We all want to live long, full, vivacious lives. Good health is the key to achieving this goal. In order to do this, we work incredibly hard and we make sacrifices. The road to good health is paved with blood, sweat, tears and discipline. If it was easy, we wouldn’t need the guidance we so eagerly seek. So why does so much of this guidance recommend us to implement a “cheat day”? Cheat days seem too good to be true. And guess what?  They are.

Reaching your fitness goals should not and will not be an easy task.  But the more you work at it, the better you will feel at the end of the day. The word “cheat” shouldn’t even be in your vocabulary when working towards your goal of living a healthy life.  Here are 5 reasons why:

1.      Cheat Days Fuel Junk Food Addiction

For some, if not most people, kicking the junk food addiction is the toughest part of adopting a healthy lifestyle. These over-processed foods truly are addicting.  Any junk food—whether it’s McDonald’s, chocolate chip cookies or those deadly frozen dinners—need to be completely eliminated from your diet.  Get used to avoiding the cheat day and you wouldn’t even consider indulging in these foods.  Bad foods are bad foods regardless of the day of the week. Recovered drug addicts don’t allow themselves one day a week to slip into old habits, you shouldn’t let your addictions back into your life either.

2.      Cheat Days Lead to Guilt Days

Nobody on this planet enjoys the feeling of guilt. It’s that pain in your stomach when you know you did something you shouldn’t have. Throwing your diet out the window one day a week ultimately leads to feelings of guilt. Even though you were advised that a cheat day is good for you, a day of unrestricted consumption still leaves you feeling uneasy. You know deep down that it’s not right. Your diet should be consistent. Don’t let an ill-advised cheat day ruin what you’re working so hard to achieve.

3.      Cheat Days Don’t Fit into Your Lifestyle Change

If you really and truly want to change your life, you cannot make exceptions. This is true in all areas, especially when it comes to nutrition. If you are committed to changing the way you eat and ultimately changing the way you live, then a cheat day is not for you. The concept in itself is not conducive to your overall health efforts.

Let’s put it into perspective.  Imagine that you have high anxiety due to stress and pervasive negativity. You want to change the way you think and change the way you live. You want to focus on positive emotions. Positive thoughts and deep feelings of gratitude will counteract the stress and negativity. So, you begin to make a serious effort to consistently think positive thoughts. You wouldn’t dream of spending an entire day dwelling on negativity. So why is a cheat day accepted when attempting to change the way you think about food? If you want a real and lasting lifestyle change, you cannot embrace the cheat day.

4.      Cheat Days are for…well…Cheaters

You’re not a cheater. You wouldn’t cheat on your taxes or cheat on your spouse, so don’t cheat on yourself! Accepting a cheat day as a part of your diet is doing just that. Many people view the cheat day as a payoff for having done a good job of eating healthy all week long.

There is a huge difference between a reward and a full day of unnecessary indulgence. Consider a reward meal instead of an entire cheat day. If you are eating 5 small meals a day, that’s 35 meals a week.  Make just one of these meals a reward and then get back on track. At the same time, don’t think that a reward meal means eating a plate of potato chips and candy.  Remember your goals when ordering that special meal. Moderation is key. Keep your rewards simple—the ultimate prize is changing the way you think about food and how it fuels your body. If you’re always thinking about that one day where the rules fly out the window, then you haven’t succeeded in changing the way you view nutrition.

5.      Cheat Days Add Up

It’s easy to think of a cheat day as one insignificant day that you don’t follow the restrictions and limitations of healthy eating. But a cheat day is anything but one simple day. Cheat days add up.

If you take one cheat day a week for an entire year, that’s 53 cheat days. That’s 53 days where you missed the opportunity to better yourself. If you eat an extra 500 calories each cheat day, that’s 26,500 unnecessary additional calories.  Remind yourself of these numbers when you think about taking that one day a week to cheat on your nutrition efforts.

If you want to reach your health goals and you want to see progress, you must eliminate the cheat day. You have accepted the challenge of changing the way you live your life, now accept the challenge of doing so 7 days a week. It’s going to be difficult, and it should be.  Just keep in mind that the end result will be worth the sacrifices made along the way.

I’ll start from what I can remember. I have always been a large kid. Maybe not a particularly huge baby but I definitely knew how to eat. I can’t really blame my parents for what we were fed as out of four siblings, I happened to be the fat child. I can’t really attribute anything specific to why I was so large at the time. I know it certainly doesn’t help one’s self esteem when you are made fun of for being fat and Asian growing up.

Wasn’t I cute?!

I was diagnosed with juvenile type 2 diabetes back in my late junior high years. For those that don’t really know, diabetes (at least for type 2) is the inability of the body to produce sufficient insulin to regulate the absorption of sugars that your body uses. This diminished capacity forces the excess sugars to build up in your blood. Over prolonged periods of time, maintaining uncontrolled high blood sugar causes damage to your body, from your eyes, to your legs and feet, and even cardiac arrest. The best example I can give is that high blood sugars are like broken shards of glass continually scraping and ripping at your veins, arteries and tissues. Your body is continually fighting this onslaught of damage which is a reason why diabetics take longer to heal from injuries, cuts, the flu and even simple colds. If you want more information regarding diabetes, please go to www.diabetes.org.

