-watching website Sino-NK.

You will find suggestions that the North Korean leader might have gout or diabetes, though his health problems might be simpler. Kim "needs to lose weight, eat better and exercise more," Aidan Foster Carter, an honorary senior research fellow in sociology and modern Korea at 2 day diet strong Leeds University, explains in an email. "More no-brainer than mystery," he added.

Still, regardless of the truth is, we probably won't know for sure until North Korea confirms it. Until then, it is best take everything with a pinch of salt.

Between 0.5 and 0.7 percent of adolescent girls have anorexia, reports the Stanford University Clinic. Past Stanford research 2 day diet japan lingzhi found that family therapy was two times as effective as one-on-one therapy for it.

But new information looked at which kind of family therapy was best. The Stanford researchers found that therapy that taught parents how you can teach their kids to consume normally (family-based) was more efficient than therapy that targeted family strain (systemic).

"The take-away message for moms and dads is the fact that, first, there's good treatment available for their child who's experiencing anorexia," said Stewart Agras, MD, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford and also the lead study author, in a press release. "Second, the preferred treatment methods are family-based therapy by which parents help the youngster regain weight."

This "preferred treatment," called family-based therapy (FBT), wasn't more effective than the other family treatment, systemic family therapy (SyFT) -- the teenagers had similar recovery rates, but FBT worked faster and was roughly half the cost of SyFT.

Anorexia is definitely an eating disorder marked by patients falsely believing they need to lose weight. They are doing so when you eat not enough and, in some cases, exercising too much. Anorexia is deadly. It's also tied to among the highest suicide rates associated with a mental disorder. 

Study author James Lock, MD, PhD, said he thinks parents can disrupt the false thinking and damaging behaviors children with anorexia often participate in.

"We think that parents are able to disrupt the maintaining behaviors of anorexia long enough that the thoughts and cognitions which go using the disease diminish," he said in a pr release. "At that time, the cognitions themselves have very little staying power."

To reach these conclusions, the authors from the recent research studied 164 teens with anorexia. About 90 percent of the patients were girls.

At six sites across the US and Canada, patients were built with a number of 16 one-hour therapy sessions during a nine-month time frame. Some had FBT. Others had SyFT.

The particular groups had similar recovery rates after the therapy. People who had FBT recovered at a rate of 33.1 percent, while 25.3 % of those that had SyFT recovered. The rates were even closer at the one-year follow-up -- 40.7 and 39 percent, respectively.

The key difference was at how fast the patients recovered. The patients who had FBT gained weight a lot more quickly than the SyFT group and spent fewer days typically in the hospital.

And spending fewer days in the hospital likely contributed to the low overall treatment costs for the FBT group. On average, treatment costs per patient were $8,963 for that FBT group and $18,005 for that SyFT group.

Despite varying costs and recovery speeds, both treatments were effective after both nine months along with a one-year follow-up. The bottom line? Family therapies worked, the study authors found, and early treatment was important.

"The longer anorexia li ji shou diet pills continues, the more difficult it is to treat," Dr. Agras said. "A great many people live chronically restricted lives because of this disease -- they plan their days around undereating and overexercise -- and quite a few die. The idea would be to treat the disorder in adolescence to avoid more adults from becoming anorexic."

Pottstown >> A totally free eight-week wellness workshop will be offered at the Olivet's Girls and boys Club in Pottstown after this month.

The Olivet's wished to meizitang strong version create a program about health insurance and nutritional education that incorporated the entire family, said Laura Washington, garden manager from the MOSAIC Pottstown Community Gardens. She said the club chose to collaborate with other organizations to create the concept to fruition which is how "Healthy Family Nights" came into existence.

"It is our hope that Healthy Family Nights will empower everyone who participates," Washington said.

She said the workshops are available to individuals and not simply families.

The free two month program begins Sept. 30 and ends Nov. 18. Workshops will be held every Tuesday and Thursday evening in the Olivet's which is located at 640 Beech St. in Pottstown. Participants will learn cooking tools, work with a personal trainer as well as take art classes.

