Be Transformed: How A 15-Year-Old Lost 70 Pounds in 3 Months Using the Power of GOD

By John Paul Smith

At the age of 15 years old, the author lost 70 pounds in 3 months. Before he did, his friend called him a “fat piece of shit.” Three months later, the same friend’s girlfriend told him “you are so hot, you are so hot!”

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Nov 13, 2014
• ISBN: 9781503192485

Book preview

BE TRANSFORMED

How a 15-Year-Old

Lost 70 Pounds in 3 Months

Using the Power of GOD

John Paul Smith

Be Transformed

Copyright © 2010, 2014 by John Paul Smith

http://johnpaulsmith.blog.com

All rights reserved.  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means – for example, electronic, photocopy, recording – without the prior written permission of the author.  The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®.  NIV®.  Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.  Used by permission of Zondervan.  All rights reserved worldwide.  www.zondervan.com

Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from AMPLIFIED BIBLE, copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation.  All rights reserved.  Used by permission.  (www.Lockman.org)

Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible ®, copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.  Used by permission.

Scripture marked NCV is taken from the New Century Version ® copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation.  Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.  All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked ESV are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version ® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.

To protect the privacy of some of the individuals referred to, names of persons and places, and some other details, have in a few cases been changed.

Dedicated to God, my parents, and my three best friends forever.

DISCLAIMER

The author and publisher do not guarantee any results from following the information in this book.  All statements made herein are by the author and are truthful and non-fictional.  Nothing in this book is fabricated or fictional.  The photographs contained herein are photographic copies of original photographs that have not been altered or photo shopped or adjusted in any manner other than possible conversion from one file format to another (e.g., .pdf, .jpg, .gif, .tif, .png, ETC.).  

The information contained in this book is guaranteed accurate by the author but not the publisher as it is based on the life experience of the author and not any third-party publisher.  The information and any recommendations contained herein are based on the assumption that the reader is a healthy adult over the age required for legal consent in the reader’s place of purchase.  No warranty or legal advice is made as to the required age for legal consent in the reader’s place of purchase.  The reader assumes all risk, foreseeable or unforeseeable, of injury and should consult a medical professional before beginning any diet or exercise program.

References are provided for informational purposes only and do not constitute endorsement of any websites or other sources. Readers should be aware that the websites listed in this book may change.

This book is designed to provide information and motivation to its readers. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged to render any type of psychological, legal, medical, or any other kind of professional advice. The content of each chapter is the sole expression and opinion of its author, and not necessarily that of the publisher. No warranties or guarantees are expressed or implied by the publisher’s choice to include any of the content in this book. Neither the publisher nor the individual author(s) shall be liable for any physical, psychological, emotional, financial, medical, or commercial damages, including, but not limited to, special, incidental, consequential or other damages. Our views and rights are the same: You are responsible for your own choices, actions, and results.

The information in this book is meant to supplement, not replace, proper exercise training. All forms of exercise pose some inherent risks. The author and publisher advise readers to take full responsibility for their safety and know their limits. Before practicing the exercises in this book, be sure that your equipment is well-maintained and do not take risks beyond your level of experience, aptitude, training, and fitness. The exercise and dietary programs in this book are not intended as a substitute for any exercise routine or dietary regimen that may have been prescribed by your doctor. As with all exercises and dietary programs, you should first get your doctor’s approval before beginning.

Contents

Contents

Preface

Chapter 1 - The Truth Hurts

Chapter 2 - Go To Your Room!

Chapter 3 - Learn To Count

Chapter 4 - Just Say No

Chapter 5 - Just Do It

Chapter 6 - Trust No One

Chapter 7 - Pure As Driven Snow

Chapter 8 - Fantasy Island

Chapter 9 - You can count on Him

Conclusion

Appendix A

Appendix B

Appendix C

Endnotes

Preface

About this book/bible

I sat down and wrote the bulk of this book in 2010 when I was living in Redondo Beach, California.  I was attracted to the South Bay area south of Los Angeles when I had time to kill for a flight from LAX airport and I stopped in Hermosa Beach to go running along the beach.  I stopped in a place called the Underground, named after the London subway system, and met a nice guy at the bar from England named Tony.  He introduced me to his friends before he left and I ended up staying there the rest of the night, rescheduling my flight for the next day, and enjoying the many new friends I was making.  I never got back there or met up with any of those people since, but I hoped to do so and that’s why I relocated there.  Otherwise, I would have relocated to San Diego.

