Last October I did something pretty stupid! I announced that I was going to get into shape, and lose another 23 pounds. (That wasn't the stupid part.) I had just lost 16 pounds and I felt I should lose some more. So I announced I was not going to shave my beard until I lost those 23 pounds. (Now that was pretty stupid!) To make it worse, I announced I would post my results regularly on the Internet at Melaleuca's web page. (That was even more stupid.) To top it off I thought it was going to be easy. I had never tried to lose weight before and I was in for some big lessons! In the process I learned a great deal about myself, about my body, about discipline and about habits!

Today, as I write this article, it is one week before convention and I still have my beard! And fortunately I still have my wife, Belinda, who doesn't like my beard. I don't like it either. (Growing hair anywhere on my head has proven to be a disappointment.) This morning I weighed 201 1/2 pounds, and I am confident that I will be able to shave sometime this week.

I am so glad I made this commitment even if it did take me much longer than I anticipated. I learned so much! And I anticipate that I have added three to seven years to my life.

I learned that I had developed an addiction to chocolate, sugar and other carbohydrates. I found it was especially difficult to give up the chocolate and sugar. For the last 20 years I had eaten at least one chocolate bar every night prior to going to bed. My favorite is a chocolate/cherry cordial with peanuts that is available only through Farr's Candy company in Idaho Falls. Next to that I liked Snickers or Peanut M&M's. Some how, I just could not seem to get to sleep without my chocolate/sugar fix. If I was traveling, sometimes I would have two chocolate bars just to get to sleep. Crazy, huh? What is even more crazy is I had never realized what an addiction it had become. Combined with a lack of serious exercise, I had gradually gained about 45 pounds since high school. I found that hard to stomach now that I was the president of "The Wellness Company."

When we embraced the concepts of total wellness, I knew I would have to do something about my weight. I have always felt it is important to "walk your talk." I wanted to lead out in the concept of total wellness and although I was providing my body with the best nutrition in the world, I was not following it up with exercise. I was nutritionally healthy but physically unfit.

I began the Body for Life program. Working out with weights and aerobic exercise, the first mistake I made was making a weight loss goal as opposed to a fat loss goal! While toning with weights I started to gain muscle - and lose fat - but my weight did not change much in the beginning. I soon learned that fat loss is more important than weight loss, especially if you are adding muscle, which is important because larger muscles burn more fat.

Our family lives in the country surrounded by potato and wheat fields. One trip around our "block" is exactly four miles. Last October I made a goal to run all four miles in forty minutes. When I started working out, I could only run the distance from one telephone pole to the next. Then I would walk to the next telephone and then run to the next one, etc. Later I built up to running two telephone poles and walking one. The first time it took me 56 minutes to go the four miles around our block. My feet were sore, my calves burned and my back ached. I was in bad shape! Winter came and I was firming up and running faster, but not much weight had been lost. As snow came, I could no longer run outside. I made my first four miles in 40 minutes on December 31 on the treadmill. Almost each time I ran, my time improved.

Finally, I gave up my candy bars! It was tough but I had to do it. I started avoiding most carbohydrates and concentrated on proteins and vegetables. I used the Access Bar when I exercised and snacked on Attain and the new, just-introduced Fiberwise bar when I got hungry. In truth, I never did go "on a diet." If I got hungry I always ate something. I just paid attention to protein and stayed away from carbohydrates.

It worked! My muscles toned up, my physical condition improved and I began to lose weight.

I learned it takes about three weeks to break an addiction to chocolate and sugar. I no longer have the daily cravings, and it is now not hard for me to watch someone else eat a large chocolate sundae. I can pass up Snickers, Peanut M&Ms and chocolate/cherry cordials without a second thought.

I had many setbacks. Many days I would find my schedule did not allow the time for my workouts. I learned that without workouts, I did not progress. Traveling overseas was especially challenging. Often our schedules on the road are so rigorous there is very little time to sleep - let alone work out.

Then there was the cruise! I thought I was really behaving myself on the cruise, but when I got home I learned I had gained four pounds. To make matters worse, immediately after the cruise I had to leave for Europe and then go to Asia.

During these travels almost a month went by without any serious exercise and very little sleep. In the process I gained six pounds total. I lost three months of progress in one short, torturous month. It took another full month of hard work and exercise to get back to where I was before the cruise. That meant that after two months I was right back where I started. Luckily, I was not discouraged - I was just more determined.

I learned that we have to put our exercise routine in front of everything else - in other words, schedule around our workouts. I gave instruction to my staff to make sure they arranged my travel to stay only at hotels with great workout facilities that opened early in the morning. I did not allow them to schedule my entire day, leaving me without time to workout. It worked! As soon as I got rid of my Snickers Bar, and put my workout session first on my schedule, my success skyrocketed. It's too bad it took me six months to learn the process.

As spring came I began running outside again. I learned immediately that four miles on the treadmill is not the same as four miles up and down hills outside. It took about four minutes longer outside than inside on a treadmill.

What amazes me is how much my body responds after a good workout. Keeping a record and posting it where I can see it every day is an inspiration to me. Each time I ran my four miles I would take at least a minute off my time. The first time I broke four miles in 40 minutes outside was July 13. My time was 39 minutes, 11 seconds! It felt great! As soon as I mastered four miles in 40 minutes I needed a higher goal.
I decided to run the Deseret News 10K (6 miles) in Salt Lake City on July 24th. Three of my daughters, Sara, Eliza and Emily, and I challenged ourselves to do it.

I wanted to complete the 6-mile course in less than 60 minutes. I did not quite make it. My time was 61 minutes 41 seconds. I have not run six miles for over 20 years. In fact, the furthest I had run in the last 20 years was the four miles I had been practicing at home. I feel it was quite an accomplishment - especially since one year ago I could only run from one telephone pole to the next.

So here we are almost one year later. I did not make every goal I set - at least not by the deadline I had established. But I did not give up and now I am in the best shape I have been in for 20 years. I have lost over 32 pounds. I am within 1 1/2 pounds of my goal weight. Melaleuca had another record-setting year. I am now another living witness of the Access Bar and Attain. And I will be able to shave any day now! How could life be much better?!

I will continue to post my results on the Internet and challenge you to join us in our quest for wellness. Not shaving until I reached my goal has continued to remind me of my commitment. I plan to run next year's 10k in Salt Lake much faster than 60 minutes. Why don't you prepare for the 10k run in your town?

Thank you all for being such an inspiration to me. I have learned so much about myself this past year. I will continue to strive to be a good example as we continue to enhance lives with "The Wellness Company."

Sincerely,

Frank