A Personal Transformation and 10 Diet Tips

On the surface, my friend “D”, had it all. He was married to a beautiful woman, they had a healthy, happy 3 year old boy, and he had a great job. A natural salesman, he loved to eat and drink and schmooze. Perhaps too much.

There was also a nagging, hidden insecurity that lurked in his mind every day. Was he really good enough for her? Did he really have what it took to be the best at his job? A few drinks would help deal with it.

And then there was the depression. It would arrive out of the blue, and like his father, he’d turn to a few more drinks to deal with it.

It began to take a devastating toll on his life, his family, and his job.

Booze led to overeating and obesity. Booze also led to drugs. His reckless behavior could no longer be hidden at home. His marriage and family were being torn apart. D was spiraling out of control.

D was left with two choices. One, he could continue to follow down the path of his father into long-term alcoholism, knowing that it destroy his marriage and his relationship with his boy, or two, he could clean himself up for the sake of his son and beautiful wife.

What he did took great strength. And I want you to use his story as motivation to make big changes in your life.

Imagine this…it’s the week before Christmas, 2012. For most of us, we were going through the usual preparations for another wonderful holiday.

My friend wasn’t so lucky. He was checking into rehab where he spent Christmas, New Years, and a total of six weeks getting clean and sober. And he’s been that way for over a year.

Today, he’s happy as ever and in control of his life. His marriage is strong, and his son is the center of his life, and he now has the time and energy to keep up with the little guy every day. The outgoing, energetic, enthusiastic, loveable D that I knew back in college has returned.
But not a lot of guys turn it around at such a young age. Most take the darker path, going deeper and deeper into the depths of despair when tested.

My father, and D’s father, for instance, took the wrong road. For whatever reasons, our dads chose the easy way – more drinking, less responsibility – rather than changing.

Their decisions destroyed marriages and left mental scars on their sons, leaving us with our own battles to fight as we came of the same age and responsibilities in our late 30′s.

Fortunately, when faced with the toughest fight of his life, D chose the right direction. And though it was hardest decision he ever made, it was also the best. D knew he had to change for the sake of his wife and son.

“Back then I was so embarrassed by my behavior and was too ashamed to reach out for help,” D said. “But now, I feel like I survived a plane crash.”

BOOM.

He crashed and burned but walked away and lived to tell about it.
Why?

Because he put the 5 pillars of Transformation into place in his life.

First, he got social support from his wife (and the understanding company that he worked for), second, accountability to health professionals, third, he planned and prepared his life to live better and avoid temptations, fourth, he found an incentive (the relationships with his son and wife, and his job), and fifth, he set a deadline for changing and checked into rehab.

All of this took great strength but it was supported by those 5 pillars, the same 5 pillars we promote and use in our TT Transformation Contests.

I’ve never thought about Transformations like this before…that’s why D’s story had an incredible impact on me and I just had to share it with you.

D now has a totally different approach to life. He’s much more open with his wife, friends, and work colleagues, and he’s willing to share his story and ask for help when things get tough.

I hope that you never go through struggles that are as tough as D’s, but just know this…no matter what you are are going through, you CAN change.

Changing isn’t easy. True transformation never is. But it can be done. So no matter where you are in your struggles, use D as inspiration to never, ever give up on what is important to you.

So that’s my Weekend feelgood story…better than a Sunday afternoon movie!

There are TWO things that you can take action on right now.

FIRST, you can use D’s story as motivation to enter the TT Transformation Contest. I know, I know, I told you that the last day to enter was January 15th…and that was ‘kind of’ true.

That WAS the last day to enter if you wanted to do all 12 weeks. But even if you enter today you can still do 11 and a half weeks…and I know that you can make equally incredible changes in 80 days as you could in 84 days.

So go get a newspaper. Take your before photo. Do a TT workout today. Stay strong, using D’s story as inspiration for the next 11.5 weeks, and then take your after photo on Wed, April 9th and submit your entry. Full rules here.

That’s it. Nothing to buy. No forms to fill out. Just get a paper, take a photo, and start making changes today.

SECOND, if you want to help others, then you can join our Transformation Mission. Watch this free video to find out how you can be a part of our 10 Million Transformation Mission.

In that video I reveal a story from my childhood that inspired me to take up this mission over 34 years ago. What my mom said to me that day changed my life…and might even change yours.

Thanks for listening. I hope this helps and inspires you.

Stay strong, like D, and you’ll achieve the transformation you desire.

I know that D’s story will help someone reading today to stop drinking, overcome overeating, and get back to being the father or mother they know they should – and can – be. It might be you, or it might be someone you share this and the 5 pillars of transformation with.

No matter which it is for you, thank you for all that you do.

Keep on pushing on,

Craig Ballantyne, CTT
Certified Turbulence Trainer

PS – Oh, and of course we’ve put D on a TT Workout and I gave him these 10 diet tips that you can use to overcome night eating:

Have a protein shake BEFORE dinner to keep you full. Worst case, have the shake after dinner rather than ice cream. Blend it with ice cubes and unsweetened almond milk.

Eat more vegetables at dinner. The more greens, the better. Learn to love spices, garlic, and olive oil.

Stay out of the kitchen/dining area after you are done eating. Removing yourself from the eating area helps.

Eat an apple, pear, or orange rather than a sugar-laden dessert.

Eat dinner later or go to bed earlier. The longer you are up, the harder it is to fight the cravings.

Buy pistachios (IN the shell). 49 pistachios equals 160 calories and 6g protein. Compare that to 14 chips at 160 cals and 1g protein. But only eat the pistachios if necessary.
Drink a club soda. Have a decaf Green Tea. Drink flavored water.

Keep the junk out of the house.

Brush your teeth or chew gum after dinner.

Stay busy talking with your wife or playing with your boy, not eating.

Those 10 tips will save the day!

Stay strong.

And remember…

What you are doing now is 10x’s better than what you were doing last week, so keep going, and know that I am proud of you.