“I Am Most Proud of Losing 35 Pounds through the Use of Various Beachbody Programs”

Meet Ken V.! He participated in The Beachbody Challenge and won the $500 Daily Prize for November 25th!

Tell us about your life before you started the program. How did you feel about yourself and your body?
Though I finished P90X3 in August of 2014, my transformation started back in late 2012 when I bought the INSANITY DVD’s. The “before” pictures in this submission are from October 2012 before I started using Beachbody programs to get back into shape. I was 215 lbs and continuing to gain weight and was not liking the person that I was letting myself become. I’ve always been athletic and played football in college and lots of recreational basketball at the gym. I was 46 and was losing my fitness edge and my performance was going downhill in many areas of my life. I was tired of seeing my belly protrude out further each month in my t-shirts and my size 36 pants kept getting tighter and tighter. I was finding it more and more tiring to play with my 4 kids and I did not like that. The once a week basketball games were not enough to keep me in the physical shape that I want and needed to be in. My blood pressure also was creeping higher and higher each year.

What inspired you to change your life and begin your transformation journey?
The first thing that inspired me was not wanting to go down the same unhealthy path that my dad went down which took his life while he was in his 50’s. He steadily gained weight in his late 40’s and 50’s and had high blood pressure which he controlled with medication. His weight and high blood pressure eventually led to heart failure. He was too young to die and I was overseas working when I got the call that he had a heart attack and passed away. I didn’t have a chance to say goodbye to my biggest hero. He only had the opportunity to see and play with 1 of our 4 children. I knew I was heading down the same path as him unless I made some changes, and in Oct 2012 I said enough is enough and would do whatever I could to get back into good physical health. I needed to do this as I want to be there for my kids and my grandkids and enjoy my quality of life while doing so.

What is the greatest challenge you faced before beginning the program? How did the program and Beachbody® help you overcome that challenge?
The biggest challenge was to find something that I could commit to that would help take me from an unhealthy and mildly over-weight condition back into a fit and energetic condition. I played basketball and a few other sports occasionally but I was not making any progress. I also was not eating as healthily as I knew I should have been and portion size was out of control. The first program I did was INSANITY and though it was very hard, Shaun T was very motivating and seeing the others in the video also giving it all they had inspired me to work hard. I then moved on to Focus T25 and most recently P90X3. I loved that I could work out in the comfort of my home and not have to leave my family to go to a gym. It was also good for my kids to see dad work out and they would often join in with me. It is great to be a good example to them and I can see that they too desire to be healthy and physically active.

Describe the results you achieved with your Beachbody program. Which achievements are you proud of?
It has been such a blessing to continue to see the fat around my waist disappear and my overall muscle tone increase. My strength and endurance has increased significantly and it was great to keep up with the fit teenagers while hiking in the Grand Tetons this summer. I find that I have abundant energy each day and don’t get tired in the afternoons like I usually would. I am most proud of losing 35 pounds over the last 2 years through use of various Beachbody programs and that I have showed up daily for the workouts and have pushed beyond my previously self-imposed limits.

How has your life changed since completing your Beachbody program?
I would have to say that my self confidence has improved as I progressed each month with the program. It was so great to start off each day with my workouts and go to the office energized and ready for the day knowing that I had moved forward with my physical health. This helped my mental health and attitude greatly. As others noticed and commented on my changes, this further inspired me to work hard and helped with my confidence levels and belief in myself.

You can change your life, too. Take the Beachbody Challenge, for the ultimate motivation to get fit! Select any Beachbody program and once you complete it, share your results for your chance to win cash and prizes.