CONGRATS, BLAKE!

The most obvious way CSE has helped me is exactly what you can see. I started this challenge at 248 lbs., and as of today, I weigh 225 lbs. I lost 23 lbs. in 7 weeks! Being a former collegiate athlete and Division I football player, I used to be very “in shape” and into exercising all of the time. I was very healthy, in terms of physical fitness. For many college football players, part of the game is putting on weight in order to play a certain position. I entered college at 6’3”, weighing about 200 lbs. My coaches wanted me to weigh 235-240 lbs. After almost two years, I was able to get to 235 lbs., and it was a pretty solid and healthy 235.

After I decided to stop my collegiate career, due to multiple reasons, a large factor being a heart defect that we had discovered I had, all of that weight I had gained turned from solid to not-so-solid. It happens to the best of us. When the main reason you exercised was to enhance your athletic abilities for competitive sports, and to gain that competitive edge, and you are no longer competing anymore, the motivation to exercise goes down significantly. Then you get married and have kids and creating time to exercise becomes more challenging and seems like a hassle.

The issue for me was that all of the weight I had gained, that had turned soft on me, was putting extra strain on my heart and its defect. A few months ago, during a routine follow-up visit with my cardiologist, I weighed 250 lbs. and my blood pressure was through the roof. He told me I needed to get back to being serious about exercise.

This was the perfect reason for my wife to use to sign us up for this challenge. She had wanted us to do it for a long time, but now I had no excuse not to do it with her. That, and the fact she said I’d have to fend for my own meals because she wasn’t cooking multiple! But I’m so glad I did it. I look so much better and feel healthier. The CSE program was great, and I really enjoyed all of the meals! We are going to continue on the program and do more CSE challenges with family members that have been shocked by our results!