David Hoover’s Success Story!

I am bursting with pride over my client and Hidden Meadows neighbor, David Hoover.   David has an amazing transformation story that I just have to share with you.

David had been in a horrific car accident when he was in his 20’s resulting in three spinal fusions.  He came to me to work on his core strength, get more flexible and take some weight off in hopes it would reduce the chronic pain he was suffering with.  He had been successful at losing over 100 pounds but couldn’t get to his ultimate goals because he kept getting injured working out on his own. Every time that happened it erased all the gains he had made.  My “Be Healthy Enough” concept felt like the right fit for him because he wanted to get in shape but not at the cost of hurting himself.

Look at this weigh loss graph!  Boy did he make a commitment in June!

davids weight loss2.

We started out strong the first month, exercising together twice a week.  Then the pain started to sneak in.   I pulled out my “tool box” and we stretched more and did foam rolling to rejuvenate and restore his body.  I even used Reiki when he just felt like he couldn’t exercise. Thanks goodness he didn’t give up because it hurt.

A trip to Tahiti last December gave him some motivation and he dropped a few pounds but he hadn’t changed enough of his habits to keep it off.  6 months later he was back to the weight he was when we first started.

At the end of June 2017 he had had enough.  I asked him what was his trigger this time and he said “I just don’t want to be fat anymore”.   The bonus was that because of the work we had done with corrective exercise such as stretching and connective tissue massage, his body was ready.   His back spasms were almost nonexistent and he was lifting heavy weights consistently.

Together we developed plan.   Creating plans is my favorite thing to do but I have learned 2 important things  1) clients have to be ready and 2) it has to be something they help develop and can commit to.   He agreed that he needed to add an extra strength training day so we rearranged our schedule and he added a day at LA Fitness.   To increase his calorie burn it was essential that he fit in at least 2 “cardio days”.   No problem getting his heart pumping in the Hidden Meadow hills or doing landscaping on his huge piece of property.    When we were together we continued to focus on stretching and connective tissue massage to keep his body healthy.

As for his diet, we kept this VERY simple, no counting or measuring, just something he knew he could stick to;  Eat 3 sensible meals from My Healthy Eating Plate guide and eat 3 healthy snacks.

healthy plate

We kept the tracking to a simple excel spreadsheet.   If he met his goals for exercise and eating he would get a “+” if not a “-“.

In just 3 months David Lost over 30 pound!!!!!

David’s Key Success Factors:

  1. Having a plan that he could commit to. If you can’t commit it will never happen.
  2. Sticking to his eating plans (CHEATING only 20% of the time).  This was probably the main reason for his weight loss.   Losing weight truly is due to what you put in your mouth.
  3. Weighing himself every day. This was the best way to measure if he was on track or needed to make a change.
  4. Having an accountability buddy. While I hoped I could take the credit here, it really was his wearable fitness tracker.  All day he could keep track of his exercise progress.  Being a bit competitive he was always trying to do better the next day!
  5. Having support from home. His wife, Marj, was so supportive.  She found low carb recipes to help him stick to his plans.  I would drool when I heard what she was making him for dinner.
  6. Not getting discouraged when the scale wasn’t moving. There were weeks when it stayed exactly the same but he didn’t give up, stuck to what was working and it would drop again.
  7. Continuing to do corrective exercises such as stretching and connective tissue massage.  Right now our actual strength training time is about 30 minutes.  Yes, he pushes hard during that time but it’s only 30 minutes.
  8. Learning the importance of REST days. When his weight stalled, often a good rest day got it moving in the right direction again, even more so than working out harder.  This was a big “Aha” for him and for me.  Sometimes the harder he exercised the harder it was to lose weight – funny right? Our bodies need rest to heal.

At the end of October David was at the lowest weight he had been in years.   A personal trainer’s job is to push people beyond where they would push themselves.  With David my job now is to get him to back off a bit to make sure he doesn’t hurt himself.   It has been an honor and a pleasure to be with David throughout his transformational journey.    Way to go David!

 

If you’d like some help with your health or fitness journey why not schedule a FREE 30 Minute Wellness Consultation with me. I’d love to help in any way that I can. Click the book now link below and find a time that works for you

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