Art Fusion Executive Director Erika Hornburg-Cooper will teach the skill class on Tuesdays. She said families will create a keepsake folder during the top class where they are able to store their art projects and then any other information they receive throughout the wellness workshops.

"They can also utilize it as a journal when they feel like writing something once the classes aren't running," Hornburg-Cooper said.

She said all kids need an outlet and that art is an outlet that actually works the brain and relaxes people. Art helps kids feel recognized for using a special gift, Hornburg-Cooper said.

"We build a lot of self-confidence through art," she said.

Washington said this program can help families make use of their creative side. She also said the program will educate participants on healthier diet and how to get physically active.

After every workshop on Tuesday and Thursdays, participants may have the opportunity to exercise with a fitness expert.

Healthy Family Nights is sponsored by the Olivet Girls and boys Club, MOSAIC Community Land Trust, Art Fusion and the Genesis Housing Corporation.

Washington said program sponsors reviewed any adverse health assessment from the Pottstown Area Health and Wellness Foundation which helped them know how important it's to provide resources and create healthy opportunities for that community.

"It's our goal to possess a positive impact on the obesity rate within the Pottstown area," Washington said.

She said the wellness workshops can be found to the community free of charge through funding from Genesis Housing and grants received through the Olivet's. She also said there are several volunteers that will help run zi xiu tang slimming capsule the workshops. Washington said if this first wellness session works, another set of workshops is going to be offered early in the year.

I really like seeing the planet change so quick. I loving seeing how people are getting the things they request on Facebook without even knowing it.

But it truly made me think lida new about what is happening in my experience. I found myself taking a look at Facebook 100lbs overweight and wanting higher productivity of life. I wanted to stay in shape and healthy not just personally, but for my children.

I didn't know how I had been likely to do it, but in the depth of my soul it was what I wanted. The more people I saw on Facebook which had things i wanted, the greater I desired it. I began seeing increasingly more pictures of people's lives that attracted me and just what I needed personally.

As time continued I discovered the reply to me weight problem, but that only agreed to be the beginning. One of my old and dear friends had decided he wished to lose weight also and located a local exercise program that would push me one stage further. In a short time I wasn't only 100 lbs lighter I was about to operate a 5k within my first race. Wow! Life had changed fast for me! Just one last year I was located on the couch watching television following a long day at work escaping my existence into an unreal "reality" of scripted fantasy. Now not only had my entire life changed, but so had my Facebook. Now my news feeds were filled with race events and people that were on a single journey as me. Before long I discovered increasingly more events and even more challenges that would push me one stage further of my desires.

Change everything in your Facebook How to your desires! EVERYTHING. Make your feeds your new life that you will have.

Desires are changing faster and faster because of how fast we obtain information. You can't desire something before very long can appear in your reality. Let me explain a bit more. My next event is the Spartan race in Chicago. 2 yrs ago I could not need to get it done since i didn't know it existed with out the speed of information like Facebook I would haven't found out about it. You cannot desire something don't know exists or perhaps is not a thought.

Delete everything which have a negative effect on you. Media feeds provide a large amount of negative impact. Much like some friends and family. Hide something that will pull you out of trouble of the positive state of mind. Consider it such as this: put headphones on and listen to an audio lesson that makes you sad all day long. Or do you consider a upbeat song will be a better way of spending the day? Consider your news feed on you Facebook similarly to music. Listen together with your eyes, the positivity will make you feel great!

In case your Facebook is full of pictures of cake and foods I am sure that's all you would lida daidaihua pink think about. In case your Facebook is filled with happy stories that make you smile I am sure that you'll smile much more.

Don't wait until New Year's Eve to make the resolution to get fit.

"It's better to start now, so you are in shape by New Year or as soon as Thanksgiving," said trainer Carmen Medrano-Ruiz.

Medrano-Ruiz and her husband lingzhi 3x slimming power Daniel Ruiz, of Taos Mountain Warrior Fitness, offer fitness classes Monday through Friday, 6-7 p.m. in the Taos Senior high school gym. They've Cross Fit Level 1, Cross Fit Mobility, Cross Fit Olympic Lifting weights and Cross Fit Strongman certificates.

