Hi, My name is Mike. I am 5'6" and 36 years old. I started Studying BFFM July of 05 when a friend gave me the Ebook for my birthday.  At this oint in time the digital scale I purchased would only weigh up to 440 Lbs so it groaned when I got on it and would just shut down.  I knew I was 441+ Lbs and very disgusted and scared with myself because I had no clue I could possibly be so heavy!  I did quite a bit of research the prior year and got acquainted with what it would take to achieve a healthy weight loss.  After cycling through literally 100s of websites and repetitive information I settled onto what I thought was the real deal.   I spent the next 2-3 months studying BFFM (Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle) by Tom Venuto.  I toyed around with the program for a few months until I finally got a complete grasp on things in 10/05.  Fortunately at this point I pulled my digital scale back out and it had me at 425 Lbs and I was excited because I was light enough for it to weigh me!  Toms program was now into full swing in 10/05.

      It was very tough the first few months because of my overall physical condition. I had huge water weight in my legs and every 2-3 weeks I would get an infection in my left leg which would turn bright red to almost black and My temperature would rise to 104 and on one occasion 105 degrees. This was going on for almost 2 years before this point but gradually getting more frequent and severe. I ended up in the hospital yet again and they could not figure out where the infections were coming from. My doctor was blunt and to the point. He said "Your going to lose your leg"... and in the next breath he said "IF you don't do something NOW and I mean right NOW to change your life". Knock knock... reality check...

     By January of 06 I had a few minor infections with recovery happening steadily and noticeably as the weeks went by. Things were getting much better as the program progressed and fat started coming off. I was no longer diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, and my blood pressure had dropped substantially. My blood work was finally acceptable on all counts according to my doctor. There was much room for improvement but I was moving further away from the danger zone. I was able to do things and go places due to my baby steps in cardio progression.

     I started out with only 1 min of Cardio in my first week! Here is my story as to why. I could not walk to the mailbox and when it came time to clock out at work every night I would go through this unreal routine, which was extremely stressful, and challenging to me both mentally and physically. I would leave my desk and walk 27 paces to the waiting room then sit down, because I was extremely out of breath and scared that I was going to pass out. I had extreme anxiety over the fact that I could not breath or catch my breath so I had to make sure that I did not do anything over the absolute minimum to stress myself. Next after a few minutes rest I made my way to my vehicle and started it up then drove around the back of the building. I rested another few minutes in the car then I walked 20 steps into the waiting room where the Time clock was and parked my butt on a chair for 3-4 mins until I felt I was rested up enough for the journey back out to my vehicle.

     I swear by the time I got home in my recliner each night from work, I thought I had run a marathon every dam day! My very existence revolved around my mobility! As the weeks passed and I moved up to 2,3,4 mins I realized that these achievements were the real deal. They seem so tiny but for me they were flat out Huge! 4 mins of cardio gave me the independence to be able to walk down the driveway and get the mail and to log out each night at work in a few mins, instead of 15-20 mins! The weeks progressed and when I reached 15 mins I had achieved independence like I never thought possible. I graduated to doing my very own grocery shopping. I could go to the store and buy my groceries, put them in the car, and unload them at home As time progressed I started doing more things, such as attending my 9-year-old sons soccer games, and school programs, and taking him fishing, and for the first time in many years visiting friends.   This was quite a change from being couped up in the house with my only recreation being Cooking, cleaning, laundry and the normal every day activities and those were quite a chore!

     At the time that I am writing this, I weigh in at 265 pounds at 38% body fat. My LBM is 161.5 Lbs. I am currently using Calorie tapering throughout the day, with a carb re-feed every 3rd day and roughly a 40/40/20 ratio. I am at 2209 Calories BMR with a TDEE of 3013 Calories a day. Currently I am taking in 2200 Calories a day and keeping a close eye on my LBM and making changes as necessary.

     For my cardio I do 4 Power walks a week for 30-45 mins a session and I keep switching up my intensity and duration to keep the body from adapting. I try to better myself with my cardio workouts using mini goals, which range from time, distance, miles, intensity and even heart rate for beginning and ending of work out. A Pedometer which you can pick up for 10-15$ is invaluable for keeping track of your goals and progression. I have always been a competitive person and I love to beat my own personal bests. When I wake up everyday I look forward to working on my goals and get psyched about thinking of new goals to spice my life up. I am looking to add a recumbent bike and or Elliptical machine for my home gym in the near future and increase my cardio sessions.

