A personal training & food journal. Read about our weight loss progress at Train With Ron in Chicago, our nutritional habits and the life changes we're making to get in shape and stay healthy!

Setting Out for the Summit

Posted by Daniel Arturi | 5 Comments
July 25th

I hope it's not this cold when I finally get there...

On October 5th, 2009, I began to act on one of the best decisions I ever made in my life: regaining control of my diet, exercise, and health. Through Ron, Matt, and DB at Train with Ron, as well as my soul mate, friend, wife, co-writer of this blog, and disciplined workout partner Monika, I lost over 50 lbs and kept it off, lost over 8″ from my waistline, lowered my body fat percentage by double digits, went from XXL to L t-shirts, can climb a flight of stairs without losing my breath, and actually, for a 42 year old guy, I am in some really great shape.

That said, I am not finished.

I think I began to plateau a bit when we did the trip to Hawaii last year.  Up to that point I was still eating very well and was disciplined about it.  I was tracking my meals up to that point as well.  I didn’t care what I ate on that trip, and upon our return, I loosened up a bit.  Now, when I look at pictures of myself on that trip with no shirt on, I am very displeased at how I still looked at that point – but at the time, I had made so much progress, I thought I looked great!  I ended up losing another 15-20 pounds after that trip, over this past winter, and as this summer approached, I was feeling pretty great about my looks and my size. (more…)

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Setting expectations that are right for you

Posted by Monika Arturi | Comments
July 14th
Got a new bike to ride for the summer

New bike for the summer, have been riding about 20 miles on weekends to mix things up.

I remember a few years ago watching Jenny McCarthy on a news show or something talking about her recent weight loss after giving birth. She said it took her a year to lose 85lbs and she was being defensive about it from the start, as if that was too long to lose that weight. This to me (210lbs at the time) meant that if I can’t lose at least that amount of weight in a year I am a failure. Did I even start to exercise after that motivating morning? No, I didn’t. It wasn’t motivating or realistic and quite honestly it was depressing. When I was 210lbs, depression could be just a couple of words away at any given time. It didn’t take much for self doubt to set it.

Preparing to, and going through weight loss can do a number on your way of thinking. Just take into account your own struggles and habits with food and exercise and it can be daunting. Mix in external stimulants and influences and it’s enough to send you into a negative state of mind which ultimately may convince you to give up. Fighting through that and convincing your mind and body to endure the necessary and be positive while you’re doing it will get you smiling on the other side of your journey. (more…)

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