"Getting fit is a process that takes time to complete and you just have to start somewhere," said Medrano-Ruiz. "We take any fitness level and work with what you have. If you're committed, you will see results soon."

"Taco stand to restaurant" approach

After residing in Taos for several years, Carmen Medrano-Ruiz and Daniel Ruiz gone to live in Albuquerque in 2009 so he might get an engineering degree. She started learning Cross Fit -- a strength and conditioning program that includes Olympic weightlifting, high-intensity interval training workouts, cardio routines and strongman gymnastics.

"At first, I couldn't even do push-ups," she said, "but I kept in internet marketing and also got better. Finally, I came to be a certified instructor and started teaching. It was a natural process for me."

They came back to Taos last summer, after Daniel Ruiz finished the UNM School of Engineering.

"Lots of individuals from Taos leave rather than return simply because they believe that there aren't any opportunities for them here, but we wanted to stay and bring about the city," Medrano-Ruiz said. "Though we would like to open a gym, we have to make use of the 'taco are in position to restaurant approach' because we don't have money to book our very own space now."

Both of them helped the Taos Senior high school football team with strength and conditioning classes.

"Now we're dealing with the volleyball team and taking on the basketball team and also the cheerleaders," Medrano-Ruiz said.

They use our prime School facility but also their very own "traveling gym." All their equipment (weights, bars, and jump boxes) is within a trailer. Medrano-Ruiz also works with Taos Paramedics, training them in their place of work.

"It is not always easy, but we're going to go on," she said. "I hope more and more people see what we do and choose to complete the same thing -- stay here which help our community live to its highest potential."

Medrano-Ruiz organized the Flex Your Chest Throwdown, an exercise competition and fundraiser event in support of Taos Cancer Support Services that happened on Sept. 6-7.

"It was a success," she said. "Ninety-five athletes participated and most of them originated from on vacation, incidents where from Colorado and Clovis. They stayed here and spent profit Taos. That helped our economy as well."

Value of teamwork

Medrano-Ruiz believes working out in a group setting outweighs doing the work alone since people tend to motivate one another on the way.

"They push one another harder because there is that component of competition," she said. "Though, of course, they're mostly in competition with themselves, to make themselves stronger. And it is also social time: participants get to know one another and become friends. Many of them keep in touch following the class is over."

Medrano-Ruiz' advice to stay fit:

Be gentle on your own. Getting fit is a continuous process. As long as you build good habits you could return to them, even though you slip briefly.

Set achievable goals, ensuring they're specific and fit in your everyday or weekly routine.

Focus on your body. Sometimes you may need to lessen the concentration of your workouts and others you may want to push yourself harder.

Make sure you eat 5 times each day, proteins, vegetables and carbs. Yes, carbs. Don't cut them out completely. After a strong workout, root vegetables like potatoes, beets and carrots are great since you wish to put sugar back to your blood.

A perfect breakfast

Medrano-Ruiz stresses the importance of a well-balanced diet for overall good health.

"Breakfast is very important and you shouldn't skip it," she said. "You need energy to begin the day properly."

Within the mornings she often fries an egg in coconut oil, then sprinkles it with kale and turkey bacon.

But she isn't on a diet. She only follows an "eat-to-perform regime."

"I don't count calories nor come up with myself skinny," Medrano-Ruiz said. "I eat to be healthy and strong so I can enjoy life and look after my loved ones."

The experience of group fitness

Participants in Medrano-Ruiz' classes say they enjoy working together and have started noticing positive results.

Lisa Mart??¨¬anez works out and spins regularly but she hasn't done any kind of Olympic weightlifting in Ten years.

"That's why I started taking this class," she said. "I wish to be strong and healthy and to provide a great example for my two boys. I'm happy Used to do because I cash more energy now."

Celia Pacheco wants to learn better weightlifting techniques.

