1 . Tell me about yourself….
I'm 29, grew up in Chesapeake, Virginia. In high school I was an accomplished rower, basketball player, and volleyball player; in fact I was captain of the crew team and was in charge of conditioning. I maintained a healthy and athletic lifestyle until I tore my Achilles Tendon while training for a marathon in 2004.
2. What was your “eye opening” experience that made you realize you needed to focus on your health more?
In the summer of 2011, I had a long overdue physical that revealed my cholesterol was out of sight; my doctor actually told me that I was on my way to having a heart attack by age 40-on top of the fact that my weight had ballooned to 283 pounds! He prescribed a statin drug and I hated the idea of being on cholesterol medications at 29 years old. This was unacceptable to me and I decided that I wanted that under control by 30.
3. What elements did you need to focus on for a lifestyle change? Diet, exercise, sleep, stress management, specific medical condition, etc?
I focused on everything. I had been living on doughnuts for breakfast, bacon cheeseburgers for lunch, and usually something fried for dinner. My mantra was that "Plants are what food eats." In terms of physical activity, I avoided even going to the kitchen to get a glass of water and would skip going to the grocery store if I had to park too far away. I had to rethink everything from the ground up-got rid of the sweets and fried foods, replaced them with whole foods. I actually ate vegetables that weren't fried potatoes. Instead of a burger I would eat a piece of lean chicken or fish. Getting more active was the most difficult part. I had tried to get in shape before but always got discouraged because I couldn't do what I was able to do when I was an athlete. This time I was just focused on small steps-simply jogging a few minutes, doing the Stairmaster for 10 minutes, etc. Within weeks I was running a couple miles at a time and routinely taking Dionne's spin classes.
4. What have you accomplished since making these changes?
I have lost 72 pounds in 5 months, lowered my cholesterol by over 100 points, can easily run 5+ miles and do long runs of 10+ miles on the weekends. I am also stronger and leaner-I have been digging out old smaller clothes and have had to buy some new ones.
5. How did you do it?
I have run, spun, lifted weights, ate reasonable meals, and stayed motivated as the scale showed results.
6. What differences have you noticed in your everyday life or in general?
In everday life I have more energy, am not daunted by minor physical tasks, am never out of breath (unless I want to be!), and actually am not as hungry as I used to be.
7. What is your favorite workout? Why?
I love to spin-it's an easy way to work really hard.
8. What are some of your favorite healthy foods or snacks?
My favorite foods are oatmeal for breakfast, baby carrots, almonds, and popcorn for snacks, grilled chicken or salmon, turkey chili, squash, broccoli, brown rice, asparagus, green beans, etc. for dinner.
9. Looking to the future, what are your current goals?
I still have about 20 pounds to lose in order to get to my ideal weight-so I want to drop that weight and keep it off. I am also running a marathon in March and hope to complete an Ironman Triathlon within the next several years.
10. What advice would you give someone who is starting out from a similar situation as you?
Don't wait until your doctor prescribes powerful drugs to fix the damage you have done to your body. Take control of your owe health-you owe it to yourself.
Alan has lost 72 lbs. in 5 months since joining Champions in July of 2011. He has regained his life and has lowered his cholesterol by 100 points. He has adopted a healthy, well balanced diet and loves to spin and run. In the past he avoided the store if he had to park to far away but has recently run several 5Ks and is training for a marathon this spring. Read Alan's inspiration interview below.
