Keith Ahrens

Keith Ahrens, CFT, SFN is America's #1 Lifestyle Change Expert.

He is an award winning and best selling author of the book, Outrunning My Shadow: Surviving Open-Heart Surgery and Battling Obesity/The Decision to Change My Life.

Keith was the recipient of the American Heart Associations Start! Lifestyle Change Award. He is a Certified Fitness Trainer (CFT) and a Specialist in Fitness Nutrition (SFN) with certification from the International Sports Sciences Association. Keith is also a credentialed BLS Instructor with the American Heart Association. He was awarded The Presidential Champions Physical Fitness Gold Award, and is CPR and AED certified from the American Red Cross.

Keith has appeared as a guest on live television with ABC and has been featured on the AOL Home Page two times. Keith's journey was also named one of AOL's most inspirational weight loss stories of 2009. He has been highlighted in major newspapers and national and international publications. Keith is a regular guest on Radio stations throughout the world.

Keith is a highly sought after motivational speaker and has a Life, Health, and Wellness Coaching practice.

Keith's background is quite diverse. He taught an Aerospace Engineering Project, ran the Retail Division of a large office products firm and spent over 14 years as a finance director for an automotive company. His "new life" is now dedicated to sharing his story and helping others gain the inspiration and motivation to promote their own physical fitness and health. He was born in Washington, D.C. and attended Towson University, where he majored in Marketing/Finance.

At the age of 45, Keith weighed over 414 pounds and suffered a heart attack that resulted in life saving open-heart surgery. After surviving this critical surgery, he invested all of his efforts into losing weight without weight loss surgery and getting healthy. It took a life-or-death crisis for Keith to realize how important it is to make healthy choices, and he hopes that he can inspire others to take smart steps now to prevent health catastrophes in the future.

Having lost over 200 pounds without weight loss surgery since his open-heart surgery, Keith intends for his new book to be a motivational testament to how people can change their lifestyle for the better. He offer tips on how to start living healthy, while acknowledging the challenges and emotional pitfalls one may endure while making drastic changes.