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.

About Me

Name: Mark Little

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

Saturday, March 24, 2007

Greetings from gorgeous Alta, Utah

My new body never ceases to amaze me. I've always loved to snow ski, but it was tough when I weighed 313 pounds. Being so top-heavy was rough on skis. For some reason, the altitude affected me when I was heavy, too. I frequently felt flu-like symptoms at higher altitudes.

Well, now is different! At 173 pounds I went on our annual ski trip to Alta, Utah this past week and ski'd every day. The amazing thing is that in the old days, if I went skiing for a day, I had to take the next day off to ice my sore muscles and then soak in a hot bath to be able to walk and move around again. This year, after all my athletic training four or so hours per week, I ski'd every day this week and not only didn't take a day off in between, but never even felt sore. I can't believe how adaptable the body is. Once you begin simple improvements in health & fitness, the body rewards you with noticible improvements in performance.

As a result, my friends Bill Bachrach, author of the best-selling book Values-Based Financial Planning, and Steve Moeller (pictured above with me), author of the best-seller Effortless Marketing, both expert skiers, gave me some excellent coaching down the most aggressive slopes I have ever ski'd.

My new body is allowing me to go places and do fun things that will help ensure a lifetime of health & fitness.