"I should also slim down," she said. "And I am experiencing the classes. Carmen is such an qing zi shou weight loss inspiring instructor that they makes it fun for everyone, though all of us work harddefinitive goal will be fit.

"I'd prefer to gain more muscle strength," he said. "My push-ups are already getting betterwithin the football team that Medrano-Ruiz coached some time ago. They both agree their performance improved because of it.

"I am very pleased with the resultsIt had been worth the effort and the sore muscles."

In recent years, research has shown that rapid weight loss can offer a secure, effective jump-start to long-term success. Dr. Oz revealed his new diet, that is designed to reset your fat hormones and improve your metabolism, on his Sept. 16 talk show. Additionally, he discussed the pregnancy problems that Princess Kate Middleton is experiencing.

By timing meals and using meizitang strong version food combining techniques, you are able to achieve unwanted weight loss goals more easily, said Dr. Oz's guest expert Dr. Natasha Turner, author of "The Supercharged Hormone Diet: A 30-Day Accelerated Intend to Lose Weight, Restore Metabolism, and Feel Younger Longer." According to her research about diets, Dr. Turner has discovered that problems losing weight often are associated with your hormones. Symptoms may include fatigue despite a great night's sleep, feeling bloated after you've eaten and having problems losing weight within the waist.

Dr. Oz noted that those same symptoms can happen when your metabolism isn't functioning effectively. But boosting your metabolism and resetting fat hormones for weight loss doesn't mean dramatically restricting your calories. Instead, it's all about choosing the right foods at the right times. Each morning, for instance, it's important to eat within one hour to optimize your own body's capability to burn off fat.

Love starchy carbohydrates? You don't have to deprive yourself. Instead, plan meals so you do not eat carbohydrates until after 4 p.m. That timed intake of carbohydrates will cut cravings which help you are sleeping. And to assist with fat-burning, drink tomato juice or use apple cider vinegar after your last meal.

On the same episode, Dr. Oz discussed Kate Middleton's recent announcement that she's pregnant with her second child. Princess Kate has issues with morning sickness again, however. Just like little Prince George, the Duchess of Cambridge is struggling with the condition known as hyperemesis gravidarum.

Dr. Oz emphasized that staying hydrated is important for those women that are pregnant. But for Kate Middleton, whose symptoms include vomiting and nausea, it's particularly significant. She's underneath the proper care of physicians, but other women with this condition should be aware the dangers of dehydration and go to help if needed.

For Princess Kate, whose royal responsibilities include frequent travel, the condition may mean having to cancel some of her planned expeditions. She was scheduled to fly to Malta, but now is considering whether she's to the trip, reported People magazine on Sept. 16.

Because Kate really wants to zi xiu tang slimming capsule make the flight, the Kensington Palace staff members are delaying the ultimate arrangements. At this time, she is scheduled to travel on Saturday. But, as Dr. Oz noted, it's important to watch out for her health. During her first pregnancy, she'd to go to a healthcare facility due to the severity of her illness.

Problematic eating behaviors and dissatisfaction with your body are familiar struggles among women. To combat those behaviors, that have resulted in higher healthcare premiums and slim xtreme gold capsule medical trends, employers have offered worksite wellness programs to employees and their families. However, most wellness programs limit their approach to promoting diets, which may result in participants regaining the majority of how much they weigh when the programs end. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have found that "Eat for Life," a brand new wellness approach that concentrates on mindfulness and intuitive eating like a lifestyle, works better than traditional weight-loss programs in improving individuals' views of their bodies and decreasing problematic eating behaviors.

"Eat for Life provides a non-diet method of weight loss," said Lynn Rossy, any adverse health psychologist for the UM System. "Traditional wellness programs concentrate on weight challenges by which participants are repeatedly weighing themselves. These actions can help participants initially lose weight, but often, people gain the load when the task is finished and the program is over."

Rossy says that weight cycling, losing weight after which gaining it back, is common in traditional wellness programs and can be more harmful than never losing any weight. Participants within the Eat for a lifetime program are asked not to weigh themselves the entire 10-weeks of the program.