At my heaviest, which were during my collegiate years, I was sitting around 310 pounds. I think part of my weight stems from growing up and trying to figure out my sexuality. I really knew who I was back when I was quite young, but of course I didn’t have the words or knowledge to describe it. I did come out late in college and that actually was the beginning change in life for me. The bad thing was that I still found comfort and love in food so though losing some weight after college through my 30s, I was still hovering around 280 pounds.

Is that a giant marshmallow?

Tim Conquering the Red Hill!!

After college, I tried doing every fad diet and attending the gym and even hoped the support and inspiration of good, close friends such as Darin Coffman, Steve Curran and Lane Feuer would help inspire me to lose weight and make better choices in life. At one point, I did get down to 245 lbs but even then it was all just cardio. I was still eating poorly and making bad decisions. It was an unhealthy way to go about changing my life. Then, shoulder injury, major illness and shoulder surgery took me out of the gym for a long while and I was unable to get myself back into the swing of things. It is crazy easy to go from 245 lbs back into the 270s when you stop the cardio and maintain poor eating habits.

Now the fun part. I’m now 41 years old. Countless warnings from Dr. John Verstraete, other doctors and supportive concern from my friends still have not put me in the place I need to be. Diabetes has taken quite a toll on my body. Along with the weight, I have high blood pressure, high cholesterol, stasis (poor circulation) in my left leg, and the beginnings of diabetic retinopathy (eye damage). These health issues are a serious matter if one really wants to continue to live a productive life. I shouldn’t even use the word productive here, more like an enjoyable life. Keep in mind that with all of these conditions, at the time, I always thought just taking more medication would keep me happy and healthy. That being said, my version of happy and healthy involved 36 units of insulin daily via shot to the stomach, four additional diabetes medications, two high blood pressure medications, a water pill, high cholesterol medication and a pill for my kidneys to protect them from damage. Sheesh!

After getting my last “diagnosis” for stasis, I Googled that condition and saw the end result and realized: “If I don’t change things, I will lose a foot, be blind or be dead within a short period of time.” Do I really want to go through that? Do I want my friends and family see me suffer and go through that? I always believe that you have to be ready to make the changes necessary to be successful in anything long term, weight loss is no exception to this mindset. Just because someone actually loses 100 lbs doesn’t mean they will keep it off. I finally decided that my life is worth something. It’s worth something to me. I am worth everything and deserve good things.

That is why I am on this journey. Self worth is my journey. So, with that in mind, I set out to do what I could control. My weight and nutrition. In turn, that should affect my health issues in positive ways. I felt, for me, that I needed to find a personal trainer so I could feel accountable to someone and a person that could help guide me along this new road to discovering a person inside of me I’ve never found. I decided to talk to Micah Lacerte of HitchFit for this role. I met Micah randomly at Bally Total Fitness many years ago. I saw him working out and just walked up to him to ask him some advice. He made such great impression on me as a person and as a supportive friend when I first met him, that it made sense for me to reach out to him if he was doing personal training. He is all about doing things in a healthy and managed way through diet/nutrition, weight training and of course cardio, cardio, cardio. An interesting thing to note is that Micah told me later that he would normally not talk to anyone at the gym. He just focuses on his workouts and blinders are up.

So on January 11, 2010, I started my very first personal training session with Micah and began my change in eating habits. I could barely do anything, or at least that’s what I felt like during my first session. I think the thing that really put me into such a focused mindset was something Micah said at the end of my first session. He said, “Timmy, I thought you would be a big whiny baby”. When he said that, I was like “WTH?” From that point forward, I was determined never to allow him to see “that” person. I just did as much as I could without complaint. I pretty much went cold turkey. Complete diet change with basically no cheat meals allowed. As much cardio as I have been able to do. Fighting off two different illnesses and trying to adjust my insulin medication to compensate for all of the changes occurring.

In early March 2010, I went from being only able to do 10-15 minutes of cardio to nearly 45 minutes to an hour of elliptical trainer. Micah says I am getting stronger with every session and my stamina is radically improving. I’ve now lost 23 pounds of mostly fat over the last 7 weeks. I am on track and doing things in a manner that my body can adjust to.

At the end of my official time with HitchFit in June 2010, I dropped 51 lbs of fat!! I tried carrying two 25lb barbells around for a bit and dang, that’s heavy. Just trying to understand how my body supported that weight boggles my mind. The BIGGEST change, however, is my health status. Remember all my health conditions and required medications? I went from running a pharmacy to… NO MEDICATIONS. I am free from insulin and all of the plethora of pills that I needed just to “live life”.

Now almost 2.5 years since I began this journey of health and well being, I can say without a doubt that my happiness is centered around my health. This has not been an easy road, and I never expected it to be. I’ve had additional setbacks with another shoulder injury and surgery and refused to let myself slide back into the drought of desperation that took over in the past.

I am now able to nearly jog a full 5K. I never thought I’d ever say something like that or DO anything like that in my life. I mix up my cardio between swimming laps, elliptical trainers, walks and jogs with some interval training in between. My shoulder is getting back to normal so my weight training regiment is back into swing.

I believe with everything, that the people you place around you are almost as important as your focus and self determination to better your health and wellness. This journey has never been about 6 pack abs or pecs of steel. For me, this has been about health and being able to live life. Along this road of adventure, I’ve been fortunate to not only be in the company of wonderful HitchFit trainers like Diana Lacerte and James Hanton, but have been blessed to meet and be humbled by WBFF athletes with their own stories and transformations.