     My weight lifting approach had a modest background from my athletic days in High School. I played Football all through school as well as baseball and I stayed right at 200 lbs from 9th-12th grades. My school had just built a new weight training gym, but the knowledge of the coaches and the kids in general left allot to be desired for productivity and efficiency. We would basically go in and see how much weight we could lift a few times at the bench, or dead lifts and call it a day. I had no concept of nutrition, or proper form. We just wanted to half ass it so we could go lolly gag around with the other kids. The lack of real gains due to this poor layout made me feel I wasn't gifted enough to benefit from weight training to its fullest. The few genetically gifted kids always made me envious because they didn’t do anything different then I did, but got big gains. If I only had known what I know now! Classic line? Nutrition, a structured program, cardio and the proper support team all working in synergy is a ferocious concept. I have a weakness for the word Synergy! It just sounds so good. Almost like a Lion Growling and the roar carrying on for 10 miles. That’s powerful stuff man...

     For my weight lifting I ended up purchasing the Select Tech Dumbbells and bench from Bowflex in January 06. I did this for a few reasons. I knew I could get a complete body workout for a fraction of the cost of outfitting machines in the basement and I could work out alone which I enjoy. I am presently doing a 2-day split program on Mon/Wed/Fri. This right now is working great for me in maintaining my LBM, but I also look forward to graduating to a more advanced routine down the road. The variations are endless with Dumbbells so I change things up regularly to keep my program from adapting. My routine looks like this currently.

Day one:

Flat Chest Press

Overhead Press

Lying Triceps extension

Overhead Triceps Extension

Single arm row

Standing Curl

Concentration curls

Day two:

Stationary Lunge

Stiff-Leg Dead lift

Calf Raise

Abs Crunch

Lying Trunk rotation

Day three: repeat cycle

      My supplements include Flax Oil, Flax Seed, Multi vitamin, Green Tea, and Whey Protein. The rest of my diet is whole foods and shakes. The foods that I enjoy the most are Oatmeal, Wild Salmon, Chicken Breasts, 99% lean Turkey Burger, 96% lean hamburger,  Almonds, Brown rice, bananas, Strawberries, Blue-berries, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Green beans, Sugar free Jell-O, Tuna, and occasionally will add whole grain pasta or Wheat bread to the menu. As for cheat meals I think I have maybe cheated 3 times this entire year. The worst cheat I had was a few weeks back on a Friday. I was the master chef at a cookout at some good friends house and I made Burgers, Kabasa, Steak, and chicken breasts on the grill. I must have had 4 burgers that night! I told myself to go for it, and kind of prepped myself in advance so I didn't feel horrible after. I still must say the next morning I wish I never did it, but I worked out harder and more focused the following week. My gains were not what they should of been but rightfully so!

     I don't like absolutes or definitives in anything I do. I like to invent my strategy, goals, and mindset after careful analysis of the data. I feel we are so individualistic and need to become in touch with our most inner selves and to do that we need to apply what we learn in our own creative ways. What I like about the BFFM program is Tom through massive research and personal experience has given us the ingredients to make our own recipes in every aspect of the program. People need to shine and feel in control of them selves. Boot camp mentality to me is about as good as willpower ever will be. It’s enough to sugar coat a New Years resolution for 4-6 weeks but after that something is missing and void. We outgrow the program because we thrive on change, evolution and creativity. Tom's program shares the same battery power with each and every one of us, but that’s where it ends. We utilize the energy from the battery to create our own goals, cardio, menus, and lifting programs with infinite possible results and this is why it will work for each person specifically.

     I am extremely Thankful for Tom and what his BFFM program has given me that so many other programs could not do for me. Programs such as Scarsdale diet, Atkins, Zone, Beverly hills weight loss, to name a few. These programs were not necessarily bad; they just did not work for me. There is absolutely no way to repay someone who gives you a Ticket for 25-30 + quality years to your life. I have no doubt that I am fit for life both physically and spiritually and there is no such thing as going back. My image, goals, tools, and newfound ambitions and aspirations have planted a foundation that yields nothing but victory. I have won... yet the race has not ended. Thank you for all your program has done for me Tom Venuto...

Mike Boyd