Running for fun instead of competition

It really is amazing that I haven't written sooner than this but my life truly has changed dramatically in the last few months. I not only manage a Fitness Studio for Franklin Templeton Investments but my own company is also starting to take off. The job at FTI is one that I love and it allows me to connect with more people and in a different way that I did with those at Extreme. In addition, I'm actually teaching 3 step aerobic classes and 2 core conditioning classes each week. That really has left me with little time to train for any races.

My last race seems like such a long time ago (Niagara Falls Marathon in October) which preceded the Scotiabank Marathon in September. I have decided to take the year off from competitive racing and that has allowed me to create more balance in my life. There were weeks when I was training for Ultra Marathons when I would run 60-80 Miles each week as part of the training program I was on. Now I am content with running 40-50 Miles (sometimes fewer even) each week. I have also backed off of running at 5 AM each morning and started running more from work when it's a little warmer and the sun is actually out (LOL).

I may run a few races this year just for fun and to stay connected with the friends I have from the Ontario Ultra Series but for now I'm just enjoying the fact that I can run for fun.

What do you see when you look out your window?

I wanted to share a little story with all of you so please bare with me. Last week, as I was getting a tour of my new work, I went upstairs to meet some of the people I will be working with. The person who was giving me the tour showed me one office and I immediately took a look outside of their window. What I saw was an amazing place to go for a walk or run or just a place to get away and do some thinking. I kept thinking that if I organize a walking or running clinic then this would be a great place to take people. There were so many trees and it all looked so peaceful from where I was looking.

I kept staring out the window until finally the person who I was with caught me and wondered why I had this huge smile on my face. She said that what I was staring at was a cemetary but ALL I saw was opportunity.

The point of my story is that we all have a choice as to how we want to look at things. Where I saw opportunity to create something positive, this person had no idea of that. I hope that you have discover some new opportunities in your own lives that other people don't see. I actually feel bad for people who have no passion in their lives. They remind me of the feather in the Forrest Gump movie. Floating around going nowhere in particular.

This is why I do what I do!

Before




After




NAME: Grace Chung
AGE: 22 years
OCCUPATION: Nuclear Medicine Student



The reason why I decided to start going to the gym was because I felt that if I didn’t do anything about taking care of myself, then I’d only end up becoming increasingly heavier, chunkier, and miserable. I epitomized the classic yo-yo dieter, and always refused to be in a picture when somebody had a camera around because I knew I wouldn’t like how I turned out in it. So I decided that joining a gym would be a birthday present to myself. In addition, I have a family history of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes, which was where I was headed if I didn’t act soon.

At my initial assessment, I discovered that I wasn’t just overweight, I was clinically obese, and my body fat composition was a horrendous 45%!! That definitely shocked me; frankly, it was embarrassing. If I didn’t accept it before, I sure did when I saw the numbers – I was FAT. Therefore, I agreed to be assigned to a nutritionist and a personal trainer – the nutritionist would teach me how my body metabolizes food and what sorts of foods are better for me as an individual, and a personal trainer would whip me into shape while keeping me accountable.

Greg was my nutritionist, and he basically taught me the philosophy of eating. Previously, I was eating a lot of carbohydrates and fats, and not enough protein and fruits and vegetables; now it’s the opposite. He taught me how exercise affects how my body processes food, and how to make better food choices while not giving power to food. Greg also gave me an incredible tool: a food diary. I still use it every day to record what and how much I eat, the times that I eat, the total calories and the total protein for the day. Because he understood that I am a visual learner, writing down all that information would help keep myself accountable for what I put into my body as fuel, as well as reflecting on what dietary adjustments I need to make on an on-going basis.

In the end, the key is that I learned and was educated throughout the entire process, I was taught what to do instead of being told what to do. This is important because now I’ll be able to create workout programs and eat properly on my own. Best of all, I saw results and I still do!! It’s been just shy of one year, and I’ve burned off 38 pounds and my body fat composition is at a fair 25%. Not only that, I am now determined to live a healthy lifestyle, and I know I’ll be able to maintain it because of how much I’ve changed not only physically, but mentally; I have a more positive outlook on life, and definitely on health and fitness. I am now a healthier and happier person and am grateful to all the people I’ve met along the way!!

Don’t ever use the “Q” word!

Wow! In a word that pretty much sums up the last week for me. It was full of positive energy and I’m still riding a pretty strong wave right now. However, it seemed like I would never get the news I got last week.

Let me give you some background so you can understand just how truly great last week was for me. For the past 3 years I have been working at Extreme Fitness as a full-time nutritionist. This year I decided to become a Personal Trainer and have also been doing that at Extreme Fitness. In addition I have my own Lifestyle Management Company (Cruz Control Lifestyle Management) and have also been working as a walking instructor for a company called Health Systems Group.

