Diet and Exercise…

Ryan and I are gluttonous. Well, we were gluttonous. We liked  to eat a “sweet treat” after almost every meal and enjoyed wine or beer just about every night after the kids went to sleep. We ate until we were stuffed and ordered takeout far too often. “Treat yo’ self” (the food edition) had become our way of life. The results of this lifestyle were inevitable.

We had each put on a substantial amount of weight within the last year. Me, I had a baby. Ryan, he was just being a supportive husband (wink.) No, for Ryan it was more about work picking up and traveling more often. It was hard to make good choices on the road.

We felt pretty awful and were fed up. We decided to hire a nutritionist, someone to hold us accountable and help us make the right changes. I asked an old friend and owner of True Body Fitness for a recommendation. That’s where the lovely and talented Stephanie Salvaggio comes in.

Stephanie meets with us twice a month. We discuss “loving and attainable” goals for the weeks ahead. She helps us make reasonable changes for our lifestyle and offers meal suggestions and nutritional guidance. We walk away from each meeting feeling empowered to make mindful choices to treat our bodies the right way.

Some of the changes include

• cooking at home 4 nights a week
• eating a filling breakfast as a family (no more cereal)
• cutting down on the amount of alcohol we consume each week
• run 4-5 days a week

The last couple of weeks we have noticed big changes. I am down a good 10 lbs and clothes that I have not worn in years are starting to fit again. For Ryan it’s the same. Well, that’s a lie. For Ryan the results are even greater. It’s like the commercial where the cartoon wife and husband do the same stuff but he shrinks down to an itty bitty, skinny minnie and she struggles to catch up. Still, we are on a great path and it feels oh so good.

It’s not all diet. There is a lot of exercise involved.  We are still training for the half marathon in October. So, go figure, the key to weight loss is diet and exercise. Who knew?

Our program with Stephanie is six months long, but the very best part of working with her is that our changes are all sustainable. They are becoming habit, our way of life. Wait, scratch that. The best part of working with her is doing it with my partner in life. We are supporting each other and rooting for one another the whole way. That is what will make this truly sustainable.

So here it is, a “before and during”. I’m not quite done so that is why it is not a “before and after.” Give me another three months for that photo. Who knows, maybe that one will be on a beach in a bathing suit. I make no promises.

With love from Detroit,

Callie