If you had any doubts that FT's approach to fitness is different...

Something fascinating happened yesterday, just a few hours before my fitness assessment. Julian has been headquartered out at Fitness Together's Gunbarrel studio for the past week and I haven't seen much of him, since I've been working with the trainers at the Frazier studio.
But our kids go to school together, and he stopped me on my way out, right on the sidewalk.

I thought he was going to say that he was looking forward to reading my results, or tell me how trim I look. But instead he told me that I look hungry.

I admitted that I'd skipped snacks for the past two days and eaten only vegetables and water because I wanted to lose the last few pounds to get below 160. My lovely wife didn't like it, but I was doing it anyway. Well, Julian didn't like it either.

"You've lost plenty of weight," he told me. "In fact, I think you looked healthier at 165-170 pounds."

One of the trainers had told me a story that happened a few months ago, when a lady who is in great shape came into the studio and asked them to help her lose another 10-15 lbs. Julian told her that he would help her build endurance, balance, strength, a good nutrition plan and better health, but that she did not need to lose more weight. And here, the same thing was happening to me.

Even in the face of an impressive success - proof that his approach to nutrition and training is highly effective in helping someone lose weight - Julian was pointing to whole person health as the standard, rather than the size of my waistline.

So I end where I started: believing that Chattanooga's Fitness Together is remarkably unique in the fitness industry. Not only in what they can accomplish, but in their commitment to quality of life.

At the same time, I'm not where I started. I have a great re-education about what and how much I should be eating. As well as an improved metabolism that I can maintain with exercise.

But that starts next week. Today it's Saturday, and for lunch I'm making organic pizza from scratch with my lovely wife and daughters. And I'm going to enjoy every minute.

The results are in, and the winner is... truth

All the results are back. Here's what has happened in the last three months:

• I turned 35 years old.
• I lost 33 pounds (final weight 158). This means that I lost 1/6 of my total body weight. Crazy.
• My resting heart rate has dropped 15 beats a minute. This means that over the course of the next year, my heart will have to beat 7,884,000 fewer times than it did last year.
• My body fat is now 14.5%
• I lost 6 1/2 inches off my waistline. Also nearly 1 inch off my neck and off my calf. That's right - I lost an inch of fat off my calf. Weird.
• Flexibility test scores went from 37th percentile ("below average") to 81st percentile ("excellent").
• Nutrition is on key.
• I can do 60 pushups without stopping (double what I could do before).
• I can bench press 195 lbs. Which means that if I met pre-FlabtoFit Caleb and he called me skinny, I could bench press him.
  

Q&A:

So overall, did Julian tell the truth that he could change not only a person's look but their lifestyle?
That's a rhetorical question, if I've ever heard one.

Would I recommend that other people take the approach I took, a twelve-week, semester long re-education in how to eat right for your body, with one on one training to reach your personal goals?
Absolutely. It has required a big commitment - as does any program, or anything in life that pays off. And the men and women in their sixties who I see in the Fitness Together studios are an inspiration to me that I can continue on track for years to come.

What about for people for whom a five-day-a-week, twelve week program does not work? Would I still recommend to them one-on-one personal training and nutrition consulting? Absolutely. In fact, I not only 'would,' I do. I tell people to call Fitness Together, all the time. Talk to Julian, he's not unrealistic. He's a certified, Master's educated businessman and coach who loves life, loves good food, and loves helping people reach their goals.

The Unveiling

OK: before and after pics. And, fingers crossed, this will be the last time I ever appear on the internet with my shirt off.

I know that the visual images say a lot, but the non-visible indicators say even more than the difference in my waistline. I am eating much smarter, working with more energy, resting and sleeping much better. Breathing and balance feel like I'm ten years younger. Rather than missing and craving time outside, I am making time to run up in the mountains or downtown.

My daughters are sitting here with me while I'm writing this, and my little one just said: "Look, there's Papa when he was old, and Papa now that he's young."

Trash to treasure

Friday morning I was emptying the trash can and recyling can underneath my desk at work, and it struck me how different its contents are today than 3 months ago. Back then it would have been Coke cans, a paper Starbucks cup or two, Subway and Wendys boxes, soup cans and a couple of candy wrappers along with work papers. Now it is an orange peel and an empty raw almonds baggie; the rest was work papers.

