This was submitted to us by one of our readers who wanted to remain antonymous, but we want to thank him for his willingness to share:

Middle Age

As a 45 year old male that had never spent a lot of time considering fitness, I was to say the least a bit apprehensive when the family decided to join the local Y. There were advantages for the kids, but my lack of working out lead me to question if I would ever use the membership.

Life Long Struggle

My weight has been a life long struggle. At age 8, I was in an accident that required bedrest for three months. By the end of that time, I weighed as much as my dad and could wear his pants. In the 7th grade, the gym coach laughed when my weight was 220. During high school my weight fluctuated between 245 and 255 and remained there until my early thirties.

During my early thirties I began a seriously calorie deficit diet and lost about 70 pounds. At 185, I found I had a great deal of energy, but I missed many of my favorite foods. Within a six month time period I was married and lost my father to cancer. I dealt with the stress in the way that had always worked in the past. I ate. Within a year I was at 265. Over the next twelve years I put on a few pounds each year and at 45 years old, I weighed just over 300 pounds.

My membership at the Y included an evaluation session. I had become convinced that dieting alone could not solve my weight issues, and thought working out might help. The trainer completed the evaluation and suggested work out routines that could be helpful. In addition, I began to change my eating habits to a high protein diet.

Weight loss was slower this time than it had been before, and I never reached 185 again. However, I was able to reduce my weight back to a more manageable 240. I try to not focus so much on the scale today as I do on fitness. I continue my workout routines on a regular basis. At 53, I feel better than I have in years and find that working out and eating right are worth the sacrifices made.

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Burton

Founder at IPC-Athletics

I've been a bit of a fitness freak since I was young and got into sports. I've always had a body type that was, well skinny. I always wanted to put on pounds naturally but found it hard to do so. Part of my work here has been to create a supplement that can help in putting on lean muscle. I hope you find some useful information here that can help you reach your goals in a natural way like I did.

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