I am not alone in the fight for health and wellness. The mantra of the HitchFit team is not a sales pitch. It’s a pitch to save your life by making lifestyle changes so that you live life and not let life slide by in a blur.

I am so close to breaking into the 180′s and I know I can do it. I don’t really want to focus on the numbers anymore but my eventual goal is around the 170lbs mark. This is not a race, it should never be. This isn’t the biggest loser. It’s about making life choices that will impact your future. I don’t know if I’ll ever step on a WBFF stage but I know that the HitchFit and WBFF family would stand up and cheer if I did. All I know is that I used to weigh 310 lbs at one point in life and now I’m 120 lbs lighter. I’ve won my life back and I’m so happy that I am crying as I type these last few words. I hope this is helpful to at least one person. If I can help one person, I know I’ve made an impact in the world. Stay tuned, I’ll keep you informed of my next milestones and life changes.

BELIEVE, TRANSFORM, INSPIRE!

Much love,

Timmy Gee

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Research proves that lack of sleep leads to weigh gain.  We reveal the 5 reasons why.

Everyone has heard the term “beauty sleep.”  But is it all just a myth?  Can you really look more “beautiful” by sleeping more?  As a matter of fact, yes.  Getting more sleep has been proven to help men and women everywhere lose weight and look younger.

In a 7-year study of 7,022 middle-aged people, Finnish researchers found that women who reported sleep problems were more likely to experience a major weight gain (defined as 11 pounds or more!).  But why does this happen…and more importantly, how can you avoid it?

When you sleep less you will…

• Burn less fat: Lack of sleep actually makes our bodies burn less fat during the day.  When you don’t sleep as much, you do not have the same amount of energy expenditure (the calories you burn by just being).

• Eat more often: In research conducted by the American Heart Association, women who got only 4 hours of sleep a night ate 329 calories more the next day than women who slept 9 hours.  Not only do you have more time to eat, but you also are more prone to do some late-night snacking when you do not go to bed at an appropriate hour.

• Crave more: Sleep greatly impacts your hormone levels.  Insufficient sleep raises the levels of ghrelin (the hormone that tells you went to eat!).  When you sleep less, you’ll eat more—it’s just how our bodies function!

• Hang on to more fat: Lack of sleep actually affects the kind of weight you lose.  The more sleep you get, the more fat you will lose (not just pounds!).

How can you bring out your inner-Sleeping Beauty?  We have 5 awesome tips to whip you into the shape of your life and help you catch up on sleep at the same time.

1)      Wear yourself out!

Obviously, one of our favorite ways to get a good amount of sleep is to tire yourself out before the end of the day.  How?  Go on a run, lift weights, take the stairs at work or take the dog on an intense walk.  Burn off that extra energy you have before you go to sleep and you’ll be zonked out in no time.

2)      Create a sleeping environment

When the TV is blaring, the windows are open and you’re not under your covers, you are less likely to fall asleep.  Set the right environment for sleep.  Try to limit your bedroom activities to sleeping—don’t get on your computer in bed, don’t turn on the TV, don’t sort the mail.  Hang dark curtains to keep sunlight out.  Keep it cool and quiet.

3)      Keep the TV off

Many of us are in the habit of watching TV before we go to bed.  TV is bright and sometimes wakes us up more than helps us fall asleep.  Instead of turning on the tube, do some crunches, read a few chapters of a book or journal before going to bed.

4)      Find your routine (and stick to it!)

Be firm with your sleeping routine.  Try giving yourself a set schedule (be in bed by 10:00, lights out by 10:30, wake up by 7:00).  To start falling asleep earlier, try putting yourself to bed a half hour earlier every week.

5)      Wake up earlier

Oh the dreadful buzz of the alarm.  Yes, it would be nice to snooze an extra 30 minutes…or you could get up and get your day started.  The earlier you wake up, the faster you’ll fall asleep that evening.  It’s all about discipline, people!

 Looked very Similar to this One But Silver and more rust

I was the first person in my immediate family to graduate college.  Graduation day up to that point of my life was the biggest success of my life and one of the very best days of my life.   I left College with no real idea what I wanted to do other than the fact that I Loved Fitness and in the 5 years I was in school had transformed my body.

After graduating I worked a 9 to 5 management job and within months quit and got back into the gym and personal training.  I had come to the realization that the car I wanted to drive, the house I wanted to buy the other things I wanted in my life I had to put on the back-burner, I had to figure out how to pay my bills, how to put food on the table and how to keep my mind clear and positive. In 2004 I started saving money, week by week, all the change I had, a dollar here a dollar there. I wasn’t even for certain why I was saving other than the fact that one day I may need it.   I started working at a local gym soon realizing that this thing they called “retaining clients” was not for me, so I started bending the rules and eventually got fired.  They did not like this thing I called transformation, it went against the “hit your sales quota approach”.  I found no happiness in sales; I found happiness in helping people change their lives.   I then went to another corp gym within months similar situation happened and I stepped down.  I was not a manageable person; I was an entrepreneur and wanted more.  What in the world was I going to do now?   I started my own little business as a traveling trainer, making enough money to barely get by but I was finally HAPPY because I got to do it the way I always wanted too.

