A Client's Success Story!
Howard, a client of mine, was so motivated by the article suggesting bike riding last month that he wanted to share a few details about his success and motivators. I have biked a lot for the last 20 years though my weight seemed to go up and down with the inverse of temperature, in hot months I lost weight because I rode frequently and in cold months I gained lots of weight because I wasn't exercising. Of course, to go with this bad exercise strategy, I tended to eat whatever I liked and as much as I wanted. That is, until a couple of years ago when I went in for a routine physical and my primary healthcare physician decided for me that I'd need to start taking cholesterol and high blood pressure medication. I tried these for a while but really disliked taking drugs to do what could be controlled thru proper diet and exercise for me. That's when I finally got disgusted with myself and called around looking for a nutritionist. I probably said something like 'I need a really good nutritionist who can help me lose weight and keep it off and get me off prescription drugs.' And so that is how I came to meet Kathryn Fink... Kathryn has helped me come up with numerous strategies and plans to eat smarter and better, as well as motivated me to keep up my cycling... She has helped me realize that it is a year-round effort, but can also be a decent program for life, and has helped me achieve the motivation to make it happen. I've often taken off the winter months for instance and socked on about 10 pounds a month. This past winter, though, I have finally continued my biking thru December and most of January, though I did take off some of February for the ice and snow and below freezing days we had in north Texas. I found through Kathryn's philosophy that I didn't have to be a cycling fanatic, but that I do need a structured approach and lots of little (and some big) ideas to keep me moving in the right direction... Hence, I commute to work roughly 3 times a week (30 miles round-trip), and have come up with smart eating ideas to go with my love of biking... With Kathryn's help (and patience and persistence) I've lost about 35 pounds to date and am still losing at the rate of about half a pound a week now. While not a quick weight-loss regimen, it has been enough to get me off the prescription drugs, and has helped me get really excited about continuing to lose weight in a sane fashion and achieve my diet and exercise and life goals. One commuter group, that I'm loosely affiliated with, asked me recently to pass on a few of my bicycle commuting motivators, so: Here are a fast dozen motivators for me to bike to work, though not in any special order: 1) to get and stay fit... and to lose weight (minus 30 lbs in the last year)... and to stay off drugs for high cholesterol and high blood pressure.... and to reduce the risk of developing diabetes and certain cancers... 2) to relieve stress... meet my psychologist: clouds, fresh air, bluebonnets, sunrise/sunset, ducks, wooded trails, gurgling streams, rainbows, dawn's early light, even Joe the Coyote, who occasionally crosses my path in and along some woods... there are few traffic jams on the bike paths and bike-friendly streets... what was I saying about high blood pressure above... 3) to enjoy some solitary thought... to solve work problems... computer algorithms and other interesting solutions to programming problems seem to work their way out as I ride... life problems get good thought-time as well... 4) to replace some java... nothing energizes me more in the morning better than a good bike commute... coffee, who needs it when you can ride to work... 5) to save money on gas, oil-changes, tires, car maintenance, insurance... 6) to always have the closest-in parking spot at the office... sometimes in my cubical! 7) to ride with the company's CEO, who is also passionate about biking! where can you get face-time like that! 8) to take the challenge of riding under one's own power on the most efficient vehicle ever invented... the true SUV of the 21st century as Adventure Cycling advertises on t-shirts ... to discover the back roads less traveled... even in our own neighborhoods! 9) to capture more Kodak moments... I pull over all the time on my bike to snap a picture of something beautiful in my world... whether it's an owl on the bike path or a fleeting cloud shape that looks like a dragon/horse, it's easy to stop and get a picture.... and don't forget that gorgeous field of bluebonnets on the path to and from work... 10) bike commuting is another great example for the kiddos... in helping to raise two children, I've learned that the examples we set are followed/watched very carefully by impressionable minds, and I've tried to make them good examples, like daily exercise... 11) to meet new friends! of course, everyone knows that Perl programmers and bicyclists are two of the most helpful groups of people you'll ever meet... and fun-loving... and a cheap date... (my spouse and I often go on bike dates on the tandem...), but even at the office, bicycling topics come up all the time, and people who never would say anything to me now approach me to talk about biking... so, it's a good conversation piece and a way to make new friends! and to laugh at my biking hair-do when I arrive at the office... 12) to help save the planet! it's easy and fun, so why not do it?!? | 