In the study, Rossy and her colleagues evaluated the potency of the Eat for Life program, which combines intuitive eating and mindfulness to assist participants in developing positive relationships with food as well as their bodies. Intuitive eating is when individuals learn to eat, exercise and experience their health using their own internal cues, such as hunger and fullness, instead of external cues, such as calorie counting and weight scales.

"Intuitive eating and mindfulness are a couple of relatively recent intervention approaches that have been effective in supporting eating healthily and the body image," Rossy said. "Eat for a lifetime encourages visitors to be engaged with their internal body signals and never the numbers on the scales."

Rossy found that women who took part in Eat for Life reported higher amounts of body appreciation and intuitive eating and lower amounts of problematic eating behaviors for example binging, purging and fasting, when compared with ladies who did not participate in the program. Eat for a lifetime participants' weights ranged from normal to morbidly obese, and ladies displayed eating disorders behaviors. After this program, participants in the Eat for Life program were much more likely not to exhibit disordered eating. Mindfulness was a major factor in all the positive outcomes, Rossy said.

"Eat for a lifetime isn't just for individuals with eating disorders," said Rossy. "This type of intervention program is perfect for a number of those who want to have more knowledge on how to be healthy and how to leisure 18 coffee appreciate their bodies' value."

Rossy's research, "Eat for Life: A Worksite Feasibility Study of the Novel Mindfulness-based Intuitive Eating Intervention," was published in the American Journal of Health Promotion.

I've written a lot about motivation through the years - what motivates me to run and just what motivated me to begin my fitness journey nearly 5 years ago.

In conclusion my story: In August of 2009 I made a decision I was tired of being in poor condition. I was a couple of months away from turning 40 and required to do something. After watching my close friend operate a marathon, I made a decision I was going to change my ways.

Initially I possibly could barely operate a mile. But slowly and surely I increased my fitness, improved my eating, dropped a few pounds and worked my way up to running a half-marathon. A couple of years later I made a decision to coach in my first marathon. And now five years later I've run three marathons and am in the best shape of my life.

What I needed to begin my journey was motivation.

Motivation is available in many forms. You can be tired of feeling unhealthy. You may be battling health issues and need to obtain stronger. You may want to slim down or want to look leaner and more fit.

I don't think there's any bad motivation. What motivates you might not motivate me. You just need to evaluate which that motivation is and focus onto it.

Motivation can alter. When I started my fitness journey I had been focused on turning 40 and attempting to feel and look better. I quickly was motivated to become a healthy example in my two kids. And I was motivated by my readers, who encouraged me while I was practicing my first marathon.

I've also been inspired by my Team In Training teammates, and worked hard to inspire them.

I'm continually attempting to prove something to myself. That I'm strong. That I'm capable. And that I can endure.

I encourage you to find your motivation. Think about what motivates you, and then focus on it.

Use that motivation to obtain stronger and healthier. It's a worthwhile journey.

Locals complete Western States 100-miler

Congratulations to ShadowChase Running Club members Nile Sousa and Thomas Lopes, who completed the 2014 Western States 100-mile endurance run. The ultra-marathon takes runners from the beginning in Squaw Valley to Auburn.

Sousa, 60, of Modesto finished the race in 25 hours, 38 minutes, 8 seconds. He finished 149th from 296 finishers and placed second in the age group (60-69).

Lopes, 42, of Riverbank carried out in 28 hours, 54 minutes, 25 seconds. He placed 254th.

Congratulations to both about this tremendous accomplishment!

Different of 5K

Combined with the boom in running events over the past couple of years, we are seeing a boom in fun runs. You will find mud runs and obstacle races.

A week ago there is a Color Me Rad 5K event in Modesto. The big event features competitors dressed in white being sprayed with multicolored cornstarch during the run. It sure appears like fun.

I've never done one of these events but I'm getting interested in them. I consider myself a traditional runner, but I think it might be fun to test one of these races.

I think it's a fantastic way to attract people who might not be interested in managing a traditional race. And whatever gets people outside being active is good.