My 6 week transformation challenge with MELT Fitness is over. I had my final weigh-in on Thursday, November 6th and I lost 17.4 pounds and my body fat dropped by 7 percent! When we started this challenge on September 25th, I weighed 205.8 pounds. On my last time on the scale, I weighed in at 188.4 pounds.

MELT trainer and fitness guru Joe Carabase crunched those numbers and said I lost anywhere from 25 to 30 pounds of fat during the past six weeks, and added some muscle.

I did it through better eating, by eliminating things that had sadly become a regular part of my diet. When I stopped to get gas I would pick up a bag of candy. When out to eat, Kara and I would always order a dessert, and I found myself finishing my kids meals. Over the course of the past few years, I had gradually put on 20 pounds and set out to lose it.

Joe put me on a special meal plan in which I never went hungry, but I was eating tons of spinach, lean proteins, beans, veggies and yogurt. It really wasn’t that hard and I looked forward to hard-boiled eggs and almonds as snacks.

The workout was also crucial. Joe had me doing lots of fat-burning exercises and within a week of starting I had dropped 6 pounds. I was hooked!

I initially set out to lose 20 pounds, but had a few setbacks along the way that cost me some workout time. The election, a few debates, two out of state trips, kids home from school, and I battled a nasty cold myself. Despite missing some workouts, I never cheated on the meal plan until 5 days before my final weigh-in when Joe told me to eat a cheat meal and fast the next day.

As part of the deal, Joe told me I had to take before and after pictures. The “before” was embarrassing, but I am sharing it here to encourage others. The “after” picture shows I’ve made progress.

What’s next? I certainly don’t want to go back to my old self and I’d like to get more defined. I’ll keep you updated on that.
In the meantime, if you want to transform yourself, check out my previous blog entries (just go the home page of “The Hartfordite” ) that explain what I was eating and doing. Also check out MELT Fitness at http://www.meltworkout.com (860) 372-4887 and follow Joe Carabase on Twitter for quick info. @joecarabase

If you are intimidated by going to a gym, Joe has a DVD set that I got that allowed me to workout in my own home.

Only 6 months until beach season! By the way, that beard I am growing? That’s for Movember, No shave November for men’s health.