Sitting in a break room in March, I found myself sitting next to a lady eating her lean microwave meal that guarantees here that she will lose weight if she sticks to these meals by her weight club she joined. After microwaving it, I notice her practically eating the cardboard box that the meal was in.Seems some of her meal micro-waved into hard food that stuck to the microwave-able box. I looked at her and she said, “damn it! I’m entitled to every single bite of this food in my weight loss program and I’m not letting any of it go to waste”.
Friends, there is truly a better way. Let me introduce you to Beth Haley. Back in April of 2010 she started her quest in a new healthier lifestyle and has lost over 60lbs. What lead me to Beth is that one day I overheard her say, I feel great and I love my trainer Bridget who is a Pilates fitness instructor at Modesto Racquet Club. I’m so proud of Beth, she has stuck to her plan and has lost the weight in a safe and healthy way. She started out with a nutrition program and incorporated the benefits of using a personal trainerwith various exercises as well as Pilates. Pilates does work friends, I am living proof of that too. As many of you know, I once weighed in at over 300lbs in 12/04 and by 7/05 I got down to 156lbs., although the success wasn’t just in Pilates.
For Beth and me, it was all about counting calories, exercising, andeating smart foods. Smart food would include good carbs such as fruit and pasta. Yes, pasta! But wait. It needs to be wheat pasta and always go with whole grain whenever possible. Being a triathlete, I need my smart carbs to get me through those 3.5 hour training days. But, if you’re into the caveman diet and it’s working for you, cool. I would prefer not to go back quite as far as the caveman but rather to biblical times with what they where eating back then. After all, you all have read in your history books of thelongevity of the average caveman right. Smiles. Perhaps they would have had a longer life span if they had eaten their carbs for energy food instead of running out of energy from being chased by a T-Rex and becoming their food.
Just remember, if it grew from mother earth, chances are it has a nutritional value or even a medicinal purpose. And NO! Sorry to disappoint our Purple Haze friends out there. Marijuana Brownies are not smart food!
Friends, if this is still very confusing to you. I invite you to do what I did. Pick up a book on nutrition and study it. You will find the bottom line is simple. If it’s fattening, don’t consume it and don’t include it on your grocery list. Instead look for healthy alternatives. The biggest well-known secret to losing weight is 70 to 80% is smart nutrition and the rest is exercise. But please, always consult your doctor before you start any kind of exercise program.
Walking would be a good start for many of us and on April 30th at Downey Park, the Modesto Walk MS will take place. Contact Katie Walsh 1-800-344-4867 for more info. Also, The BAC Health Fair happens on the same day at The Modesto Fitness and Racquet Club with free testing for diabetes, blood pressure and other need to know health issues. More info Contact Lisa Braken at 571-2582 and, A reminder for Beth and others that have walked in our shoes. The next time you hear that song Beautiful by Christina Aguilera, please know that this DJ is sending it out to you
