Once Upon a Health and Fitness Plan

Chapter 1

Once  upon a time, there was an overweight 30 year-old who lost 68 pounds using Weight Watchers.  This teacher and soon-to-be-father-of-two ran his first half marathon and over the next few years ran three of them.  Soon enough, the pounds found him again, all but 9 of them. 

Two years, four globo-gyms, another trip to Weight Watchers, and a personal trainer later, this thirty-something said to his good friend, "I wish there was a place with a boot camp atmosphere, that was as into working out and keeping me healthy in a sustainable way."  Enter:  Crossfit.  

Now, at age 39, this "young" man is in the physical shape of his life.  He's a school counselor by day, a father, husband, and Health and Nutrition Coach as well.  At the same time, this foodie/fitness junkie recently pontificated the following:  "Now that I've changed my body, my strength, endurance, and relationship with food, what do I want to do?  What is next?  And so he came to a crossroads.  Enter:  The Crossfit Carmel Training Challenge. 

He became part of an eight person team that trains and tracks food together with three goals in mind:

1.  Compete against 4 other teams in the gym.

2.  Enter the 2012 Great Lakes Invitational.

2.  Train for The 2012 Crossfit Sectional.

So what does this entail for this almost 40-year-old father of two/husband to a wife who has gone back to work/School Counselor/Health and Nutrition Coach?  It means if he wants to lose the weight to be more competitive in the gym....if he wants to do more than five pull ups without having to drop off the bar, if he wants to run longer distances, if he wants to finally shed the last-to-go-belly fat, then he must, I repeat, he must without fail and with full focus do the following:

1.  Write out his goals on paper.

2.  Make those goals visible and read them every day.

3.  Plan his meals in advance in a reasonable time-efficient manner.

4.  Decrease weekend beer consumption.

5.  Work on shoulder and hamstring mobility every day.  EVERY.  DAY.

6.  Track food intake 

7.  Track workout information.

8.  Be mindful of food intake while still indulging from time to time.

9.  Work on things that are difficult.

10.  Be positive!

Stay tuned for

Keeping Track of it All:  A Great Tool For You