By Success Stories
Name: Richard Lacourciere
Age: 23
Location: New Britain, CT
Reboot: Juice as a meal replacement
What Health Issues apply to you? High Blood Pressure, Obesity
How did you learn about Reboot with Joe?
A friend suggested watching the film after I shared my concerns about my weight and I had also heard of video game designer Tim Schafer doing a Reboot and seeing success with it.
What inspired you to do a Reboot?
What inspired me to start juicing was a number of factors. My father was very overweight for much of his life and was even able to lose a large amount of weight but unfortunately some of his life choices caught up to him and the final three years of his life were very difficult for him and our family due to all the health problems he had to endure (renal failure, losing mobility and many others).
He was visiting the hospital almost every month for some emergency or other and had even began to lose his limbs towards the end. The final few months of his life saw him stuck in a hospital bed away from his home and family and this was very difficult for himself and us as a family.
At one point my father broke down in tears in front of me and told me he was sorry because he felt he was hurting our family with his illness. I told him that he was saving my life and that I would do everything in my power to get myself and my family healthy so as to avoid all the pain he went through. I sometimes feel this is the most important thing he ever gave me.
Even though I realized I had to change it still took a while before I did anything about it. It wasn’t until my sister had purchased a scale and I stepped on it that I saw that I was 354 pounds/160 kg. and knew I needed to change. That was the moment that set me on my juice journey.
How did the experience go for you?
I had a rather easy transition into the juice lifestyle. I pulled out an older juicer that had been in storage and began juicing right away. The most difficult part for me was just taking the time out of my day to prepare my juice but once I had my routine and recipe that I like down it became very easy. I made it a priority in my life and just added it to my day as I would any other thing. I found my juice recipe to be tasty and reinvigorating, I looked forward to enjoying my juice every day. Not to mention that within the first month I was down 20 pounds and I knew for sure that this was going to be a part of my life going on.
How much weight did you lose (even if that wasn’t your goal!)?
At this point I have gone from 354 pounds/160 kg. to 254 pounds/115 kg. and I feel amazing about it. I didn’t really have a goal in mind other than to be healthy but the weight loss has been fantastic and it’s nice to see the results of my better choices.
Did you have any notable health or physical improvements?
Yes! Oh my goodness yes! This may sound odd but the largest and most meaningful thing to me is the fact that I no longer begin sweating as easily. It used to make me feel very self-conscious and bad about myself and whenever I went out I would have anxiety about the amount that I sweat and would plan out my actions to minimize the possibility of sweating a lot (which usually didn’t work).
And of course the ability to enter a clothing store and being able to find clothes off the rack as opposed to having to order most everything online to find things that fit me. I recall being in a fitting room and being able to put on a pair of pants and then pumping my fist in the air and enjoying that victory for myself.
There are others things such as the overall better and more fit look of my body. I happen to like looking rather muscular, it’s pretty cool.
What was the toughest part about the Reboot experience?
The toughest part of the Reboot for me was just making sure that I find the time to juice. There are times when I am busy or tired and I don’t feel like going through the process but I found that these were the times that were most important for me to make the extra effort and do the juicing. I always make the effort to juice as much as I can but I also try to realize that I can’t beat myself up over not being able to do it one day and that I just have to do it next time.
What habits have you maintained and kept a part of your everyday life?
Some of the most important things I’ve done during my juice journey is to be sure to keep myself hydrated and drinking plenty of water. I also find myself being much more conscious of the food I put into my body, I try to limit the fats and sweets which I overindulged in before and make them treats for myself as opposed to a regular part of my diet.
What is your lasting impression of the Reboot experience?
I feel as though juicing was the exact thing that I needed to jump-start my new healthy life. It gave me food discipline and made me become more aware and thoughtful of the food that I was placing into my body. I believe I will always have juicing as a part of my life, it has helped to put me on a path to health and wellness and I think that path would have been much more difficult without juicing. With juicing I was able to save my life and hopefully help improve the lives of the people I love and care about. I will continue to Juice On!