In 2003 I had who is a very close friend of mine now but a complete stranger at that point David Washington come up to me at our local gym and say Bro you have a ton of passion, I see it every day, Why don’t you get into modeling.  Modeling?  I live in Kansas how the heck am I going to make things happen?  I took those words he said to me that day and ran full steam ahead.  I am a 0 or 100% type of person, so if I do something I will go nonstop until the goal is accomplished I just had no idea how difficult it was not knowing anyone, not having a name of any sort and being broke, loll.  It didn’t stop though.  Through all of this I WAS going to become this HUGE FITNESS MODEL from Kansas, ha-ha.  I had no idea how difficult at that point (nearly 9 years ago) it would be I didn’t care though, how would a kid from Kansas get on covers, get featured in magazines, and get on TV reality shows? It was right in front of me, the connection to the world- THE POWER OF THE SOCIAL NETWORKS.  And I became a guru within a few short years; I built a Name, a Brand and a Business.

For those who have followed me since the beginning, Hitch came from MySpace days after I was given the Nickname from a close friend who said I was the Hitch of Fitness Like Hitch Was For Love match making in the Movie Hitch with Will Smith, I gave people hope and happiness again.  I used it as a screen name little did I know years later it would become a brand.   Myspace days I would blast 50 bulletins per day and all the local haters in Kansas city would talk their trash while they are popping bottle in the clubs, lol. They looked at it as I was conceited or I was obssessed with myself, that couldnt be more from the truth, it was business to me and I was trying to figure out how everything worked.  Maybe just maybe I knew exactly what I was doing regardless of what anyone said, they didn’t slow me down I had been through far more than a few haters, they got brushed off and I continued full steam ahead!!!

In 2005 the car accident happened right after being featured on my first cover Men’s Workout.   That put a halt on everything.  The Dr said I should not workout with weights until I was fully recovered which may take a year, I should not of listened to them honestly.  I knew my body, I could had started working out again about 3 months into it, instead I listened and lost almost 25 lbs. of muscle, this was one of the worst years of my life.   I lost all my personal training clients and to make money I was working the doors of some of the popular night clubs in kansas city and around an environment that I despised.   The environment became a part of my life and I became for a short period of time the guy that was in the club without a care in the world, looking back now I was be trying to cover up the fact that I was not happy with what I was doing, what I was looking like and knew I needed to change my environment regardless of what kind of situation it put me back in finacially.  That was the stage of my life called “Fake it before I make it”.  I was never a drinker or party type of guy, even at that period of time having 3- 4 drinks in the night was a crazy wild night to me but people who know me know that was never my lifestyle.  Yes I was the guy in the club that thought I was cool because I bought a new shirt from Express and had 21 year old girls flirting with me, WOW I WAS COOL, not so much My mind was cloudy and I needed something to revamp my confidence.

  I had dropped from a 190lb Ripped Cover Model August 2005 to 165lb Skinny Club Guy in Nov 2006

(whats with the stupid face, lol)

The year had passed and I have saved a good amount of money but was still in a place of UNHAPPY, out of the blue a friend from La had called saying I was on the cover of Muscle and Body with JNL, I said are you sure it’s me, I hadn’t shot any images in over 1.5 years, yes im sure it’s you.  That was the moment I said it’s time to change my life and delete all the negative crap.  I took a long look in the mirror that day and told myself I would come back stronger, more confident and never look back.  That was over 5 years ago I have not had even one sip of alcohol since.  People say, well one won’t hurt, your right one won’t hurt but what’s the point, I live each day trying to make the best choices I can , wasting a choice on that seems pointless and goes against everything I live and teach is not going to happen:)

In 2008 I met Diana which was a huge turning point for me, I had been though a few tough relationships that had took a major toll on me emotionally, and I was just drained and needed to focus on me.   I was at a point that I just did not want to even attempt dating or a possible relationship with anyone. Fate happened though months later she moved to Kansas City and she helped put the final piece together of what we now know as Hitch Fit. A Few years after that we got married!!!

All the money that I had started saving back in 2004 was soon going to be used for good use. I didn’t want to get loans and owe anything, didn’t want to have partners and have every choice have to go through them, I wanted Diana and I to call all the shots because that was the only way I would be certain that it would grow and operate the right way, if it failed it was because of us and by knowing that I knew it was impossible to fail.  We would be willing to work morning, noon and night day by day, year by year until it we become a Global Enterprise that would help millions of people. That reality WILL happen in time.

Hitch Fit Transformation- In 2011 we helped people Lose over 15,000 lbs of Fat

Hitch Fit was about to become a reality.   Being in so many systems that were based around sale quotas, master trainers, used car salesman type trainers, retention and the managers that thought they were cool because they got the special shirt, flirted with the 17 year old girls and had some sort of authority was not what I wanted to be a part of.  I wanted something that put FULL focus on the CLIENT, was 100% positive and 100% legit/professional.  Hitch Fit Transformation Began.  Instead of hitting a sales quota I focused on how many people I could transform, how much healthy fat loss I could get off of an individual and how many lives I could touch.  No magic pills, no crazy diets, no shortcuts, I was going to teach the truth , the right way of doing things for long term success, not build a system that was based on making more money with no care about the client.  I was tired of putting focus on quotas, trying to convince clients they needed me longer than what they really did or how to stretch a nickel into a dime for a company I really had no passion for.