In fact, I realized that I empty my trash can much less often these days. The metaphorical significance of this was not lost on me.

The Final Countdown

Today was my last workout. Well, not my last workout, because I’m going to continue working with a trainer at Fitness Together two days a week + doing one extra day of cardio. I want this whole life re-thinking of my body will last my whole life.

But today was the last training session of my 12 week program.

As I was doing sprints on the treadmill, it occurred to me that I don’t really feel like the workouts have gotten easier. I know that I can do much more that I could when I started, but it doesn’t FEEL easier. Of course, this is because the trainers are pushing me much harder now than they were.

This is another good reminder of the benefit of training under of watchful, educated eyes. The one on one trainer model keeps you from hurting yourself doing a particular exercise incorrectly, or overexerting and so burning out / giving up. But perhaps even more importantly, they walk with you over a period of time, knowing where to push you harder and where to back off, so you can reach your goals.

Tomorrow I go in for my twelve week assessment - did I reach my goals? How has my body changed, not only externally but internally? Am I stronger? Is my heart stronger? We’ll find out...

Flab to ab?

It's true - this is not a fatroll. In fact, it's an "ab" showing in the photo.

Apparently they’ve been there all along, under the layers of flab, but after thousands of a wide variety of crunches and back extensions, hours on the elliptical machine, 252 well-planned meals and 168 sensible snacks... they showed up.

Just thinking about those numbers and the oh-so-much more that it's taken over the past 12 weeks really reminds me of how hard it would have been to do it alone. All along I’ve talked about wanting to prove that despite the fitness industry's trend of manipulative marketing claims... a single business model that is based on quality of life, whole person focus, personalized attention and truth in marketing can really stand out as different.

But of course, it isn’t the business model that stands out, it’s the group of certified, highly trained trainers who have made this happen.

Under Julian’s leadership these trainers pushed and coached and encouraged and advised and educated me, and that’s what made such a big difference. So to the trainers I worked with in the past 3 months - Kyle, Jonathan, April, Becky, Chris, Justin, Tony, Denise, and Joanna - as well as the others at the Gunbarrel and Frazier studios : you rock. You guys do amazing work, and I obviously couldn’t have done it without you.

A Post from Krista (Caleb's wife)...

This is my first, and quite probably my only, blog entry ever! But it was worth creating a Blogger account so I can write on behalf of my studly husband's recent dedication to body and health renewal.

The short version of my take on his transformation is that his outside now matches his inside. Strong, ready, fearless, ageless, and a general feeling of "Don't mess with my three ladies." Obviously that does not touch on his kind, gracious and loving side, but that isn't what we are talking about here.

The longer version would include these few things: I am happy that his heart doesn't have to beat as many times every 24 hours. I am glad that we save 99 cents a day, on Totinos pizzas :) I am also very happy for myself and our two daughters, who now have reason to believe that he will live with us for many more years. Plus, let me be candid, he looks hot.

This man can do anything he sets out to do - and do it with style - and I'm glad that Fitness Together put it in his mind to take care of his health.

The Naysayers Weigh In

I'm now at the start of the last week of my program. While a lot of people nicely point out how much I've changed, a couple of my friends are making predictions on how long they think it will take me to change (back) after the program.

Ironically, these are the same folks who warned me that it'd be too much trouble to schedule working out 5 days a week, or that sticking to a Caleb-specific prescribed meal plan would be a real hassle for my family.

Of course, it HAS taken effort - a lot of effort - but at the same time it was as simple as making a commitment and then following through.

Am I going to balloon back up after the program is over? Am I worried?

Oh, these friends of little faith! I'm not worried because about a month ago I reached a tipping point, where I really started looking forward to the workouts. I ran 3 miles yesterday, up on mountain roads... and it was technically a day off.

I will say that I'm pretty confident I will not continue working out 5 days a week for an hour each day, simply because that is hard to fit into my work + family schedule. But I can say with equal confidence that I don't want to slide backward over that same tipping point, losing the ground that I've gained.

Everything is hard before it gets easy, and I've done the really, really hard part.

And is a life of Taco Bell and breathing heavily when I go up stairs really so rewarding? I think not.

