Arin Lindauer

Right after college, eager and ready, Adam started his career in the corporate world. He jumped straight into his new stage of life, giving everything to navigate new expectations and job stresses. Adam was now channeled into a life of staying seated at a desk all day, day in and day out from 8 to 5 – and often putting in 60-80 hour work weeks.

He grew up an athlete, exercised throughout college and played intermurals while pursuing an education from Butler University. Growing up in sports, Adam was pretty well aware of what an active lifestyle felt like.

However, like many of us, transitioning from college to a career is a substantial adjustment. For Adam, this transition into a considerably more sedentary lifestyle resulted in an 80 pound weight gain within his first year at a desk job.

The pounds kept piling on as Adam began and perpetuated a vicious cycle of foregoing exercise to get in all of his hours at work and sitting 90% of the day. On top of this, pizza and soda and snacks were provided to further incentivize working overtime and staying late.

So not only did Adam’s activity level drop significantly when he transitioned from college to his career, but he was now also consuming an incredible amount of excess and empty calories multiple times a week.

Within 5 years of this cyclic routine of poor eating and next to zero physical activity, Adam had reached an all time low.

He longed for the days of past as an active college student; deep down, he knew that ‘the muscular and fit Adam’ was the Adam he liked most and wanted to still be.

But here he was, 5 years out of college and 80 pounds heavier than his heaviest.

This transition had taken a toll on him.

His health had begun to tank.

Physically, he had become someone he couldn’t recognize – his body felt foreign to him.

Cognitively, the mental fuzz he was experiencing took away from his productivity at work.

Collectively, he was fed up.

Desperately, he needed something to change and he needed help.

Reaching his breaking point – spurred him to action.

He came to TFW and began our program.

In 10 quick months, Adam dropped 70 pounds and 12.3% body fat! 

 

Adam was committed to his goals. He was committed to the process it would take for him to develop healthy habits and get on track.

At TFW, Adam received the tools and support necessary to get his nutrition under control.

Adam saw big results in a relatively short period of time. He had put in the work to get into a healthy body fat category.

But the athlete in him wasn’t satisfied yet.

Adam refocused his goals, seeking to shed even more body fat and gain more lean tissue mass. He wanted to be pushed even harder and further, so he began TFW’s Advanced Group Training.

Today, Adam has lost over 100 pounds and over 20% body fat.

Transformation Fitness and Wellness gave Adam a community where he could thrive, the tools and education necessary to make changes, and the accountability he needed to stay on track.

 

Are you  like 86% of other American workers whose career all but requires you to be seated at a desk for many hours of the day? Schedule a free consultation a day.  We will meet with you personally, just like we did with Adam.  We will talk through your health history and goals.  Ultimately we will make sure we have a good fit!

Be our next 100lb weight loss story!  We can do this together!

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Tony and I took a quick trip up to Sioux Falls, SD this weekend.  I found out the author of the book Chop Wood Carry Water, Joshua Medcalf was presenting and I knew we had to go.

I found out about this book through a friend of our Randy Hartz and they were having him present at their Champions Day.

So we booked tickets and I knew we would not regret it.

Chopped Wood Carry Water is a story about a boy named John who is on a journey to achieve a lifelong goal of being a samurai warrior.  He is guided by “Akira-Sensei” who teaches him that the greatest adversity on his journey will be the challenge of defeating the man in the mirror.

It is a powerful story that moves quickly.

Each chapter is a couple pages but packed with huge meaning.

Joshua Medcalf has been through the trenches; he’s helped and lived in a homeless shelter, he’s lived in a gym closet – and I could go on about him…

This guy has seen adversity.

As he opened up his presentation, attentiveness swept over the audience as eager ears leaned in to hear what he was about to share. Immediately, I was engaged with anticipation and as he continued to speak I was drawn in even further by the impact and insight he eloquently shared. Hanging on every word he said, I was captivated – I have never sat so still in my chair,  I could not move (let alone drink my shake I had mixed right before he came on stage).

He was the riveting.  You could hear a pin drop.

Joshua grabbed your attention and truly talked about us facing our adversities as an opportunity to learn and grow.

He got very real, very quickly with us in the audience.

He talked about a little boy named Ingvar.

