The Fitness Race - How I lost 140 Pounds Eating At McDonald's

...And you can too! In the fall of 2004, I had had enough. I knew I had been morbidly obese for years, but the grim reality of a short lived future slapped me in the face. After years of hearing what the doctors told me about my weight, I actually listened to what he said. He told me I wouldn't live much longer, and when I did go, it would be a "drop dead" event. The following is a short description of my story, and the journey I followed to go from where I was to where I wanted to be.

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Location: Schaumburg, Illinois (888)467-8593, United States

After struggling with his weight for more than twenty five years, in Nov 2004 Mark McKenna Little made up his mind that being unhealthy was no longer acceptable. Through sensible eating and increased physical activity (absolutely NO drugs or surgery) he lost 140 pounds and now does four triathlons per year. Early in 2007 he challenged a group at his church that if they were serious about losing more than forty pounds each... he would mentor them to make a total body transformation. SO, THE 2007 FITNESS RACE WAS BORN... Mark Little owns an unrelated business, which he operates, but is mentoring 15 individuals to make similar health and fitness transformations in their lives by September 30, 2007. Many of those in this group have well over 40 pounds of excess weight, but have set a goal to get light enough to do the 2007 Accenture Chicago Triathlon with Mark on August 26, 2007. FOLLOW THEIR STORIES BELOW

Thursday, November 25, 2004

Thanksgiving was not as hard as I thought it would be. I did eat the traditional ham with pineapple glaze, and a fruit plate. The trick was not eating until I was full, but only eating what I had put on the plate. I did not give in to the homemade whip cream.

posted by Mark Little | 9:42 PM | 0 comments

Tuesday, November 23, 2004

This has been a hard week. I ate a total of 8802 calories this week. i have discovered the McDonald's grilled chicken sandwich. Very good flavor. Just don't get the mayo.
On another note, I am not looking forward to the coming Thanksgiving holiday. This will be my first real test to see if I am committed to this new diet. I certainly will miss the pumpkin pie with homemade whip cream. I love homemade whip cream. I will have Sender on speed dial for support....just in case.

posted by Mark Little | 3:29 PM | 0 comments

Tuesday, November 16, 2004

Things are going well. I am noticing a little bit of change....my stomach grumbles a lot more. Anyhow, I ate 11,212 calories this week. Average 1602 calories per day. I really don't like the exercise, but I do like how I feel afterwards.

posted by Mark Little | 3:26 PM | 0 comments

Tuesday, November 09, 2004

Well, it has been a week. I have recorded EVERYTHING I have eaten this week. It was kind of fun to do. I must say that I have discovered something wonderful at McDonald's.....the fat free yogurts. They are the best vanilla flavored yogurts I have tasted. I had a couple of them this week. The total calories eaten this week was 8976 total, or 1283 calories per day.

posted by Mark Little | 3:01 PM | 0 comments

Wednesday, November 03, 2004




The meeting went well yesterday. I met with Dr. Sender Deutsch. I was impressed with the program that they have, especially the accountability process that they have to keep me on track. I have already committed to the following:

1) Nutritional Counselling once per week
2) Physical Training 2-3 times per week
3) ITT (Integrated Therapy and Training) once every 4 weeks
4) Track all food intake sizes and calories

I am starting today. I am excited about the future.

By the way the picture was taken this morning after my first workout.

posted by Mark Little | 2:44 PM | 0 comments

Tuesday, November 02, 2004


This will be one crazy ride. I am going in to interview a weightloss center, called SHAPE Health and Wellness Centre, that was recommended to me by my Olympic athlete friend, Jeff MacInnis. I am supposed to meet with Dr. Sender Deutsch, the Clinic Director. We will see what happens.

posted by Mark Little | 1:24 PM | 0 comments