What’s It Gonna Take?

Guest post by one of our members. Thank you for sharing your story, Michael!

Each person is motivated by an event, some form of circumstance or situation. I’m no exception. To finally answer my “what’s it gonna take?”, I first had to take a hit to my health, receive an affirmed diagnosis and find myself on prescription medication.

Flashback: It just a couple years ago, I sat in my physician’s office discussing why I had fever bouts every other month and some ‘shingle’ skin issues. After blood draws, she surprised me with my latest test results. Diabetes 2, sporting an unhealthy 8.2 mmol/L on the blood glucose level chart. The mean normal is 5.5 mmol/L. If that’s all “mumbo-jumbo” to you, let me translate it: I messed up. The associated effects to diabetes can be profound. I’m not going to pontificate about those though, because all the information you need, is readily available.

The Diagnosis

My physician instantly prescribed the remedy – Metformin. I’m not sure how you would have responded to news like this, and I know that there are illnesses and diseases which are by far worse than just diabetes, but my personal diagnosis was enough for me. It was the equivalent of a swift kick to my arse – in reality, it was more of a ‘shock’ moment that I had fallen victim to my own choices. Beyond embarrassed, I just put up a huge grin, because deep down inside, I saw it coming. The warning signs were there, I just decided to dismiss them. My physician also dismissed the warning signs. Yes, prior visits resulted in her mentioning, “you’re pre-diabetic”, but not once was the cause addressed, but only the symptoms were mentioned. However, I cannot blame my physician. Diabetes 2 – MY diabetes 2, was purely self-inflicted. I had shot up to 293 lbs, with a body-fat percentage I don’t care to remember.

I came to terms with the fact that unhealthy eating, exercising too little but socializing too much (and never to turn down a good glass of wine, beer or what-have-you), were complimented by working too much and sleeping too little. I refer to it as “I’ve lived the lifestyle of most Americans.” I knew something had to happen because staying on medication, relying on pills is the absolute last thing I wanted to do. Besides the financial impact, my pride took a hit. I thought I had it ‘under control’, knowing full and well that I’m wrecking myself. Through this thought process and immediate self-reflection, I had discovered my “What’s it gonna take” to make changes.

I fully understand that everyone’s ‘WHY” is different. I just hope that reading these lines, will give some of you the needed encouragement for self-improvement before your personal “WHY” kicks you in the arse. In my mind, chances are, if you’re reading this, you either are living the same, or a similar lifestyle, or you want to change something about the way you’re currently living. I can assure you that you’re not alone. It just hit me sooner than it did you, or the person you know, who needs to change their ways.

Missing the Mark & No Accountability

For me, I knew something had to change. I had to put myself and my health first. Tomorrow. No, today. No, now. I left my physician’s office, bee-lined to my house, grabbed my gym bag and hit the local gym-parlor. Awesome looking, in shape, ripped and muscle-flexing dudes fist-pumped with other bicep-aholics, while sheepishly stealing glances of yet another well-rounded female example of shining health. I entered the twilight zone of unspoken codes that I wasn’t privy to, because my six-pack would have been best described by cans of beer. Not just that I felt insecure about myself in that environment, I felt as if I had arrived at the wrong place, at the wrong time and above all, at the WRONG COMMUNITY. I began to understand why some big-box gyms have a “No Meathead and No Grunting Policy”, but I also knew that most of those corporate chain gyms are by far and large ineffective. The ineffectiveness comes less through their equipment, (we know they have enough), but through no guidance, no accountability and generally disinterested staff members. Of course, there are glowing exceptions. But they are exactly that; exceptions, not the rule. Besides, no gym on this planet should serve pizza to members who attend to better themselves, or have soda machines, candy bar dispensers, hand out lollipops at the front desk. You get the picture, but I digress…

I went to my local big-box gym and started with what I knew, had heard about and researched on my own. I started to get to work on improving myself. Miles upon miles on the treadmill only gave way to even more miles on the indoor-bicycle and for good measure, I tossed some body building moves on top of it. Isolating dumbbell curls to sculpt the biceps, an untold amount of sit-ups (about 3 at a time), to get rid of the visceral fat, and cable-crossovers that looked more like an embarrassment than anything else. For the most part, the embarrassment simply derived from no guidance, no one was interested to help and I was too ‘afraid to ask’. I finished every single visit off by sitting in the Finnish sauna just to sweat some more.

The Paradox of Time

Time is valuable, time is flying and what used to be my excuse with “I don’t have enough time to make it to the gym”, became a “I must go to the gym”. The problem truly became: TIME. My ‘globo gym’ time added up to: 45 minutes on the treadmill or stationary bike, 45 minutes of lifting and then 30 minutes of sitting in the sauna. The enjoyable part was the sauna, because it didn’t ask for any physically extraneous work. Add to that the locker room and showering, and I was squarely beyond the 2-hour mark. Every day. 7-days/week. I was at the gym. Yet, while doing something is better than not doing anything, in relation to the time spent at the gym, my improvements were marginal at best. In reality, anyone who does SOMETHING will improve a little bit. And that’s exactly what my improvements came to; a little bit. This was a direct reflection of me, working out by myself, with no guidance, no one to ask, and a sense of shame, if I were to be looked at by some of the guys and gals who looked as if they knew what they were doing. I thought about copying them, but that plan was quickly foiled, as their workout plans were too advanced and the machines they used were constantly inhabited by someone else. I figured, besides being physically active, the key driver to my success will be what I eat.

