I met Frank Levreau in 2011 with no idea that he would be my fitness partner in 2012. Frank has aspirations to be a full time personal trainer and nutritionist and I really feel his story is inspirational. It is also a testament to Frank’s dedication!
In December of 2009, Frank was diagnosed with Type-2 Diabetes. His blood sugar was at 850 and his kidneys were dangerously close to failure; a frightening diagnosis at twenty-eight years old. The culprit; 8000 calories per day of primarily fast food, long stretches of seated video game play, and bouts of depression.
After the shocking news from his doctor and a trip to the emergency room, Frank made the choice to save himself. Gone were the burger and greasy fries, he switched his calorie intake to 1200 per day in multiple small meals. In five months time, Frank dropped 125 pounds! In a week, Frank was off the insulin. He dropped his kidney medication in a month and his sugar production leveled out after only two weeks. He kept his exercise regimen fairly simple, just going with what he had learned when in school and later joined a gym.
Frank’s scare factor made his efforts work for him in just five months, but with his clients he foresees the program working in a year to a year and a half. The basic plan is similar to what Frank used with changes to each client’s needs.
Drawing from his studies on history and antiquity as well as a little something more geek related (I will touch on that later) Frank hopes to create a fitness and nutrition system a bit more interesting than average. There is not a whole lot of grain in the dietary portion of the plan, but there is room for it if need be. For fitness, Frank recommends adding a hobby, or play time to normal day to day activities.
An example of a meal comes from Nomadic Germany; roasted deer meat with baked potatoes. Dessert consists of blueberries and walnuts.
And of course, from the Spartans, the lords of fitness; some compound exercises like basic weapons training drills and the always classic push-up.
I promised something really different at the beginning of this blog. Frank is still a hardcore gamer and geek. He is proud of this and I think that is awesome, because I loves the gamers. But, what does gaming have to do with health and fitness?
How about some squats like Zack in Final Fantasy Seven? Shadow boxing like Zell in Final Fantasy Eight works too. My personal favorites come from Link in Legend of Zelda; like the overhead pig press, or a nice cardio chicken chase!
Most important Frank says to stay motivated create game related goals. Finish a quest and reward yourself with a walk or a run up and down the stairs. Every twenty minutes, try jumping jacks or those classic Spartan push-ups.
Instead of chips and soda and energy drinks, try snacking on those treats your adventurous characters might have handy; nuts and berries, maybe jerky, with water or herb tea. Frank also recommends taking a page from a World of Warcraft cookbook! I had no idea this existed!
Overall, Frank seems pretty sure that my belly dancing, sword fighting, and acting out character roles might work well enough for me and for anyone else out there with a geek slant, maybe it is time to choose the role of Luke or an Assassin instead of Jaba.