Life 101

All along I've been viewing this 12 week, semester-long program as a re-education in how I should eat and exercise. That's what much of this blog is about, but as I'm coming to the end of it all, I'm reflecting a lot on what I've learned.

Two big concepts are
1. eating - what to take in and how much. Link to this post, this post and this post to read more.
2. that fitness = time + effort. It requires a commitment to both. But that the commitment, followed through, shows a very real, measurable, and self-perpetuating return on the investment.

I've also learned a lot of very specific tools... how to breathe, how to improve balance, circuits of exercises that I can do on my own, etc, etc, etc.

Of course, with this course there is no end-of-term exam. The exam will be how I eat and exercise in the next month, year, and for the rest of my days.

Can't be a Coincidence

6 years ago, around the time I left my PhD program to enter the business world, my doctor put me on Nexium for acid reflux, which had worn away the lining of my esophagus to the point that I had Barretts Esophagus, a "pre-cancer" state.

Nexium ('the purple pill' you hear about on TV) two times a day has helped. The doctor said that it would be ideal if we can eventually get it down to 1x a day, but I could never cut back on my daily dosage that without the acid reflux hurting me after a day or two. I knew that coffee, Coke and fatty foods were a big part of the problem, but never seemed to care enough to avoid them.

Is it coincidence that after three months, I am taking only one Nexium a day? Coffee, Coke and fatty foods simply aren't on the menu.

It's cool, how good things can snowball. You start making decisions that are good for your body, and you want to make another, and another... to see more good benefits.

Cindy's Favorite Fish

Another example of a quick recipe that is easy to make and great for fueling your body. This comes to you from Cindy Wallace (see "Cindy Kicks It" below).

Cindy's Easy Fish Recipe:

One fillet of frozen white fish (tilapia, grouper, orange roughy, etc)
* One resealable bag of spinach
* One jar of organic salsa
* Smart Balance spray
* Garlic Powder
* Sea Salt
* Red Pepper
* Lemon wedges

Place a frozen fish fillet onto a baking sheet and spray with Smart Balance. Sprinkle garlic powder, sea salt, red pepper. Broil until done (fish will separate easily): don't overcook!

Microwave 1/2 cup frozen spinach until done. Place spinach on top of the fish fillet and cover with salsa. Serve with whole grain toast, whole grain crackers, or corn.

St John the Pure

My wife and I went to St John's Restaurant on Saturday night. Amazing. Purity of ingredients. Local meat and produce tapped with Daniel Lindley's magic wand.

It was certainly one of those "splurge" days that Julian's approach to nutrition allows for: the chef's taster menu included white tuna carpaccio with an heirloom tomato tower, frisée salad with ripe-bursting tomatoes and lardons, kobe beef seared and braised, and a couple of bites of cobbler for dessert.

But thanks to a commitment to quality of ingredients and preparation by the Restaurant, it was a splurge that I could eat and enjoy with a clean conscience. We are lucky to live in a place and time where we can eat food that tastes delicious and feeds our body in the right ways too.

the Walnut Street Running Bridge

Because of meetings this week, I had to skip a day of working out so I came in Saturday morning to train with Chris. Afterward the 45 minute session, instead of doing cardio on one of the machines he said, "Let's run across the Walking Bridge and back."

The Walnut Street Walking Bridge the longest walking bridge in the world, a half-mile each way.

At this point in my 12 week program we are pushing pretty hard and at the end of every workout I'm definitely spent. But that's a great time to do cardio (after you've already had your heartrate up for 45 minutes of training), and I end each session with 15 minutes on the stationary bike, treadmill or elliptical machine. A run across the bridge seemed like a nice change from looking at the bridge and our scenic city from the windows of the FT studio.

Okay, okay, I admit that I'm no 25 year old trainer, not even 10 weeks into this program! Upon reaching the far side I told Chris to head on back to the studio, that I needed to rest for a minute. Of course, he was polite enough to pretend like he needed to stretch out a bit too, take a 3 minute breather.

But the skies were grey in that way that seems to capture so much history of Chattanooga - our old Civil War, manufacturing and railroad town that has made such an incredible turnaround - and other runners were on this beautiful bridge, and a breeze off the river kept me cool despite the humidity. It was a great way to start the weekend.