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.