Jeff Lawrence Loses to Win

Jeff Lawrence 
Legacy Contributor

It was January 7, 2019, and I was so fed up with everything. I was fed up with feeling sorry for myself, fed up with feeling tired all the time, fed up with being sore all the time, and really fed up with saying I wanted to get back into shape. 

To be honest, I had not been in good shape for over 25 years, and although I had attempted to get into shape maybe a dozen times I was never able to keep the weight off for any length of time.  I would lose 20 pounds and within three months gain back 30 pounds.   

At 52, on January 7, 2019 I was 296 pounds … but I was about to change all that.

So I made a commitment to myself and set a GOAL of 225 pounds before the end of 2019. 

The first step was to ask for help from my men, and from a coach to start me on a KETO diet. I started slowly with a walking program and stayed very strict on the diet.  

In 3 months I had lost 36 pounds, was down to 260 and feeling incredible. About mid-April I started to actually run. At first I could not even run one mile without stopping. I really did not like running but by June I decided I needed an additional challenge to keep me focused. 

I told a buddy about this and he challenged me to run a marathon with him on December 7 (his birthday) in Cancun, Mexico. It would be his third and my first, so it was a very big mental and physical goal for me. However, I knew it would be an incredible achievement if I could actually pull this off.

So I set out to make it a reality.

For the next six months I trained like a mad man (5-6 days a week) and stayed on the KETO program until mid-November when I was running a ½ marathon every weekend in training, actually needing to have more carbs in my body.  

I am proud to say that I not only finished the Marathon the first Saturday in December in Mexico, but I lost 21 more pounds than my goal weight. I went from 296 to 204. I went from a XXL shirt to an L and a 44” waist to a 34” waist.  I am in the best shape of my life and have more energy then ever before … I’m now 53 years old and feel like I’m 25.  

My goal for 2020 is to maintain my very healthy lifestyle and help others to do the same. 

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