When Ingvar was young boy he went into town and purchased boxes of matchsticks.

He then would take the matchsticks and sell them individually door to door and make a profit off of selling the matchsticks.

He did this year after year, adding new trinkets to sell as the years went by.

Ingvar was tenacious.

He got turned away several times.

He was dyslexic.

But in his persistence, he got up every morning looking for the next person to say YES!

You might know a little about Ingvar and his brand…IKEA.

One thing that really resonated with me was when he said:

“There is no such thing as microwaveable greatness.”

We all want the perks of someone who has “made it”, but are we willing to do what it takes??

When we feel like we can’t do something or we want to give in, do you?  Or can you take a moment to look at the adversity you are facing and say this is in my best interest and it is an opportunity to learn and grow?

Let me say this again.

When you are faced with the scale not going in the right direction, do you blame your coach or the donut?  I mean it’s their fault right?

Or do you think back to all the little things that happened through the week…

Those little things add up and when you are monitoring progress it gets frustrating.  Blame doesn’t make anyone feel better…ask yourself, what can I do to make this better?

We all have neuroplasticity in our brain.  This means we can rewrite who we are and what we want to do; it’s just that we always do things this way or that way.  It’s hard to make change, studies show we have to do something 21-60 times to make it a habit.

If Ingvar didn’t get up every day to hone his craft, we personally would not have the bed we have today.

Continue to fight through adversities and find ways to make your goals a reality.

I see people through lots of goals and I also see people give up.  They gave up right when they were getting ready to see the change they wanted on the scale.  It takes consistent effort to have anything worthwhile in life.

Health, Career, Finances…you name it.

Nothing just comes easy…we all want the perks of our jeans fitting well, but are we willing to do what it takes to get there?

You have to be ready and willing to do the work, but you will never ever regret the consistent work you do to have better health!

Go sell matchsticks door to door or do what you need to do to overcome the adversities in your life!

When reading stories or listening to compelling talks we notice there is always the main character struggling to overcome adversities.

Otherwise the story would probably be pretty boring.

I had a client say to me, several years ago, “why are you always giving me exercises that I can’t do?”

She said it out of frustration and defeat.

It wasn’t that she could not do the exercise, it was that she felt she had to struggle to complete that exercise. (Full disclosure- the exercise was challenging, but in a good way!)

But what she felt was uncomfortable.

We have all been there in workouts where it was a struggle, trying to get the form down, trying new weights or doing something brand new.

It is a struggle and if we gave you exercises that were easy then you would never see changes to your body.

I even know in my work out on Monday I was struggling.  I had just dropped Leo off at daycare and it’s hard.  I still get choked up after dropping him off.  (It gets easier right?!)

I was down doing planks and all I could think of was him.  It would be easier to not do my workout and stay with him a little bit longer, but I need to be healthy for him.

We are wired to take the easier route.  We like going in the same direction because that’s what we have always done.

When we look at our own lives we have incredible opportunities that come at us disguised as 500lb lions. Right now, you may be going through something that is hardest thing you have ever been faced with.

The question is, what will you believe about it, and what will you do about it.

The ancient story about a warrior named Bernaiah is a small story that does not get too many details told about it.  But what they do say is that one day Bernaiah chased a lion into a pit on a snowy day, and killed it.  Then next line says that Bernaiah went on to become Kind David’s chief bodyguard.

When most people come face to face with their opportunities (lions) they run as fast as they can in the opposite direction, but when you decide to embrace the lion and chase it, you have the opportunity to build your resume, your character and your skills.

If I were the king, I would want the guy who had killed the lion in that encounter to be my bodyguard.

When facing adversity we have an opportunity to develop mental, emotional and relational skills in a way that you never would have if you had not suffered this setback.

What you do with the opportunity, is up to you.

When you are unable to do something, create a ‘can do’ list.  This list will help you realize all the things around your adversity that you actually can accomplish.

Start jotting down today things you can do and you will be surprised at the list you come up with.

When starting an exercise program you may see a 500lb lion in front of you, but start small.

We encourage even 15-30 minutes of exercise is better than nothing at all.  Create a list of everything you can do.  If you keep coming up with adversities, call us.  We will help coach you through our program and help you chase after the lion!