We launched www.hitchfit.com Feb 2009 and in a little over 3 years we have taken it from nonexistent to 1000′s of clients in close to 70 countries.  August 2009 we opened Hitch Fit Gym in Kansas City.  We now have 2 locations and possibly opening a 3rd soon . It started with only Diana and I, now we have 15 trainers and growing rapidly.  Success can become a reality if you want it badly enough and willing to work hard and long enough.

Last year I was finally able to buy one of my dreams cars and we purchased our first home.  ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE!!  I lived over 27 years of my life week to week broke with no one to turn to if I could not pay the bills, it was not easy, but making excuses for my situation was not going to help anything

Video of my 15 Year Transformation

The moral of this story is follow your passion, be willing to work very hard because waking up doing what you love everyday does not have a price tag on it.  We all have a story, we have all been through painful times, what helps us grow is how we take those painful times and learn/grow from them.  People who may not know me may think well his life has always been great; he probably always had money or was always ripped.  THAT’S NOT MY STORY. I was not raised in money, I was a skinny kid from Kansas that thrived off the fact that my reality seemed impossible to everyone around me excluding my very close friends and family. Thats what fueled me.  There were periods of time when I was a child that my mother barely had enough money to put food on the table, feeling shame because we had to borrow money or use food stapes to get by but she somehow always figured out a way, people can look at this as a tough life, I look at it as being appreciative for everything I have, to always give back to those in need and never forget where I came from.  Success changes some people for the worse, for others it gives them an opportunity to touch more people’s lives.  That is what I feel most blessed with.   Growing up I didn’t have a mentor or someone who taught me how to become successful I just had an inner drive to be the best I could be and was willing to work as hard as needed to get there.  I did have a bunch of great friends and a good support system but I was the one who had to work, I was the one who had to make the choices daily.  YOU HAVE TO BE THE ONE WHO MAKES IT HAPPEN.   I refused  to take shortcuts nor was I going to step on people to get there.  Money comes and goes, waking up every day knowing that the success came from doing it the right way is PRICELESS.  We all have our own excuses into why we cannot follow our passion but happiness is the one thing we all thrive to have more of, so take control of the path you choose and be everything you have always wanted to be, cut the negative people, places and things around you and surround yourself with Positive!!  It’s tough at times to let go of negative people but I assure your Life gets much better when you’re not having to carry someone else’s negativity on your shoulders.  It is about helping and loving one another not being the victim of a leach or the toxicity of that so called friend that says they have your best interest.  Take Control of your Choices, use each day to better yourself and put full focus on becoming the Best version of YOU.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope it helps to push you towards your goals!!  Please feel free to email me if you would like if you have any questions or comments

micah@hitchfit.com

Waking up everyday Changing Lives

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The thing that inspired me the most during this journey was my wife. I heard about Hitch Fit through her she found the program online, and really wanted to give Hitchfit a try. After looking over the website and reviewing some of the transformations, I was impressed, so I decided to not only support my wife in her journey, but to give it a try right along with her. As the program progressed we both decided taking this journey together was a smart move because we were better able to  understand what each other was going through and were better able to support one another through the tough times.

I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect once we signed up for Hitchfit. I’ve didn’t feel like I was in terrible shape and I had been going to the gym on a regular basis. I am in the USAF, so it is a requirement that I meet certain physical fitness standard, but I was in a “funk” if you will. I was in this funk because I had no direction for my workouts. I knew that I wanted to lose fat and put on muscle but I wasn’t sure how to do that. Enter the Hitch Fit program, Hitchfit gave me the roadmap that I needed in order to reach my goal. Not only did I receive a customized workout plan set up to help me achieve my goals, I also was given a nutrition plan. I knew when I signed up that the program came with a nutrition plan, but it wasn’t something that I really cared about at the time I was looking to get a good workout plan. I’ve never really been considered overweight, so I have never really thought much about the foods that I eat. I pretty much ate what I wanted. Sure I read various fitness magazines that told me I needed to watch what I ate, but like I said it was never a major priority for me.  That being said I am not the type of person to pay for something and only do it halfway, so I committed to Hitchfit 100%. That meant not only following my new workout plan, but changing my eating habits and following the nutrition plan as well. I must say the workouts were hard, but nutrition aspect of the plan completely took me by surprise. The program not only taught me the benefits of a clean and healthy diet it also taught me that I had more will power and strength then I ever knew possible. Before taking my Journey on Hitchfit I would have never passed on a slice of pizza or having a drink with the guys during the Superbowl, but I was able to do those things and many more. Don’t be fooled into thinking that this is a quick fix or easy because it’s not it is hard work, but it’s worth it.

Hitchfit teaches you that anything worth having doesn’t come easy, but that nothing is impossible.  I am a couple thousand miles away from Hitchfit’s main headquarters, so I did the online program, but I always felt like Micah was right there during my workout in my head I could hear him yelling at me saying “Did you pay to quit?” I never actually spoke to Micah on the telephone, but I conversed with him through email a lot and when I had questions or complained and wanted to give up he gave it to me straight. I never felt like I was on my own through this entire program and that really helped me out get through the rough days.

