When I joined the sixpacknow.com website 14 weeks ago I had just gotten out of a serious relationship. It hurt me a lot, both emotionally and physically. No matter what anybody told me, I could not make any positives come out of a break-up. Now, 14 weeks later, I tell myself every single day that i'm glad I got out of that relationship. It was the best thing that ever happened to me, and i'm going to tell you exactly why!

If I was in that relationship now I would be still be exercising bad habits, day in and day out. That includes, eating fast food, particularly McDonald's and Taco Bell every single day for lunch ... snacking between meals, eating junk food, candy, and drinking soda pop... drinking large amounts of alcohol on a daily basis and not exercising. Many people would say I was never "fat" or overweight, but if you look at my before pictures you will see that I did have a decent amount of fat covering my body. I was approximately 19% bodyfat before I started the sixpacknow program.

I joined the sixpacknow program because I was single again and knew that in order to put myself out there with the confidence that I needed I would have to do something about the way I looked. Growing up I watched television shows like "Baywatch" and thought it would be impossible to ever look like the guys on there. I just assumed I didn't have the right genetics or the right body frame. I had been on diets in the past and lost weight but never had any muscles to show for it, especially abs. Like most people, I just ate less fat and calories, ran miles and miles on the treadmill, and did hundreds of crunches a night. I never saw results. So, as you could imagine, I was a bit skeptical of the program. When I read that I would be given a personalized exercise program and nutrition guide I figured that would take a lot of the work out of it for me. I payed the $40 and started the program on July 23rd.

I'd have to say the hardest part of the program is the very beginning, particularly the first 4 weeks. In my case it was even harder because I was going through depression at the time and cried myself to sleep every night. It was almost impossible to find the motivation I needed to do the exercises. As many of you have already found out, you need to make sacrifices in order to gain results. The reason I say the first 4 weeks are the hardest is because we are so used to a normal daily routine that once we change it and take away a lot of the foods we like, we start to really miss them! There is nothing wrong with that and i'll be the first to admit that I cheated a couple times. However, now that i'm 14 weeks into the program, it is not even an issue anymore. In fact, I eat MORE than I used to and still continue to shed bodyfat. It's amazing! Now I can zip right by McDonalds and Taco Bell and almost feel bad for the people who are lined up at the drive-thru ready for their generous helping of junk food.

I'd advise anybody to take pictures of themselves first at the beginning of the program and then at 2 week intervals. I did so, and every 2 weeks I would compare the pictures from the previous 2 weeks. That helped to keep me motivated throughout the program. There was never a time that I didn't see an improvement, even to this day.

On Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays I lift weights. On Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday I do my ab routine. I either take a day off on Sunday or use it as a make-up day. I don't advise the use of a make-up day except under extreme circumstances. By having a make-up day it gives you the mindset that "hey I can put this workout off today and do it on Sunday" and that could potentially make you lazy. I started out doing the easy ab routines and now i'm at the advanced level and even incorporate weights to make them more difficult. There are over 50 exercises on the website and i love doing most of them. As for cardio, I started out running on a treadmill daily until I learned that it was bad in the fact that it could potentially burn muscle in addition to fat. It is advised to do cardio 3-4 times a week but now I don't do cardio at all because I work at a restaurant and i'm on my feet all day. If I worked an office job or sat at home all day I would probably incorporate some sort of cardio activity.

When I joined the program I was given a personalized diet. It contained a lot of useful information on what you should eat, when, and why. When you go to the grocery store, make an event of it. Oh, and don't go when you're hungry because you may buy something you shouldn't! I usually go late at night to beat the crowds and that way I don't feel as pressured with tons of shoppers around me. It gives me a chance to read the labels. There are a lot of great products out there. My local grocery carries 99% lean turkey, 96% lean ground beef, and a selection of whole wheat pastas. You really have to look for these items, sometimes they aren't always there. Stock up when items are on sale because it can get expensive. As you should know by now, eat 5-6 smaller meals a day. This keeps you full the entire day and helps keep your metabolism running on high octane.

I believe a lot of my success with the first 14 weeks of the program has been my extreme dedication to cutting corners. What I mean by this is, reading every label to ensure that I'm getting the least amount of sodium and sugar possible! I found that my house brand of whole wheat bread has almost half the sodium as the brand name labels. Don't waste your time with lunch meat, and if you don't believe me, read the label! Instead of buying sliced roast beef from the deli I buy a roast and cook it in the oven and slice it myself. It costs the same, if not less, and doesn't have all the sodium. I drink my coffee black. I don't even use artificial sweeteners. There is something about the word "artificial" that doesn't sound like it should be in a "healthy" diet. Sugar has absolutely no nutritional value and is the #1 culprit for putting on fat. I never knew that until I joined this program and it's some of the best advice i've gotten thus far. I've gone so far as to actually weigh out sugar on a small scale and I couldn't believe that the amount of sugar in one can of soda pop can fill almost two shot glasses full of sugar!

Let's face it, there are so many ways you could slip off the program. Some of those could be stress, too busy with work or family, emotional issues, a plateu, or exercise equipment breaking (yep, my treadmill broke on me). Let me tell you, the deeper you are into the program, the harder it becomes to slip off. I could not imagine quitting right now. I look at my before and after pictures and can't image putting all that progress to waste. Believe it or not, it does get easier to stay on the program, but it does take time. Some people may not progress as fast as others. There are so many factors that could affect the rate of progress. Don't get discouraged. If you ever have a problem or think you are not making any progress, contact your online trainer. They have been MORE than helpful in helping me reach my goals. My original goal was to stick out the program for 6 weeks. Then, my new goal was to try it for another 6 weeks. Now, my new goal is to be a fitness model. Yes, I know i'm so far away from that goal right now, but now I have the mindset that I can do anything, and you can too.

1. Buy an assortment of Fitness magazines each month and read them. There are some great articles on nutrition, exercise, and a variety of other subjects. They make these magazines widely available for both men and women. Plus, they have tons of pictures for motivation.

2. Put a television in front of your cardio equipment and watch it while you're working out. Sometimes I get so into a TV program that I forget i'm exercising! Whatever you do, don't watch the food network, it will only make you hungry.

7. Prepare for the days you are not at home by pre-portioning all of your supplements, shakes, and food items to take with you on the road. Don't be embarassed - people thought I was crazy for making shakes at work or eating protein bars. I actually thought THEY were crazy for eating candy all day. It's your gain and their loss.

8. If you REALLY miss salt (and you will at first if you are a daily salter like me), try adding other seasonings like garlic, pepper, cayenne pepper (for spicy) and onions. There are a lot of salt-free seasonings available at the grocery store. Now, 14 weeks into the program I don't miss the taste of salt whatsoever. I can actually taste the food i'm eating as well which is always a plus.

9. Drink water, water, and more water. It has so many advantages and i've never heard anything bad about drinking water. Besides, if you drink tons of water it makes you go to the bathroom and the walk to the bathroom is exercise!