Mary Branson - Cutting Myself in Half. 150 Pounds Lost, One Byte at a Time

Praise for Cutting Myself in Half

Way to go, Taylor! I am honored beyond words at being given a place in your transformation. I know what dedication and hard work it took for you to stick to your guns and accomplish your weight loss goal. Great job!

John Schneider, actor
aka Bo Duke, The Dukes of Hazzard)

Taylors approach to better health through physical activity and managing weight has successfully adapted a number of research-based behavioral methods into a teen-friendly format.

I believe that its focus on practical self-management will be effective for many over the long term.

James J. Annesi, Ph.D., Director of Wellness
Advancement, YMCA of Metropolitan Atlanta

Taylor is the embodiment of what the Marines are all about. Dedicated, hard-charging, and mentally/physically alert. The Marine Corps would be proud to have him in the ranks.

Lt. Col. Bill Howey USMC (Ret)

We applaud Taylors personal efforts and his willingness to help other teens get healthy. If more teens took personal responsibility for their health and fitness before they enter the workforce, our nations employers would spend significantly less on healthcare and productivity losses due to unhealthy employees.

Beth Reynolds, Wellness Program Manager,
Alere Medical, Inc.

Child and teen obesity have reached epidemic proportions in the United States, and its rare to see someone as young as Taylor take the initiative to confront the problem. Often teens who attempt to lose weight try extreme methods that produce only short-term results. Taylor, however, developed a safe, healthy plan that can keep him fit for life.

Bob Bagheri, M.D.
Taylors doctor since he was three years old)

Cutting
Myself
in Half

150 Pounds Lost
One Byte at a Time

Taylor LeBaron
and Jack & Mary Branson

Health Communications, Inc.
Deerfield Beach, Florida

www.hcibooks.com

DISCLAIMER: The information contained in this book is not intended as a substitute for the advice and/or medical care of a physician. It is recommended that you consult with your physician before embarking on any eating, exercise, or lifestyle regimen.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

LeBaron, Taylor.
Cutting myself in half : 150 pounds lost, one byte at a time / Taylor LeBaron and Jack and Mary Branson.
p. cm.
eISBN-13: 978-0-7573-9584-0 eISBN-10: 0-7573-9584-8
1. LeBaron, TaylorHealth. 2. Overweight teenagersUnited States Biography. 3. Obesity in adolescence. 4. Physical fitness for youth. 5. Weight loss. I. Branson, Jack. II. Branson, Mary. III. Title.
RJ399.C6L335 2010
616.39800835dc22

2009040715

2009 Taylor LeBaron, Jack Branson, and Mary Branson

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.

HCI, its logos, and marks are trademarks of Health Communications, Inc.

Publisher: Health Communications, Inc.
3201 S.W. 15th Street
Deerfield Beach, FL 334428190

Cover design by Larissa Hise Henoch
Interior design by Lawna Patterson Oldfield
Interior formatting by Dawn Von Strolley Grove

To my mother, Penny LeBaron
I could not have gotten fit without her help.
Sometimes she was sick. Other times, she was tired.
But she always drove me to my workouts.
And her help with my fitness program is small
compared to her support in every area of my life.
She encourages me when I fail and applauds me
on my accomplishments.
I love you, Mommy.

Give Yourself
Permission to Be Fit

START FEELING GOOD ABOUT YOURSELF TODAY. Then lose the weight tomorrow. An awesome person is already there inside you. You know him. Hes funny, hes smart, and hes amazing! You just need to give that incredible person the body he deserves.

Contents

by Dr. Michael Dansinger of The Biggest Loser

If youre a teen who struggles with weight, get ready to change your future. But be warnedthe change is totally up to you. You cannot win the ULTIMATE FITNESS GAME unless you take personal control of your eating and exercise. Regardless of the circumstances that brought you to the point of obesity, its up to you to turn things around.

Blaming people and circumstances is reasonable and fair, but it wont make you a single pound lighter. Its true that schools require you to sit during most of your waking hours, then serve you fattening lunches. Its a fact that restaurants and food manufacturers disguise unhealthy foods in delicious and tempting super-size packages. Everywhere you turn, someone is pressuring you to have another bite, try a new dessert, or clean your plate. While adults may tell you that you need to lose weight, few are setting an example of how to do it.

You can find plenty of people and circumstances to blame, but that wont solve your problem. That wont get rid of the teasing. It wont bring back lost opportunities. It wont help you live life to the fullest. It wont erase the dangers of diabetes, heart disease, or other obesity-related illnesses that may lie ahead if you become an obese adult. Blaming others doesnt get you one step closer to a fit and healthy body.

Parents, doctors, teachers, and friends can be great allies, but you cant rely on them to solve your weight problem. And isnt it true that they dont really seem to understand, anyway? Unless youve been an overweight teen in the twenty-first century, you cant fully understand.

Taylor LeBaron understands. He is one of the fortunate few teens who has found a way to radically transform his body, and hes translated his methods into a system that you can use, too. Its a system presented as a gamea game called the ULTIMATE FITNESS GAME (UFG)that you can learn, practice, and master. Once mastered, you will have taken control of your health, your weight, and so much more.

The skills you use to transform your body are the same skills that allow you to unleash the greatness within you. Learning and applying Taylors fitness plan will endow you with the confidence and lifestyle that will bring new meaning to live life to the fullest and be all that you can be.

Todays teens are tomorrows leaders. The future depends on you. The world, as well as your body, is what you make of it. You can take control or just let it slide. You can lead or follow the pack. You can win or you can lose. If youre ready to win, and win big, then read on to see how its done!

I wish you great health and happiness in the future.

Michael Dansinger, M.D.
Nutrition Doctor, NBCs The Biggest Loser
Nutrition and Weight Loss Expert, WebMD
Diabetes Reversal Program, Tufts Medical Center

Have you seen some of the crazy diets out there? One says to eat all protein and no carbs. Another promises that eating only grapefruit and bacon... or cabbage soup... or drinking apple cider vinegar with each meal will cause a big weight loss. Diets like that dont work for long because one or two foods cant give us everything we need to be healthy.

When I started putting together my total fitness plan, I soon realized that I needed a variety of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. Each type of food provided something, whether big or small, that I needed for my body to be strong.

I also discovered that I needed the help and encouragement of a lot of