BIG DAY! I sponsored three guys (two from Willow Creek and Denis my Lead Trainer) for swim training today.

When I made up my mind to seek 10 - 20 people needing to lose at least 40 pounds to run a triathlon with me in July of '07 (6 months from now), my initial concern was "the swim"

From all I had read... the primary intimidation of a triathlon for most folks is the swimming portion. The run only concerned people with bad knees or disabilities and the cycling only concerned people with no bike (or disabilities).

So... I treated my three friends today to "state of the art" swim training. The same training I took (at the recommendation of Bill Bachrach... my "Ironman" friend). The idea of this special training is to "swim like a fish" as effortlessly as possible. It works! After nearly 25 years of not swimming, I was able to swim a kilometer after only one day's training.

My three friends today (two of whom will run the tri with us in July), were amazed at the improvement in their swimming today.

SUPERSIZE ME detractors coming out of the woodwork

After 90 days eating only at McDonald's but limiting herself to no more than 1400 calories per day, a North Carolina construction worker named Merab Morgan lost more than 30 pounds.

Following a similar routine... except eating a much higher 2500 calories a day but sticking to diet drinks, USAF sergeant Deshan Woods, a fellow Texan, lost around 12 pounds in 90 days.

There will be no end to the stories of making smart food selections while eating out resulting in weight loss.

I'm curious if any of these folks increased their physical activity to 2-3 hours per week like I did. I think the combination was the magic formula for me.

I believe there is also a 2005 film called something like Me and Mickey D which follows New Hampshire woman Soso Whaley around as she spends 90-days eating 2000 calories a day at McDonald's. She lost a total of around 32 pounds.

More evidence that good choices matter

HEART WARMING INSPIRATION TO CONTINUE TO "PAY IT FORWARD"

I was so excited today as Jeff MacInnis accepted my invitation to speak before a group of nearly 60 financial advisors who had flown into San Diego from all over the U.S., Canada & Europe to hear me give a talk about better organizing their businesses.

Now, just to remind you... Jeff MacInnis was instrumental in my journey into health & fitness. You see in the fall of 2004 when I had that important dinner where I debated internally whether to "make up my mind" once & for all to take charge of my health & fitness.... I was so cautious to say anything outloud because I knew my two friends present would hold me accountable.

One was my close friend Bill Bachrach, who had been gently encouraging me with compassion for more than five years to focus on my health (and NEVER gave up on me... even as I hit 313 pounds). The other person at that dinner was my Olympic athlete buddy Jeff MacInnis. When I finally shared my commitment with these two dear friends... they gave me encouragement, hope and their willingness to support me. NOTE: Who in your life loves you enough to consistently tell you what you need to hear... not just what you want to hear? They'll tell you when your fly is down, you have spinach stuck in your teeth and, when asked,... "I care about you enough that I want you to live a long high quality of life and 'Mark, right now you need to refocus your attention on your health & fitness'"

Then Jeff took the lead and led me to his team of physical trainers, registered dieticians, physio-therapists and others on his team of experts. Jeff set me up to train exactly like an Olympic athlete.

So..... today Jeff stood before my group and told the story from his perspective. He told the group that I made the commitment, followed the process and was willing to take the advice of experts all along the way. He told them that I measured and tracked closer than any athlete he's known other than Lance Armstrong. Lance Armstrong! He actually compared my training to Lance's. Jeff not only inspired many people today by challenging them with "So, What's your Race?"

But the most amazing thing is this. After his talk, four people approached the stage to share with him that they had seen me talk more than a year ago.... and it inspired them to get lighter, healthier & fitter. Jeff scurried to his bag, extracted a video cam and interviewed these folks' inspiring stories of "taking charge of their health." I'll always remember the image of one fellow pulling out a photo of himself last year and sharing his story of losing more than 40 pounds. AMAZING!

I'm so grateful and humbled to be able to help people plant a stake in the ground like that for themselves. Thank you Jeff! I will always be grateful and pledge to continuing to "pay it forward."

MORE SUPERSIZE ME MALARKY:

I also found that in 2004, US documentary film-maker Scott Caswell lost around 17 pounds after eating only at McDonald's for a month. His progress is followed in a movie called Bowling for Morgan, however there are no details about the items he ate (apparently he did say "NO" to supersize meals and drank only water or diet soda).

More evidence that there may be some wisdom in making better choices of what we decide to order. Again... no surprises here.

SUPERSIZE ME IS IN TROUBLE... I just found out that in 2004, Dutch journalist Wim Meij spent 30 days eating solely at McDonald's, but choosing mostly salads. He lost around 13
pounds.

See... I've been saying that people can make good choices, as well as bad ones, when they eat fast food. This story is no surprise to me, is it to you?

I let the word get around at Willow Creek that I'd like to do a triathlon on July 22 in Waukegan with a group from the church. What I'm really looking to do is identify 10 to 20 people who have at least 40 pounds of excess weight to lose. We'll train together and do the triathlon on July 22 as a group. I'll encourage them along the way, hold them accountable and show them that it's possible for them (even if they have more than 100 pounds of weight to lose between now and then)

It would be great to find 10 to 20 people who are absolutely convinced that they cannot do a triathlon (you know, people who feel like I felt when I weighed 313 pounds... I would have never believed that I could do four triathlons in one year... like I did last year)?

Their job is to make up their mind to do the work. My job is to convince them they can do it... just like I did.

The good news I have to report is that one person has already committed to doing this. He has more than 40 pounds to lose... is very fired up... and we met today to go over his nutrition and training plan. He's already tracking his food every day, just like I did and is fully committed to do physical training a minimum of three hours per week just as I did.

He's going to do great, and on July 22 he's going to be a triathlete.

Big decision to makeI have an opportunity to move to San Diego.... which I've always wanted to do (it's on my goal sheet to live in San Diego someday).

My problem is I still have work to do here in Chicago. I've established quite a momentum here, but the opportunity in San Diego is actually greater.

One thing that appeals to me is the weather. I just think how much more training I could get done if it wasn't so cold and snowy outside. Imagine running on the beach every day.

I'm glad I have to pray about this one... I wonder what the big guy wants me to do?

I found a great personal trainer working at the South Barrington Club. His name is Humberto Medina, he's a very talented experienced highly educated and motivating person. He is pushing me to my limits which is all I can ask for.

He's come up with an idea to do mini triathlons once per week. A perfect plan for winter training... there's snow on the ground and I'm still going to be doing triathlons indoors.

The way it will work is this... he envisions doing the triathlons in reverse order:

1. run on the treadmill for 20 minutes
2. ride on the stationary bike for 20 minutes
3. swim for 20 minutes
we'll measure my distances in each event. This is going to be great, hopefully my distances will increase over time. You know like how long I can run in 20 minutes etc.

great plan

I can't wait to get going