James Defies Doctors!

James Garr has one of the most inspiring transformations on the web in my opinion. Going from overweight and being diagnosed with Type-2 diabetes to a lean mean healthy machine, James is a prime example of what it mean to BRING IT! He wouldnt accept being on meds as a way to stay healthy…He took matters into his own hands! Way to go James!

 

 

James’ story in his own words:

Five months before I discovered P90X, I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.  My fasting blood sugar was 246, my A1C was over 8%.  I was 212 pounds at 5’8″. As a former NCO in the Air Force, I knew the basics of getting in shape, and my doctor gave me a diabetic diet to follow.

For five months I worked out and did my best to eat correctly.  I started out slow, just walking, but soon used the elliptical machine, stationary bike, and Bowflex that had been gathering dust at home.  After five months of working out almost two hours per day I had lost 40 pounds, but I still had to take metformin every day, and still had to avoid any sugary or high carb food or my blood sugar would spike high.

I told my doctor my concerns.  I was working out as hard as I could, but I couldn’t reach my goal weight, and I wanted my blood sugar lower so that I could get off the medicine entirely.  She recommended P90x, so my wife got it for me for Christmas and I started on December 26.

Round 1 – P90x

P90x takes about an hour to two hours to do every day, about how long I was working out before. (If you don’t have an hour to workout every day, Beachbody has other programs that take less time, like Power 90 and the 10 Minute Trainer).

Success came quickly.  After three weeks, my A1C was down to 5.1% and my blood sugar to 85, well within normal range.  As a bonus, my triglycerides were so low that they could not even measure my LDL cholesterol.  I lost the last ten pounds, and I was taken off all  medication, even though I cheated a bit on the diet with an occasional cookie or piece of cake.  The workouts were tough, but even though I travel a lot, I was able to keep up with it and felt better and better.

By Day 90, I felt great and my doctor told me “Your body doesn’t know it has diabetes.”

Meanwhile, my wife Heather started P90x Lean, a fat burning version with less weight training and more cardio.  She lost 3.5% body fat doing the Lean version of P90x, and agreed to join me for a second round of P90x Classic.  Both Lean and Classic versions are included with P90x, plus a supercharged Doubles version that is designed to help athletes get ready for big events.

But my pictures weren’t amazing, and even at 90 days I felt like I could have done better.  I found a good coach and learned that nutrition was my weak spot.

Round 2:  P90x + Insanity + Shakeology

Still, we were happy with how much more fit we were at the end of round one, and so my wife and I decided to start a second round of P90x, this time with a focus on nutrition.  Shakeology helps me control my appetite and guarantees me a super healthy meal at least once per day. I also replaced some of the P90x cardio routines with Insanity workouts.  The High Intensity Interval Training from Shaun T burns fat faster and trains me to work out harder.

By day 180, I  lost a total of 7.5% body fat and 15 pounds.  But the best news is that I have completely beaten type 2 diabetes.  Not only am I off the medications, my doctor is removing diabetes from my charts entirely.  I feel fantastic.

My next challenge will be to commit myself to the Asylum, starting July 18, 2011.

Check out more from James on his website at www.teamletsdothis.com

 

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