The old me!

Imagine that you don’t sleep at night. Imagine that you haven’t felt well in quite some time. What if you are sore or tired or just plain over weight? Does any of this ring a bell? For me, it was a combination of things, the weight, my shoulders hurt and I knew I wasn’t in great shape. After years of procrastinating, I finally decided at the ripe old age of 50 that I needed to do something about it. I could only Imagine what was to come.

I first met Aaron Benes of Imagine If after I heard about him from my friend Mike Randell. I was interested in getting fit, losing weight and making my shoulders feel better. Imagine my surprise (see how I have mixed in the Imagine theme?) when he put me through a series of questions that were meant to see whether I was even a candidate for him. I found out that Aaron is unlike any other fitness professional in the country due to his unique approach and his selectiveness with accepting clients. After we talked I agreed to come back for an “interview” and to see what kind of shape I was in.

I started by asking him about the cost of a program. No sense in going through all the stuff and finding out I didn’t want to spend a dime on my own personal fitness right? Just kidding! But isn’t it true? Most people will spend a weeks salary on junk food and doing things that are not good for them, yet when asked to do something that will benefit them the rest of their lives, will cry all the way to the bank.

Well the “interview” consisted of a series of assessments that allowed him to see where I was at physically. Although I knew I was overweight, I didn’t think I was THAT overweight. And I didn’t think I was THAT out of shape! Imagine my surprise when I couldn’t even do some of the things he asked me to try. The session was tantamount to me being told I couldn’t play golf anymore! After I completed the assessment, sort of anyway, Aaron and I sat down to talk about my goals. My goals were fairly simple. I wanted to 1) Lose 30 pounds; 2) Get rid of the pain I have in my shoulders; 3) Gain flexibility so that my golf game could improve; 4) Get down to less than 20% body fat.

Looking Good! Feeling Good!

After I agreed to the Aaron’s terms, lets just say, he expects you to live up to your end of the bargain, AND he took overall body measurements…Waste, chest, legs, hips, etc., he then told me what my body fat % was. Wow, did I say I was overweight? Ok, I was committed for several reasons (see goals above) but knowing that I was considered obese was enough to get me going. I started on a program in July 2009. 3 days of training sessions each week, Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. And on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturdays I would walk for an hour in the early morning. Aaron tailored a diet plan, workout plan and an overall life plan to aid in me achieving success and attaining my goals.

After 6 months and countless hours, I can tell you that I have lost the 30 pounds, I am in much better shape, have increased my flexibility, I feel great and the inches have been stripped away around my body. Not to mention that at last check, I was down to 24% body fat. My biggest problem now if finding pants in the closet. My waist is back to pre D 7 days; which is over 16 years ago. My plan worked for me. Aaron tailors a custom program for each person. The food that I eat and what I drink has also provided a much greater benefit. Some of you know that I am an insulin dependent diabetic. I have been taking insulin since 1980. Over the past years, I have struggled with the insulin and weight gain more than anything else in my life. So losing the weight also reduced my insulin intake by as much as 25% each day. When I first saw my doctor for a check up, he looked up upon entering the exam room and wasn’t sure if it was me or not. He wanted to know if I ever did anything half way? He knows that when I am doing something, it is done only one way, ALL the WAY!

6 months ago, I could only Imagine what I could do, how I could feel? The only thing that Aaron can’t help me with is the golf game. He can increase my flexibility, make me stronger, help me lose the weight and much more. But he can’t swing the club for me. That part is up to me. My goals have not changed. I plan on losing more weight, reducing my body fat further, getting stronger AND FEELING BETTER. Aaron was the reason for my success. He could be a willing contributor to your success, if only you can Imagine what it will be like. Imagine If? That’s what I did. Thank you Aaron! You can contact Aaron Benes at 949-475-5555 or email aaron@imagineiffitness.com

In early 1999, Brigitte Eaton developed the list of weblogs of those available. The list “Eatonweb Portal” had one simple requirement; the site must be a dated entry to be considered a blog. Well, over 10 years later, there are thousands of blogs and even more and different methods, means and types of blogs now exist. Read “Rebbeca’s Pocket” by Rebbeca Blood. This is where I was able to get the information and find out more about blogs than I ever needed to know.

With that in mind, I embark on “Joe’s Blog”. A new and hopefully interesting take on life, in general, work in the Exterior Building Envelope business, as well as regular takes on sports, people and news. It will certainly be fun. Lets start with how I chose my first topic. I wanted to make sure I was able to understand the concept of blogging. So I read several reference pieces and was able to determine that as long as you follow the guidelines of blogging you can choose just about any topic. So I started with that information.

Now what you ask? Well let me tell you about D 7. There is a beginning middle and at some point we will get to the end. Not just now though. The beginning was in early 1993. We (my former partner and I) had been through a rocky few months with another consulting firm. It wasn’t working and we knew it. Once we decided to jump out on our own, the name D 7 was born. For those that don’t know, D 7 is based upon the Thermal
and Moisture Protection Section of the construction specification. Division 7! Well after 11 years of building the business we decided it was time to move on. After a long consideration by both parties, I was left with D 7 to move forward. I happily took the reins on my own and began revamping the company. I was able to make some key personnel hires to bolster the staff so that only well qualified individuals are working here and the rest is history. In less than 2 years, D 7 was back to where it was previously. We have now grown to include a full time office in Las Vegas, over 25 full time employees and a long list of satisfied clients. D 7 has worked on some of the largest projects on the west coast over the past 5 years. We specialize in the building envelope. We work on all types of roofing and waterproofing projects. D 7 is involved in Design and new construction as well as existing buildings being renovated, requiring new roofing or many other forms of waterproofing as well as rehabilitation of existing buildings.

Testing and Inspection, Forensic Analysis and Litigation support are all services we provide. If you visited our new website prior to reading this blog, you will have an idea of some of our past projects. I am excited about this new beginning. I hope to provide some interesting takes on our business, keep some of you informed as to my travels and fun stuff I do, as well as share my own thoughts and beliefs. Albeit, some will be tongue in cheek, it will certainly be entertaining and most likely thought provoking. So sit back and enjoy the ride. I know I will.