"I recently competed in the first 12-week fitness contest held by GHF. I am currently 29 years old and married with a small child. I was really feeling horrible about myself and what the future might hold for me and my physical health. I had tried to lose weight many times in the past (just like the majority of people who are reading this).

When I first joined GHF's online fitness program and started their fitness contest I weighed 248 lbs. and had 19.7% bodyfat. My initial 12-week goals were to lose 25 lbs. and 6% bodyfat. I was both nervous and anxious to see if I could reach these goals. I can't really put into words what happened, but I had a major shift in my mindset about losing weight. The contest was still a great motivator, but I simply decided that I would lose the weight and keep it off because I wanted to.

I worked very closely with the GHF staff to set up my customized workout programs (for both weights and cardio) and dietary needs (to make sure that I maintained as much lean muscle mass as possible, while losing excess bodyfat). Now it was up to me. I got down to 225 lbs. and 13.2% bodyfat. I was so excited that I had reached my goals and honestly couldn't believe that I actually really did it. However, I accomplished my 12-week goal in just 6 weeks! I still had 6 more weeks to go.

So, I reevaluated my goals and reset them to get down to 210 lbs. at 10% bodyfat for the full 12 weeks. If I was successful in achieving this goal, I would be in the best physical health I had ever been in my entire life. With the weekly motivation and newsletter e-mails and personal guidance from GHF, as well as all the excellent programs, I was totally focused. And I am very please to say that at the end of the 12-week contest I weighed 208 lbs. at just 6.6% bodyfat!! With the help of GHF, in just 12 weeks, I had lost 40 lbs. and reduced by bodyfat by 13% and was named one of the winners of their fitness contest. Thanks a lot GHF!"

Craig Myers craig.myers@nike.com