I am a 72 year old retired engineer and I ran my own business for years. I am used to tacking large scale projects both in the civilian and government worlds. I am a “get it done” kind of guy, I like perfection and for things to go as planned.
When I started working with Nichole just over a year ago I thought I had this thing bagged. Coming from my background I had a one track mind—failure was never an option. I had some great skill sets that I could apply, but the one thing I didn’t count on was that my 72 year old body wasn’t going to respond the way it did even a decade ago. Boy, life catches up to you!
My linear thinking (this plus this should equal this) coupled with not so nice self talk wasn’t working for me in this case. I’ve learned the body takes on a life of its own, especially as I age. I felt lost and overwhelmed about what to eat and how much. Everywhere I looked I was told to try a different diet and none of it was working. Plus I discovered very quickly that my strength and stamina wasn’t what it used to be, and dealing with chronic back and shoulder pain kept me stuck! I was completely discouraged and even scared to try anything — that is until I met Nichole!
Nichole’s experience with weight loss, body transformation, addiction and overcoming ALL that has given her the largest pool of knowledge to draw from of anyone I’ve ever met. Her positive attitude and encouragement from day one invigorated me to do my best and to not give up! Using her proven mindset strategies Nichole has taught me to build on daily progress and to stay on track.
She’s always been able to accommodate to the limitations of my senior citizen body and work around painful joints assuring I get a good workout without injury. She’s helped me get my life organized and develop a plan to achieve my goals step by step, including changing my eating habits to focus on whole foods rather than processed foods. I am doing things like practicing eating slowly and enjoying the flavors of my food (I thought it was weird but it works!), and I am learning how to stop eating before overeating.
Some days are better than others in trying to meet my goals of better heart health, weight loss, and stamina but I’ve learned that progress over time is how this is all done. Nichole uses the phrase “consistency beats intensity every time” often with me. It has now stuck. I now understand that years of inactivity and poor diet requires a concerted effort by me – over time, not over night – to overcome my bad habits, and I am OK with it.
A by-product of this process has included me assessing all the other things in my life that have been weighing me down and tackling them piece by piece to accomplish what I need to do in my personal life.
I am now feeling physically better and stronger and the stressors in my life have become manageable. Coach Nichole has made a new invigorated man of me.
– Daryl Leed