Click here to schedule your consultation today.

So I finally did it…  I had my first fitness assessment post having a baby.

I did not want to do it and I held off for 11 weeks.  I was scared to know the real numbers.

Anybody else scared of an assessment?

I want to share with you the feelings you may not know are inside all of us, yes even from a person who owns a fitness business.  I am not immune to fat gain, LOL!

Several of you know our story of how our son Leo was born.

In short, I went in on a Wednesday because my water had broken; I was 41 weeks and 4 days into our pregnancy.  Our due dates had come and gone!

I was unsuccessful at getting active labor started – and when your water breaks first you are put on a timer (24 hours) to deliver your baby.  This is because your risk for infection increases. (I did get the infection.)

Therefore, I had to begin going through several different methods to get my labor started.  This threw my whole natural, water birth plan completely out the window. Finally, I went into active labor, but it was back labor and found out after 40 some hours I was only 1 cm!  So I signed up for more interventions and I did not respond well.

There were some pretty tense moment in the early hours of July 8, but thankfully we started making progress and 2 hours of pushing, 55 total hours later, Leo was born.

…But he was born unresponsive.

Thankfully they were able to get him breathing within minutes and he fought his vent within the hour.

We spent 10 days in the NICU and I never left his side.
We finally were able to go home and were cleared of all major issues.  Leo just needed a few days to clear the water in his lungs and the doctors think he potentially should have stayed in longer.

In my postpartum visits, I asked why I did not have a C-Section and I did not realize this then, but the doctors were unsure if I would make it.  What?  Excuse me? “…the doctors were unsure if I would make it.” It really started to sink in that my labor was not even close to normal.  They said with how my vitals kept jumping up and down, I kept going into tachycardia; it was not in the best interest.

At this point, I started to accept that even though my labor was nowhere close to what I had envisioned, the outcome was still the same.  I am so thankful for my caregivers at Methodist, they were amazing.

So finally at home, we started getting into our routine; I would put him in the stroller and push him down to the studio.  I tried to jog, but I did not feel right.

I kept asking myself, should I still be in this kind of pain, are these night sweats normal, am I supposed to bleed like this?  (Sorry TMI!)

Then, 6 days after being home I was doubled over the bed screaming for Tony.  He rushed me to the hospital (thankfully we had family visiting at that time and they could stay with Leo).

I found out I had developed a secondary infection and had to stay in the hospital for 2.5 days of intravenous antibiotics.  Being separated from my baby was the worst.

I remember standing in the shower looking down at my body.
For several of you, you may have watched me on Facebook post my weekly update through pregnancy.  I lifted all the way up to 41 weeks!  I felt as amazing as 41 weeks could feel!

But, when I looked down in the shower I saw legs I did not recognize.  I stood there with the water pouring over me and I just cried.  I had lost all my lean tissue, all the hard work had been eaten up by the stress and infections.  Then add a postpartum, fluffy belly (you still look 5 months pregnant) and the tears just kept coming!

This took a huge toll on me.  I went from being in the best shape of my life, conceiving, thankfully still working out all through pregnancy…to a body I did not even recognize.

 

I was struggling, mentally and physically.  I could hardly carry the car carrier.

When I was finally cleared and I started getting active again.  It was humbling.

I was starting all over and honestly this would be the worst shape I have personally ever been in.  My abs had partially separated and I had to really watch not going too hard to fast.

My personality is going full throttle at everything.  So I have had to step back and embrace getting myself back in good shape and health in a safe and effective way.

The reason I share all this with you is we all struggle and dislike assessments.  Right now if you would look at me you would say, “You don’t even look like you had a baby.”  Then I am sure my reply will be ‘but you haven’t seen what’s hidden under the clothes.’

From doing the assessment I know how much extra fat tissue I am carrying and it bothers me.   I also know how much lean tissue I have lost.  But with consistent effort, I do know I can and will get myself back.  It will take time.

We are all works in progress and we need to give ourselves time and consistency.  I write that saying it to you, but I am really saying it to myself.  I will triumph over all of this but I have to trust the process.