When the program began there were times when I thought that I would never be able to do the things he was asking me to do, but eventually I was able to do countless ab workouts, hundreds of push-ups, and the hardest for me carb cycling, but I stuck with the program and overcame all the obstacles and I feel better for it.  I feel like I have climbed a mountain and made it to the top, like I can do anything, and this I just the beginning I can’t wait to start my next HitchFit Adventure! Hitchfit brought out not only the physical strength in me, but the mental strength as well and for that I will always be grateful.

Cedric did the Fitness Model Program

Let Hitch Fit Teach you how to workout, eat right and Become the Best version of YOU

Latest Blogs

Bump up your Fitness and watch your Sex Drive Increase!!!

http://hitchfit.com/2011-05-31/fitness/fitness-leads-to-a-higher-sex-drive/

I hope Each of you are focusing on bettering yourselves and I want nothing more then for all of you to be Fit and Healthy!  Reach out to us if you ever have questions and if you are Ready to Start Your journey with Hitch Fit Check out the links Below

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We are so excited to to share that we are bringing back the Wbff to Kansas City again this year.  Wbff is a fitness organization that focuses on fitness and beauty with all walks of life from across the globe.  Many of these people last year this time were just starting their fitness journey and losing weight.  Now they are going to showcase all their hard work.  We have a Mother of 7 , a 55 year old man, many athletes from other countries , there are many walks of life, from older to younger, all excited to share their stories and step on that stage in hopes to inspire you !!! You will see Bikini Models, Fitness models, Figure, Bodybuilding, Male Fitness Model and Muscle Model.  A little bit of something for everyone to be inspired by.  We will also be having an amazing performance by the one and only Matt Czech

Kansas City was rated one of the most Obese cities in the country so this is what makes this show that more powerful, many of these people that are stepping on the stage that night were overweight, depressed, not confident , but wait to you see them, its AMAZING!!

Make sure to pick up your copy of Ink Magazine where we have a 12 page supplement inside that features over 80 of the athletes that will be competing.

The show is May 12, 2012 at the Midland Theater, Evening show starts at 6pm

You can buy tickets online at http://www.axs.com/kansas-city-mo/search/apachesolr_search/wbff  or pick up your tickets personally at the Midland Box office.

If you are at a point in your life that you need some inspiration, some motivation cause its time for you to transform, there will be nothing that can compare to what you are about to see at this show.

Check out a video from last year

HOPE TO SEE YOU GUYS THERE!!!!

If you have any questions please email me at micah@hitchfit.com

WBFF Figure & Diva Fitness Model Tionna Kuhnhoff

*Name, Bio and Stats

Tionna Michelle Kuhnhoff

WBFF Women’s Figure & Fitness Diva

Personal Trainer~Massage Therapist~Holistic Nutrition Consultant~Instructor34 years old, 5’4″, 120 contest weight, 120-130 normal weight entire life.

HItch Fit Personal Trainer

Kansas City Country Club, Group Class Instructor, Personal Trainer & Massage Therapist

MTTI WellSpring, Professional Massage Therapy Program Instructor, NASM Personal Training Program Instructor

Favorite Fitness/Motivational Quote:  ”Thoughts lead on to purposes; purposes go forth in action; actions form habits; habits decide character; and character fixes our destiny.”

*Where do you live?

Kansas City, Missouri

*What Category are you competing in?

My roots are in Womens Figure, go with what you are blessed with, right? I also compete in the Diva Fitness Model category because it’s SO INCREDIBLY FUN and I think it provides a wonderful platform for fit and athletic women to expand their professional careers & dreams….and really just have a BLAST in the PROCESS! The costume treasure hunt is one of my favorite aspects of the experience!  I feel this allows each athlete to show their personality and style in their own unique way!!!

*What are your athletic achievements and competition history?

I started playing summer softball at the age of 9 in my small home town of Lawson Missouri under the coaching of Deanna Wisdom and Tim Newman.  Deanna taught us how to be aggressive in sport, how to ALWAYS have great sportsmanship, how to go about getting good & then better & push to be our BEST!!!  Practice, practice, practice!!! Hard work, dedication, commitment, sacrifices…all of these things go with any thing a person is trying to achieve in LIFE and she showed us the ropes!  She taught us how to relieve Trigger Points from each other’s shoulders in between games so we could keep playing as a small team of 11 girls.  She taught us how to BE as a TEAM, take care of one another and give it all we possibly had on the diamond.  She gave me a GIFT that has been a part of me my ENTIRE LIFE.  And I am EVER so full of GRATITUDE towards this woman, she kinda made me….into the hard working animal that I AM!!!  Here is what I got to experience from those lessons learned…..

I earned full athletic scholarship to play on the FIRST EVER Maple Woods Woman’s FASTpitch TEam, achieved Associate of Arts Degree 1996-1998!!! Full ride baby!! I did that!

Park University signed me in the parking lot of a summer league game in Blue Springs, summer of 1998!! I was playing and after the game this woman came up to me and said, “are you playing anywhere this Fall?”  My response, “I’m thinking of walking on at Southwest Missouri State University, where my boyfriend plays baseball..”  Coach said, “I’d like to offer you a letter, how does FuLL Tuition sound?” Don’t have to ask me twice, DONE!!! Three months later I enroll in the Sports Medicine program at Park…(really the only thing that had ANYTHING to do with SPORTS, lol).  Due to my major, I began working in the HealthSouth Rehabilitation Clinic we had on campus as our Athletic Training Facility for all of our athletic teams.  Around about the same time coach appointed me as Team Strength & Conditioning captain, this meant that I lead all of our conditioning and weight training programs for the season.  She had seen me work, and wanted her team to work in this fashion as well.  Ummm, let’s just say, that not everyone on my team was a fan of me….and let me say back, “ya gotta WORK LADIES!”  I played my remaining two years at Park and then my 5th year I was asked to be Assistant Coach on 5th year scholarship…LoL…who gets a 5th year scholarship after playing up their AVAILABILITY???  GIRLS WHO WORK HARD I BELIEVE in hard work to ACHIEVE!