HSG manages many fitness facilities for corporations such as Proctor and Gamble and American Express. Each Wednesday I have met with a group of very dedicated women who are preparing to do the Weekend to End Breast Cancer on September 12th. I have been training them each week and have loved the experience. HSG is a company that I wanted to work for full time as I really embrace their “client first” mentality.

While I enjoy working with the clients at Extreme Fitness, I don’t really enjoy the fact that their customer service is so poor. I really believe that you can be profitable while still having a high degree of customer service. It is something that I believe sets me apart from many other people in this field and I take great pride in the fact that I am not only about the money. I think it has plenty to do with the fact that I was extremely overweight as a teenager and I understand how difficult the struggle can be to lose weight.

The other aspect of Extreme Fitness that I don’t enjoy is the fact that I only get paid on a per client basis. There have been days where I have gone into work and had client after client not show up for their session and that meant not getting paid. This made it very difficult to budget especially trying to support two young boys on a part-time basis.

As much as I love the work that I do and feel that it is what I do best, there were so many times that I contemplated changing careers just to make ends meet. I have had jobs in the past where I made more money but where I was totally unhappy. My passion lies in health promotion and that is something that I always kept reminding myself.

Then, two weeks ago I got the call I was waiting for from HSG. An opening came for a full time account manager for Franklin Templeton Financial Institute. The job would be to run the fitness studio and be an integral part of the wellness program there. I went for the interview and felt like I had done a great job. I waited for a full week anxiously awaiting a 2nd interview. That phone call came and I went for the interview last Friday morning.

Later that day I received the news that I got the job! To say that I was thrilled would be a huge understatement. I am so glad that I didn’t give up and remained mentally tough throughout this whole process. In many ways it resembled many of my toughest runs I’ve had.

Today I did a 10 mile run in very humid conditions. There were times when I wanted to stop or slow down as my breathing was getting more and more difficult. However, much like my career, I pushed on and picked up steam towards the end of the run and finished ahead of what I was hoping for.

I remember what my football coach told me many years ago. He said, “It’s ok to get knocked down but it’s not ok to stay down!” I think I have resembled those words!

A nice testimonial

Greg played an integral part in my preparation for the Chicago, Hamilton and ultimately, the Boston Marathon in April, 2009. Without his experience and nutritional expertise, I am convinced that I would not have achieved the success I enjoyed in all three marathons. Greg’s knowledge about food, when and how to fuel, and his approach to guiding his clients is excellent. I would encourage anyone who is thinking about adopting a more healthy lifestyle or perhaps thinking about how to prepare for a marathon, contact Greg and develop a proper nutritional program. You won’t regret it!



Kathy De Carlo

Over the hills and far away....

15 minutes. That was roughly the time it took me to run 4 hill repeats of approximately 300 M at about a 4.4 minute KM/pace. This also included the time it took me to gradually bring my heart rate down to where I didn't I was going to throw up (LOL). I ran to my favourite hill on Westney and Rossland which was just over 2 miles away and then began the hill repeats. I would run to the top of Rossland and Harwood, cross to the other side, catch my breath and then slowly run down the hill and start over again.

I am really glad that the training only called for 4 hill repeats today and I decided to stick with the plan instead of going ahead and doing another 2 more. This type of training uses so much oxygen and it’s forcing my body to respond by going beyond my normal limits. This will all pay off in September when I do my marathon.

More Success stories......

After trying really hard for many years, I finally reached my heaviest weight ever this January (2009). When I related this to my friends, they said, “What do we say to this…congratulations?” I made up my mind to change my life and try to become healthier. My struggles with weight have followed me around for my whole life. I have diabetes, suffered a heart attack four years ago at the age of 51, have high blood pressure, high cholesterol and take between 12 and 16 pills each and every day. I hired Greg and slowly began a regime of exercise, diet and changing how I thought about food. It was really difficult at first but Greg encouraged me and reminded me that it was ever so important not to get discouraged and just be consistent. About 6 years ago, I had a dress made for me in Thailand. The tailor did not have enough material so the dress never fit despite the fact that it was ‘made to measure’. Last week, I attended a wedding in Chicago and wore that dress. I almost started to cry when I tried it on. It has been my goal to fit into that dress for a very long time. I was a size 18 or larger and now I can wear a size 10 pant. I have lost weight and inches sensibly. It makes a difference. More importantly, I feel better and my doctors cannot believe the difference and have begun to decrease and discontinue my medications. I never thought this would happen. I am so grateful to Greg and thank God for all his help. By the way, he happens to be my youngest brother and I am so proud of all he has accomplished. Thanks Greg and good luck!