I’ve never dieted a day in my life. Up to age 40, I was usually able to stay fairly fit, however my workout routine certainly fell off as I hit my late 30’s. I was working more and sleeping less and my diet became ‘sub-par’. I’ve always been athletic and been able to maintain my weight and medium build. Yet the Fairway family forecast shows a little history of weight and heart conditions, so I’ve always known I needed to ‘manage the course’ and watch my weight and food intake.
So it seemed at age 40 I noticed my metabolism slowing and motivation falling in terms of fitness. I became more fatigued and fought some of the frustrations with fatty foods and lack of fitness. I was carrying more weight and my body was working harder to sustain itself, even while resting. We’ve previously discussed the importance of staying physically and mentally fit and staying sharp to attain peak performance. That applies to many facets of life and day to day activities. Well, I determined I wasn’t getting maximum mileage out of myself and had to make a commitment to change and practice even more of what I preach in terms of faith, discipline, time, schedule and money management and overall well being. I know for a fact that when I lack focus and I’m feeling fatigue, stress, distracted and mentally just not right, then my family, faith, work, handicapping, research, writing, betting, poker playing, and results all suffer.
So nearly 60 days ago on April 14th I went on a ‘Fairway fitness foray’ with a focus on my diet and the necessary disciplines to make a difference. It’s been a ‘U.S. Open’ type of challenge at times, as I’ve battled my way to through some rough spots to remain disciplined and committed to power my way past some of the struggles of ‘no pain, no gain’. In this case it’s to lose weight and improve wellness, and I’ve actually exceeded my expectations. I was pushing towards 200 pounds, and at 5’10" that might have been a weight I would have liked back in my hockey and ball playing days, but ‘fat’ was starting to become associated with ‘Fairway’ and I wasn’t feeling ‘up to par’.
I didn’t set any specific weight loss goals or expectations. Frankly, I just wanted to fit into some of my present pants without them feeling so tight. So I got started on a ‘Suddenly Slim’ body cleansing and weight loss program through a friend of mine and made an initial 10-day commitment to change my diet. I had to spend a few hundred bucks for some powder, pills and products for colon cleansers, fat burners and vitamins so I could better manage my weight and control my appetite.
However, my diet and food intake had to change and I was ready to follow a routine to improved health, wellness, weight loss, inch loss, more energy, improved sleep quality and better mental clarity. It was time to cut calories and fat. I eliminated nearly all sweets, sugar and sodium. No more candy, chocolate, Coca-Cola or ice cream. No fried food or French fries. Toast and peanut butter in the morning no more. No pizza or sub sandwiches. The big challenge was bread, as I love many types of bread. But I had none for over three weeks, at which time I was able to add a slice for dinner, probably 7-8 times total over two months. My breakfast became berries, apples and a prescribed shake. Lunch and dinner was a salad with veggies; mostly tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower and mushrooms with a little low-calorie dressing. My snacks consisted of more of the same veggies and a few other thermic vegetables, along with sugar-free Jell-O and some sugar-free pudding to replace my ice cream cravings. I snacked on a few almonds as well, and replenished my body with lots of water each and every day. I added some sliced turkey and chicken after two weeks and then grilled chicken to my salad during week three. I’ve had no beef, except on Memorial Day when we celebrated the start of swimming and I grilled out with my girls and had a burger – no bun of course.
Believe it or not, I’ve been able to lose weight and feel great despite working through daily distractions and day to day duties and activities. I committed to more exercise with running, walking and some biking. I don’t like running, and my back and knees don’t really enjoy it either. I added in some moderate weight and resistance training to build back some muscle and burn more fat. I couldn’t wait for it to warm up the end of May so I could start using my pool, as I now swim laps, run, walk and do resistance training in my pool at home in Las Vegas. If you ever think you’re in decent shape, try swimming and you’ll realize otherwise. Swimming is superb and exercising in the pool is very productive. Since Memorial Day weekend I’ve been in the pool 14 of 18 days and plan on continuing some sort of pool exercise and moderate resistance and weight training 4-5 times per week throughout the summer.
So what are the results? I’ve been waiting to report as once I passed seven (7) pounds I decided I was going to fire for a really low score. I lost 13 pounds over my first 30 days, and I’ve been pushing hard the past two weeks to make it to a pretty meaningful number. It’s become rough to make birdies and avoid the bogey’s as I try to burn the edges over the back 9. The course became tougher but I kept battling and just reached 20 pounds lost and have dropped three waist sizes. I tried on some old pants this past weekend that were marked for Goodwill earlier this year, and I was pleasantly surprised with the ‘Fairway Fit’.
I’m ready for a reward and steak dinner! But I’m not through, as I’ll be firing for the flag and continuing my fitness as we push our way towards the start of football. Hopefully more fairways and greens ahead, as we’ve built a nice bankroll the past six weeks in baseball, golf and NBA playoffs. I've added some personal poker profits and can't wait to fire for more fairways with football forthcoming. The summer is more than just fitness and fun, and we’ve got three Majors to manage our way through with the upcoming U.S. Open at Bethpage, British Open at Turnberry and PGA Championship at Hazeltine just outside of my old hometown of Minneapolis. By the way, I’ve played two of those championship golf courses back in the days when I was fairly fit. They were tough, but nothing compared to the challenge and commitment I just made to From Fat to Fit with Fairway…!
Stay tuned as we fire for more fairways, fitness and green, and best wishes as you stay on course.
