On Balance (Fit and Fat – there are 2 sides)
“Nothing tastes as good as fit feels … but with the conscious change in nutrition, even the “healthy” choices are tasting better.”
I could always stay a step ahead of my boys … until last summer when I couldn’t even keep up. As a coach, I felt I was letting them, and myself, down. One could argue that aging closed the gap and, yes, weight was holding me back. But I was determined to fight it.
Enter One on One. I started working with Lonny in September and he developed a strength and conditioning program that I followed closely, including the Race to the North Pole. I was now accountable for my fitness level. I saw both facets improve but, while I experienced a short period of significant weight loss, I had no discipline to keep it off. I had ½ the equation but something was missing. Sure, I had tried the fad diets (South Beach, The Zone, Atkins). The weight drops quickly but the plans were not sustainable for me, so the weight yo-yo’s right back. For 5 months, I was converting fat to muscle (to some degree) but my stable [over]weight was keeping me from progressing as quickly as I’d hoped, especially with baseball season looming.
Enter One on One’s Nutrition Challenge. I reflected on several strategies toward weight management that were suggested by trainers at One on One and Minitab and I ultimately decided on a food journal and daily weigh-ins to track what I ate. I was hesitant at first. I mean, who wants to be that accountable to themselves, much less, their trainer. But I had to try. I had to experience that one truth … for myself, if only to see what my habits were. If I didn’t want to write it down, I wasn’t allowed to eat it.
After just one month, I have lost an amazing 10% of my body weight (and counting), I’m eating smart (which is carrying over at home and at the restaurants), the “right” foods are tasting great and my conditioning has improved dramatically.
And so goes my state of mind, self-esteem and quality of life – for me and my family. With the other ½ of the equation complete, I have found the necessary balance to keeping healthy. You need to be accountable to yourself at both the gym and the dinner table.
Thanks so much to One on One, Susanne Marder, Dr. Kristine Clark, and especially Lonny! You’ve helped me to instill a sense of commitment, motivation, urgency and, yes, accountability to myself. It is truly life-changing and life-sustaining.
BALANCE can be achieved. You just need to want it!
Dan Turenne