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June 2009: Introducing the F.A.T Plan
So let's not talk about the dreaded subject of weight loss, or better yet let's not EVER again. The reality is that your health is so much more than a number on a scale. When trying to slim down and get healthy the first thing a person should do is throw away their scale. That may sound a little extreme, so feel free to hide it in the depths of your most disorganized closet instead, but the point is to banish it from sight for an indefinite period of time.
Now that we have that out of the way, let's talk about the Fitness Challenge. At The Wellness Solution, which is a holistic health center, I have teamed up with our registered nutritionist, Joan Lavery-McLaughlin to offer a program called: The Fit and Trim Plan (or as we like to call the F.A.T. Plan - because our goal is to decrease body fat and the negative health implications of carrying too much of it around).
We offer an unique, individualized approach to achieve one's ideal weight and fitness level by combining personalized menu planning and nutritional counseling with one-on-one personal training and establishment of an exercise calendar. After an in-depth analysis of the individual's nutritional and fitness goals, their current and past health history, and present time body composition and fitness level, we tailor make a program to fit individual needs and establish goals and deadlines to achieve them. (If a person doesn't know where they want to go, they will never get there!!) After the initial consultation phase is complete, the fun part begins:
- dietary modifications (whether that be additions or omissions from one's current eating habits),
- introduction of exercises and workouts,
- plus the daily tracking of one's progress through food and exercise journals.
Participants have bi-weekly “check-ins” with either Joan or myself to assess the progress, discuss any hurdles that one is facing, and to allow for continual modifications to fit the individual.
After years of personal training, I place a lot of emphasis on accountability when a person is trying to make major life choices. When someone commits to the F.A.T. plan, they make themselves accountable to Joan and myself. This allows one to become consistent with new behaviors until they become routine. People need to remember that adopting a healthier lifestyle is a lifelong marathon, not a sprint. Joan's and my approach is simple - get people addicted to feeling better about how they live and how it makes them feel by teaching them how to make healthy yet tasty food choices, and showing them that exercise can be fun so they learn to enjoy working out (or at the very least the way it makes them feel when it is done).
This is the general philosophy that we bring to the F.A.T. plan. Everyone is capable of making healthier life choices, just sometimes it is nice to have some help and guidance along the way.