Nutrition & Accountability

The exercise regimen was instantly complimented by turning myself into a raging rabbit, devouring everything that’s green, short of mowing the backyard with my teeth. Little did I know, my idea of nutrition was completely in error – and there was no one to correct me! However, there was one additional problem: Accountability. Sure, I was determined at first, ready to go and to hit it hard. But then, I quickly realized that 4:30 p.m. has a lot of determined people, and if I have to wait for exercise equipment…well, I’ll come back later. Perhaps tomorrow, or the day after. Before too long, the best of intentions and well-laid plans gave way to excuses and falling back into my old habits.

Besides the above-mentioned problems, brought to you courtesy of ‘globo gym’, what I was also unaware of, were some simple, yet astounding truths. Rabbits are animals with different dietary needs, Finnish saunas are amazing places to relax, body building exercises are great for…body builders, and the cardio equipment is fantastic to catch up on your latest TV shows. Was any of the above effective for what I needed to change in MY life? Not even close!

How Did Change Happen?

Fast forward a few weeks and I was introduced to CrossFit. A friend of mine had just started her gym (box) in Fargo, ND and I had the pleasure of being invited to a ‘free intro’. Now, let me mention that this blog post is NOT about CrossFit, but about functional fitness, nutrition, medical markers and RESULTS!

Sara ran me through the paces, showing and teaching movements that introduced me to a way that I had never trained like before. It was a mix of bodyweight skills, weights and cardio. If you want to lump it all together into one category, I’d call it “functional HIIT training”. Thankfully, some movement patterns were like second nature to me, while others are still difficult to this day. However, the groundwork for primary change had been laid. Sara took me under her wings, showing me the ropes and the nature of showing up at 5 a.m. had it that no one else was there to workout with me. So, it was just Sara and myself. 1 – on- 1 instruction, accountability and no excuses. I started to see the first signs of change rather quickly. The WODs (Workouts of the Day) had my fat melting and my weight slowly disappearing. All the while, I got stronger again. However, the primary keys were still not quite there. Nutrition. The nutrition piece was none of Sara’s fault, I was so in awe about my newly found workouts, accountability and immediate results, I forgot to inform her of my food struggles (I guess I’ll apologize for that one day).

My personal run for improvements continued as I moved to a new city. Enter Coach Kate (you can find her in the ‘staff section’ of TAL), who then took over on nutrition adjustments, medical markers and continued functional fitness.

“Let food be thy medicine”, Hippocrates.

Your physical success stems from ~80% nutrition and ~20% exercise, and although these numbers are somewhat variable, the primary driver to your health is how you eat. Also, if you read any of the other blog posts here, the 80/20 concept should be familiar to you by now.

The epiphany came through the realization that the FDA food pyramid is wrong. Yes. WRONG. Yet, so was my rabbit existence, because living on greens isn’t right either, unless…stew. What matters is a balance of protein to carbs to fats. Good fats, of course. There’s a ton of science to back the assertion, and I won’t bog you down with that, but trust me when I say that the right ratios work. Why am I confident?

Simple; with the right guidance and within 5-weeks, I reduced my blood glucose level from 8.2 mmol/L to 6.0 mmol/L, which was at the top end, but within the acceptable range of a healthy human being. Soon after, I further reduced it to 5.2 mmol/L, which brought me pretty close to being a text book case for amazing Blood Glucose Levels. The positive side effect? I dropped to 250lbs, 17% body-fat and a resting heart rate of sub 50BPM.

Why am I telling you all this? That’s simple. Your success starts with the right education, commitment and above all, accountability. Wherever you are on your personal health chart, whether you’re as diabetic as I was, or ‘merely’ overweight. If you’re underpowered or carrying too much visceral fat – Change. Is. Possible. However, unless you’re amazingly determined and educated, change is difficult without proper guidance. 

What Does This Mean For You?

It means exactly what you want it to mean. If you are READY to change, then you can change. If you’re ready to reach out and accept help, then you can change. The tools, the education, and the professionals are out there. However, you’re likely not going to find them at your next ‘big-box’ gym. Not because they’re bad coaches, but because their business model isn’t laid out for that. That’s not a diss on the fitness profession, but merely my personal perception.

Last but not least, this is not a sales pitch by any means – but, as I am 100% real, I invite you to meet me and ask me all kinds of questions – within reason, of course. 😉

You can find me at “The Athlete Lab”, working out with a phenomenal community of individuals. We make each other better. One day at a time.

However, if you’re reading this from afar, and you won’t make it to Minneapolis-St. Paul anytime soon, but still want to know how I changed? Look for a local fitness professional, who also understands nutrition and that it doesn’t *just* take hours on a treadmill, but deliberate guidance in nutrition AND fitness, to actually become successful. Thankfully, Coach Kate is also available to coach online & globally. If you can’t find anyone in your area, I encourage you to write Coach Kate an email at kate@theathletelab.com

See ya on the healthy side!

Michael