I want you to know if you are struggling, you are not alone.  We are all on a journey, some longer than others, some paths are curvy and winding, while others are straighter and shorter.  We tend to look at others and say they have it all together, but they really don’t.

When you look at someone else who you think has it all perfect, ask them about the journey.  If they are honest they will tell you about the struggle.  It doesn’t matter if it is their health, career, relationship…we all have struggled in some fashion but it’s how we pulled each step together day after day and triumphed that matters!

Keep pushing forward day after day; it will be worth it in the end!  It is all about consistency.

 

As always if you need help, reach out.  Request a Free Consultation!  We look forward to helping you!

When you look at the typical North American Diet we see some major problems.  We typically see poor quality foods, low protein, high processed, high sodium, and high in sugars.  From consuming these foods we will start to see problems with overall health and can ultimately lead to fat gain.

For most people we are looking for done for you solutions that a fast or convenient.

If we do not get up early enough then we might not even eat breakfast, or we might eat a poor quality breakfast that is low in protein and high in sugars.

Remember that eating better foods that are nutrient dense can make a significant impact on overall health and the size of our waistline.  You can get 500 calories form sugar or you get 500 calories form a grass-fed rib eye; your choice will have a vastly different effect on your body.

Also If you’re not consuming good quality foods that are loaded with nutrients then you may be creating other problems with your health and wellness.

You see, if you’re nutritional habits are loaded with processed, high sugar, high sodium highway then you must understand a little more about inflammation and your gut’s health.

A lot of top doctors now are saying that pretty much all disease stems from some type of inflammation.

The reason is that the body has to combat inflammation, just like you would combat any other type of pathogen.  When the body is using resources to deal with inflammation, it has far fewer resources to deal with immune response and proper function, and thus disease can grab a foothold.  Managing your inflammation can be vital for long term health.

Paying attention to those inflammatory processes is important.  Inflammation can even come from poor digestion! The gut is the cauldron of health.  This is where your digestive system works to convert minerals and nutrients into fuel that will sustain a heathy body.

Gut health has been a topic of interest for many years but, this area is getting a lot more attention when it comes to overall health and disease.

Matter cannot be created or destroyed, so how do we grow or change?

We grow by assimilating nutrients form our food and building our bodies and regenerating our cells by using those nutrients.  Poor digestion can lead to inflammation and what’s called leaky gut syndrome, where food particles escape through the gut barrier and trigger an inflammatory response.

Gut health is influenced by the probiotic flora in your gut, also known as the gut biome.  These microorganisms are important for digestion.

Additionally, many of the neurotransmitters and hormones that are responsible for your mood, your happiness, and everything that makes you feel great are either affected by or originate from the gut.

Most of our serotonin production comes from the gut.  Our immune cells are produced in the gut.  Having a healthy gut biome-one that works symbiotically with the body-is vital for your immune function, for your mood, and for your health.

If you want to get a handle on your gut health try these five strategies:

1.) Food Density:  Work on getting foods that are nutritionally dense and more in a natural state not processed.  Try thinking lean and green when you are building your meal.  It could be salmon and asparagus.

2.) Probiotics:  Utilize a good probiotic daily to keep your good bacteria in the gut.  If you have chronic stress, eat a lot of processed foods, or take a lot of medication your good gut bacteria can be destroyed.   We personally use the ProBiotic Restore ULTRA from AdvoCare to help replenish my good bacteria.

 

 

3.) Minimize chronic stress:  Try to minimize your chronic stress in your life with implementing exercise, meditation, and try to get good quality sleep.

4.) Reduce or eliminate processed foods: Try to reduce the amount of processed foods from your diet.  If the foods you are eating are coming from a box, or it is coming from the golden arches you might want to reduce or eliminate these habits.

5.) Utilize Digestive enzymes:  Try to get good proteolytic enzymes into your daily nutritional habits.  You can get this from foods, or you can use a supplement such as AdvoGreens Green Powder that is
loaded with antioxidants and digestive enzymes.  Proteolytic enzymes go through the body and start to break down any kind of dead protein that are lying around the body and stimulating inflammatory responses.

Gut health is very important and if you have any questions please do not hesitate to reach out.  Also if you are looking for help with your health and wellness needs, take us up on a Free Consultation.  We can help keep your gut in check!

 

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