After writing the book I had a friend review it and he liked some of it and was critical of some of it.  Then, despite warnings to stay away from a relative, I showed it to my relative and he discouraged me and there it sat for 4 years.  I should have heeded the warning to stay away from that relative.  But this book needed some revisions, which I should have done 4 years ago and, in 2014, I miraculously got the time and opportunity to finish it.  All in all about 8-9 solid months of full-time writing, another 4 years of valuable experience, and three more months of editing, went into this book; so, I hope the reader gets a lot out of it.

You’re going to get a bible lesson in the pages that follow.  That’s because I believe everything written in the Holy Bible.  That will be the subject of my next book, as a matter of fact, if God wills it.  For now, just trust me.  Have faith.  Then be transformed.

Chapter 1

The Truth Hurts

At Age 15, I Inadvertently Took a Good Look in the Mirror

In March of 1987, during my sophomore year at St. Patrick’s High School, on the northwest side of Chicago, I was in gym class.  Our coach was having the class undertake different strength tests, like hand grip, and also testing body fat with fat calipers, a device that squeezes the pockets of fat under your skin and gives a percentage of body fat based on the measurement.  So, we had to take our shirts off, not something I liked doing at that time.  I tested in the 30+ percentage range of body fat.  

But what impacted me a great deal was when I was standing there with my shirt off, I saw myself in the mirror from across the room.  But at first I did not know it was me.  Seeing myself in the mirror, before realizing it was me, was a startling revelation after realizing it was me.  It was like seeing someone and thinking how disgusting they look and then realizing it was you.  The revelation impacted me a lot.  

I was so disgusted with what I saw in that mirror.  I was 15 years old and about 225 pounds at 5'11".  I had gained probably 20 pounds of mostly fat that winter after football season ended from drinking beer (a new habit) with my friends on many nights.  My weight and body fat had gone over the edge.    

I remember a class mate of mine seeing and acknowledging my reaction to myself but he did not say anything, derogatory or otherwise.  I guess even some people who are not fat can feel a fat person’s pain at times.   

Normally, when I looked in a mirror, I was ready for what I was about to see.  I would suck in my gut, pull on my shirt, or do whatever I had to do to make myself not feel so bad.  But when I looked over and saw some fat flabby person standing in the mirror across from me and then realized it was me, I had not prepared for what I was about to see and I got an honest look at myself.  I did not like it.  I hated it.  It really pained me something awful.

The effect was probably more powerful because I could see a lot of my classmates without their shirts and my fat self, standing in their midst.  Without the mirror, I would only see them without their shirts without the ability to compare myself.  But because of the mirror, I saw how disgustingly fat I was in comparison.

LOOK IN THE MIRROR – MAKE AN HONEST ASSESSMENT OF YOURSELF

The mirror does not lie, so face the mirror and look at your body despite how painful it will be.  Although painful, it’s necessary.  This is the first and most important step you can take to losing the fat on your body.  This is time for honesty and truth.  

You have to quit denying the fact that you are fat.  Your clothes don’t make you look fat if you are fat.  The fact – i.e., the truth – that you are fat makes you look fat.  You might look better to yourself in certain clothes that hide the fat and lumpy contours of your body.  But putting a drape around yourself, for example, would not hide your size to the world and, unless you wear a mask, people can usually see in your face that you are heavy.  

The only way not to look fat is to lose the fat on your body.  You cannot go through life fooling people (other than yourself).  People can see you are fat.  So, quit trying to convince yourself you are not fat and face the mirror, honestly.  Take off your clothes and look at the mirror.  Look at the mirror for at least five minutes.  It will be difficult to endure the sight of yourself.  It will make you feel bad, maybe terrible, but once you feel bad you will be determined to change.  It will fuel your desire to make a change.  

You need an intense desire to change.  You have to become desperate to change and the only way to do that is by convincing yourself you need to make the change.  Once you become desperate to change, you have taken the first step you need to take in order to change.  The journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step.

By trying to deny to yourself the problem, you are refusing to