Team Beachbody ¡preestreno!Español Guest

My name is Suzie DiTommaso and this summer I will celebrate my 42nd birthday on July 4. I have been married to my best friend for 20 years and we have a wonderful son who is 13.

As far back as I can remember I have been dissatisfied with my weight, body, tummy, shape, etc. I can remember in grade school longing to be a different shape. My friends always got a lot more attention from boys than I did as we grew up and I always knew deep down it was because I was not skinny. When I was in high school I overheard a boy say if they put my head on a different body I would be a 10. Those are the kinds of things that stick with you for life.

I met my husband when I was 19. He and I saw one another across a room of people and locked eyes. That was it. He came over and said hello and we haven’t been apart since.

He asked me to marry him in 1990 and I think it was at that point that I began to starve myself. There’s really no other way to say it. I began to lose weight by cutting calories and working out 2 hours a day. The compliments were flowing and I was getting attention for being skinny for the first time in my life. I wanted my wedding day to be perfect. I wanted to be that skinny bride, but a few months before our wedding I asked Tony to hug me tight and he refused saying he was afraid he would break me. The dieting had gone too far. I had lost my reproductive cycle somewhere along the way and dismissed it as the price you pay to be skinny. I started to realize that I had no control over it. I began to have a real concern that I was not going to have the happy life that I had dreamed of because I was going to die. We got married and through my husband’s patience and love and lots of prayers I began to get better. My cycle returned and things were falling into place. Even still throughout this time I had a very strange relationship with food. I would go for long periods of time without eating as a sort of challenge to myself. I would prepare food for other people and then make an excuse that I couldn’t eat with them. I was taking hundreds of laxatives a week.

It was about 1994 when we learned that we could not have children. We had several failed invitro fertilizations but without success. In 1999 we adopted the most amazing and wonderful little boy in the whole world. We finally had our little family. The baby made me so happy and complete.

I had everything I had ever dreamed of except, I was still a smoker. I was very much a closet smoker but it had a good hold on me. I would smoke outside when everyone was busy doing something else. I really hated smoking and worried about my health but could not seem to stop. I wanted to be around for my little guy and my husband and wanted to live a long and happy life. I worried that I would gain weight if I stopped and I couldn’t bear that thought. I battled and battled and on November 2, 2006 I smoked my last cigarette. I challenged myself to go 100 days. I thought if I slip even once I have to start counting the days again and I didn’t want to do that. I made it to 100 days and beyond! I won! I did it! I was so happy and proud of myself and was having such a great time I never even noticed the weight gain until one day I realized nothing I owned fit me anymore. I decided that was the price you pay for being a non smoker and went out shopping for bigger clothes.

It was Christmas 2007 when I started to have chest pains. I went to the doctor and he had me wear a heart monitor for 24 hours. He said my heart was fine. So, what could it be? I did a little research and learned that I had acid reflux. This can be brought on by poor diet and belly fat and it was really a horrible feeling. I knew something had to change.

I saw a commercial and ordered Turbo Jam from the TV and loved it. I did it for a few months but hadn’t changed my diet. I had been seeing the P90X commercial and my husband and I were both very interested. In October 2008 I ordered it. It came in one day. We read all the information and did exactly what it said to do. We tossed all the junk in our house. We bought all whole foods and decided the best way to do this was together. That meant a 4:30 a.m. standing workout time. I was so excited the night before we started I couldn’t sleep. We got up on day 1 and did it. Then day 2 and 3 and so on… We made it through all the holidays and graduated on January 10, 2009. We have now completed 2 rounds of P90X, 1 round of P90X+ and are finishing a round of Insanity. I feel so empowered and in control of my life, my diet, my physical self and my destiny. I have lost 20 pounds and my husband it approaching 65 pounds lost. We feel closer to each other than ever. Our Beachbody workout time is “our time”. We laugh and encourage each other but the greatest thing is our overall health and sense of well being.

I learned through following the plan and the help and support of my P90X online friends that I am allergic to wheat. This revelation has changed my life. Once the wheat and all the chemical and preservatives were removed I felt better than I have in 20 years! I didn’t even know I had all that indigestion until it was gone. My digestive system feels brand new!

We moved on to P90X +, Insanity, ChaLlean Extreme and TURBO FIRE! (MY FAVE!) We've competed in races and bike now on the weekends.

Every day we grow stronger and more flexible and healthier. I feel as if after 20 years we are that bride and groom again. There’s a sparkle in everyday and even though that sounds corny it’s really true. We plan to do this for the rest of our lives. Because of Beach Body the quality of our lives has greatly increased. We are now going to live longer and more abundant lives. BRING IT!