Competition History:

April 2010: Southern States Classic, Liberty Missouri-Women’s Open Figure, 4th Place Medium Class

May 2010:  Muscle Mayhem, Kansas City Missouri-Women’s Open Figure, 5th Place Medium Class

April 2011:  Southern States Classic, Liberty Missouri-Women’s Open Figure, 5th Place Medium Class

MAY 2011:  WBFF US CENTRAL CHAMPIONSHIPS, Kansas City Missouri-Women’s Open Figure, 3rd Place Medium Class & Placed in top 10 Fitness Diva

AUGUST 2011: WBFF WORLDS, Toronto Canada-Women’s Open Figure, Top 10 Medium Class as amateur

MAY 2012:  WBFF US CENTRAL CHAMPIONSHIPS, Kansas City Missouri-Women’s Open Figure __________, Medium Class (I know what my fill in the blank answer is

AUGUST 2012:  WBFF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS, Toronto Canada-Women’s ____ Figure, (I want to stand next to Emily Curious what I’d look like next to 3x WORLD FIGURE CHAMP!

I have to give a HUGE shout out to my posing coach, Kim Seeley for sharing her amazing expertise with me and BELIEVING IN ME, BEING HONEST WITH ME & encouraging and inspiring me ALL YEAR ROUND to best my BEST and go after my DREAMS!!! Without her, I’d still look like a gym rat on stage!!!  I am INTENSELY INSPIRED and have so much respect for all of the MOTHERS that compete!!! I don’t have children and I know what this takes, so this is VERY inspiring to me!

And then…..I’d really like to relocate to a warm and sunny climate ….I can do my work ANYWHERE & I think it’s time to EXPLORE MORE!!!

I want to train with Quixotic, a local live art performance group, I’d like to master the Lyra…just stay tuned, I’ll post progress piX  

My BIG HUGE GINORMOUS BEEF-CAKE goal is to see the year 2077.  I just gave you my age And I want to be healthy, I want to be co-herent, I want to be walking, moving, dancing and communicating with others, I want to look back and be PROUD about all that I had experienced…all the people I have met, all the lives I have touched with inspiration for health & fitness, be proud of my decisions and relationships with people & nature….I want to look back and say to myself, “I gave it my best, at everything I did”… not going to lie, I still want to be able to run a mile, do 50 pushups and 10 pullups all the way to THE END. 

I have always been into sports and fitness, it’s always been a part of me.  I’m MOTIVATED TO MOVE!! My mom says that I was walking at 6 months…on the move already!!  My first sport/hobby was BMX Bike racing (my Mom really wanted a boy)!  I was SO embarrassed when I beat them all in the second race, I said I never want to come back, they all looked at me mean! LoL.  So then I got started with gymnastics…Oh my first crush on sports!!! I say crush because our family moved and the gym was going to be too far to drive.  But I LOVED gymnastics…I still practice certain things I also ran the 100 meter hurdles, the 1/4 mile sprint, threw discuss and shot, 4x100meter relay….played Varsity basketball 3 of 4 years, and started Varsity my freshman year on the Softball team…kill, mame, destroy is what we used to say!

I like lists!!!

(All the members who were so supportive and encouraging as they witnessed my transformation) I’ve made many new gym friends!! We don’t ever have to plan anything, we see each other most days of the week

I really think a TON about the day that Keith Jackson at Gold’s in Merriam told me about the first WBFF show last May!! I remember thinking how it sounded PERFECT FOR ME AND WHAT I WANTED TO DO WITH COMPETING

*Name, Bio and Stats
My name is Lesley Gaines, I’m 5’10 (yeah for tall girls!), and I’m 31 years old. I’m a hairstylist, part-time Hooters Girl, and a dreamer. I believe that if your dreams don’t scare you, then they aren’t big enough!  I’m a big believer in going after what you want and that anything is possible. I have a degree in communications that I may use someday but I have a huge passion for health and fitness and am currently studying to become a personal trainer so I can help others with their dreams and goals!

*What Category are you competing in?

Diva Bikini Tall

*Where do you live?

Kansas City, MO

*What excites you most about competing with the WBFF?

All of the great opportunities! The show is so much fun, very high energy. There really is no other show like it. I’m so excited to be a part of it.. Last year I met a lot of great people that I’m competing with again this year and I’m very excited to see them and just have fun!

*What are your athletic achievements and competition history?

I was very athletic growing up and excelled in most sports that I played, especially basketball and volleyball. So being an athlete comes natural to me. Last year I competed in WBFF for my very first competition. I just competed a couple weekends ago in Liberty NANBF Southern States Classic. So this will be my third competition.

*What or who inspires you to compete?

