Success Stories

before

after

Name: Mark D.
Location: Westminster, California
Age: 53
Height:
Was: 342 pounds
Lost: 102 pounds*
Additional Weight Lost
Since the Challenge: 78 pounds*
As Of: August 2009

Hobby Fisherman Gets Hooked on Isagenix® and Scales Back Weight

As the industrial fish scale registered the number “404,” all Mark could do was stare incredulously, wondering how he had let himself get to that point. Hit hard by the figure, the hobby fisherman from California thought he was surely past the point of no return.

A former runner who was very active in his younger years, Mark never thought of himself as particularly overweight. But after a severe car accident limited his mobility, the 53-year-old furniture refinisher’s health began to deteriorate as his weight climbed.

It wasn’t until that fateful fishing trip, however, that he realized exactly how bad the situation had become. Unsure of where to start, Mark considered lap band surgery to lose the weight, but wasn’t thrilled with the idea of having excess skin left over. He considered putting himself on a diet, but he knew that temporarily dropping a few pounds wouldn’t make a significant difference.

A routine doctor visit changed his life forever.

“My doctor told me that he’d been using Isagenix® and suggested that I go to a meeting to learn more,” Mark recalls. “Then at the meeting another doctor told me that this system was designed for me. I was skeptical at first, but I made a commitment to test it out and do it for six months by the book.”

Mark realized that exercise would be an important part of his recovery, so he began to walk around the local track. At first, he could only complete one lap, but then that soon turned into two, then three and more. Between nourishing his body with Isagenix products and getting regular exercise, he soon was down 62 pounds.*

Then he decided to take his progress to the next level and join the 2009 IsaBody Challenge®. With his doctor monitoring him, he kept up his walking routine, started going to the gym and doing the Stairmaster and the weight continued to fall off. He even brought his IsaLean® Shakes along with him when he went on fishing trips with his friends. Soon, he’d hit his initial goal of making it to 250 pounds* so he reset it to 220 pounds instead.

Now down 180 pounds*, the first-place winner in the Men 50+ Category of the 2009 Challenge and solidly on his way to being a member of the 200-Pound Club, Mark says the change in his physical appearance has been stunning, for both himself and his friends and family.

“The compliments I get and the way I feel are amazing. Now that I’m down to a normal size 36*, people admit that they were always worried about me, but afraid to say anything,” shares Mark. “For me, hearing that they’re thankful that I’m going to be around and in their lives longer has been very touching.”

Mark no longer worries about being able to slide into a booth at a restaurant or sit in a chair that has arms. He’s grateful to have had the opportunity to participate in the IsaBody Challenge because he says it’s provided him with the guidelines and motivation he needed to succeed. He’s even entering the 2010 Challenge to keep working towards his ultimate health and weight-loss goals.

“Most people are goal-oriented and the IsaBody Challenge gives you something more to focus on and the motivation to achieve your goals,” says Mark. “When I found out that I was a finalist, I broke down and started crying. When I went into the Challenge, I was doing it for myself and wasn’t interested in helping other people or making money; it was just about me. Now there’s so much more to it.”

With his newfound health and a desire to help others, Mark says that all the pieces of his life are finally coming together — and he credits Isagenix for that.

“I’m actually in shape, happy and financially successful. I’ve had some of those things before, but never all at the same time,” says Mark. “And now that I’m starting my Isagenix business and helping people, it’s all-encompassing. I know that I’ll never go back to what my life was before Isagenix.”