Inspiration comes from a lot of places. Diana Chaloux was the one who introduced me to WBFF. I did my first competition because I turned 30 and needed a change, so competing was a way to set a goal for myself. After doing it, I loved it and I wanted more!  Jamie Eason is a big inspiration. I love her workouts and her recipes are amazing! My inspiration comes from fitness girls in magazines and the desire to build a better body! More than anything, I hope to inspire others.

*What are your future goals?

I am hoping to become certified to be a personal trainer by the end of summer or early fall. I’m really interested in the nutrition aspect of it. I am going to continue competing and make it a goal to become better with every competition! I love being in front of the camera and have some modeling experience, so I am hoping that through competing it will help open up some doors for me to become a potential fitness model. Being in a magazine would be the ultimate goal.

*What obstacles have you overcome to achieve your goals (what’s your story?)

Well I don’t have a big weight loss story. I’ve always been tall and thin. But the biggest thing I had to overcome was my bad lifestyle choices. I worked out and trained off and on but never changed my lifestyle so I never saw great results. When I turned 30 it was like a light bulb went on and everything clicked into place. I stopped going out to the bars, stopped eating poorly, distanced myself from the wrong people. I basically got rid of a lot of negativity in my life. I started surrounding myself with positive people and good things started to happen and I found a really happy place. And it just keeps getting better!

*How can people find out more about you?

You can find me on Facebook  http://www.facebook.com/lesleygaines or at http://www.facebook.com/LesleySalonTrio

I also have a blog  http://lgtrainingwheels.blogspot.com/

*Anyone you would like to thank who has been a part of your fitness journey?

I would love to thank Liz Kampschroeder for all of her amazing help and support. She is such a wonderful person with a big heart. I thank her for believing in me, and most of all for helping me believe in myself. And of course I can’t forget about my boyfriend  who supports me day in and day out and always helps me look at the bright side of things when I’m feeling down. And last but not least I thank my family for being involved and interested about my passion and coming to see me at my competitions.

Want more information on our upcoming show? CLICK HERE! 

Purchase tickets to the show here: http://www.axs.com/kansas-city-mo/search/apachesolr_search/wbff

To register for the WBFF Central US Championships 2012 please go to http://register.wbffshows.com/

Name, Bio and Stats
Miles Metschke
Age 35
190 lbs , 6 ft

I’ve been involved in sports and fitness for most of his life.  From playing football and track in high school to lacrosse and rugby in my early 30′s, I’ve always had a passion for training and athletics.  I grew up in Nebraska and moved to Kansas City after high school to attend college there.  I have continued to live in Kansas City.
In addition to competing in the WBFF, I have become a CrossFit enthusiast over the last year and work out regularly at a local CrossFit gym where I continue to work to my goal of being a serious CrossFit competitor.  When not in gym or playing sports, Miles works full time for GE, as a Business Development Manager, focused on the product strategy of technology solutions for freight and passenger rail systems.  He has a BS in Electrical Engineering and an MBA from Rockhurst University.

*Where do you live?
Kansas City, MO

*What are your athletic achievements and competition history?
I started competing in spring of 2010 by doing my first set of natural bodybuilding competitions in Kansas City and Omaha.  This experience made me realize that anything is possible, both in the gym and the rest of life, and I had completely transformed myself by losing 25 lbs and reducing my body fat from 18 to 5%.
In 2011, I transitioned from bodybuilding into Fitness Modeling and competed in the WBFF Central Championships in Kansas City in May 2011.  I enjoyed the experience so much that I’m training again for my 2nd WBFF competition in May 2012.  Last year was such a great experience in the WBFF, and I’m applying what I learned to my diet and workout plans.  In addition, I’ve been training in Crossfit for about a year, and the explosive combination Olympic and bodyweight movements have been a big part of my progress in the last year, plus I’ve made some great friends while doing it.

*What or who inspires you to compete?
The WBFF is a great experience and I believe it’s achievable by anyone.  I love competing and getting better with every WBFF competition.  My best advice is to consistently follow a solid diet and exercise plan (Consistently is the key), and to build a support network of friends and family.

*What excites you most about competing with the WBFF?
Every time I train and compete, I get better and better.  I love continuing to get better each year and see my body change and grow.  I’m really excited about the WBFF on May 12th, and I plan to bring a better “Miles” to the stage from last year.

*What are your future goals?
Future plans are to continue to grow my professional career at GE and balance my fitness goals at the same time.  After the WBFF, I’ll continue to train and compete.

*What obstacles have you overcome to achieve your goals (what’s your story?)
When I was in college, I was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes (juvenile onset).  Although I don’t consider it a challenge today, initially it took some time to readjust my life to learn how to manage this and still continue to train and excel in fitness.
I’d like to set an example for others that have Type 1 Diabetes to still shoot for their fitness goals and they can be achieved.

*How can people find out more about you?
Facebook at:
www.facebook.com/milesmetschke<http://www.facebook.com/milesmetschke>

*Anyone you would like to thank who has been a part of your fitness journey?
Nick Hasenkamp and Sadie Webb (Hasenkamp) have been great friends through my training this year, and I want to thank them for their support and friendship.

Want more information on our upcoming show? CLICK HERE! 

Purchase tickets to the show here: http://www.axs.com/kansas-city-mo/search/apachesolr_search/wbff

To register for the WBFF Central US Championships 2012 please go to http://register.wbffshows.com/