SOURCE: World Health Organization
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Dai Manuel’s Whole Life Fitness Manifesto
in my life. At that moment, I experienced an epiphany: I really didn’t like where my life was going.
I knew that deep down, I enjoyed life. At least, I had enjoyed it before, and I wanted to enjoy it again. I faced a simple choice: to remain this way forever, or to do something about it. So I picked myself up and deliberately shifted my poor me atti-tude. In that moment, I recalibrated my motivation. I reasoned my way to a decision. And then I made a change.
I hit the library and pored over books on health, nutrition and fitness. (Yes, I did all of this pre-Google!) I started eating a little less and moving a little more. I started slowly with walking daily, then mountain biking. I strapped on my cassette player (yes I’m dating myself here), with a tape playing on endless loop (A side to B side to A and so on), I’d ride until I had exhausted both the tape and myself. Only then would I would ride home.
I added more and more daily activity incrementally, eventually joining a gym. Over 14 months, I was transformed. This time, adolescence itself was on my side as I shot up to over 185 cm (6 ft 1 in)—a growth spurt that doubtlessly helped to burn some calories! My weight didn’t change that much, but I saw body fat melt away as new lean muscle mass appeared. Now, with a better understanding of the science and biology of health, I know that my physical changes came from a combination of cardiovascular and resistance training. I strengthened my body, increasing my lean muscle, which cranked up my metabolism (my body’s natural furnace). I felt stronger, healthier and more confident in my abilities to tackle whatever physical obstacles stood in my way. Rather than saying no to pool parties and gym class, I started asking people to join me in activities. I felt good. I was alive.
I’ve never gone back to that state of obesity, but I don’t forget what it was like. This helps me to relate to my clients who face weight challenges. I know how it feels when people stare at you. I know what it’s like to be out of breath from climbing a flight of stairs, or to have dif-ficulty with something as simple as tying your shoes. When you’re struggling physically, some-times it’s the little things that seem the hardest to do. If this describes you right now, I want you to know that you’re not alone, and that it doesn’t have to stay this way.
I understand what it’slike to struggle withexcess weight becauseI’ve been there myself.
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discover your personal why
Phase Two Of Finding My Why
In the years that followed, everything seemed to go in the right direction. In 2001, I met my life partner, Christie, and we had two wonderful daughters. I achieved success in my business life as Chief Operating Officer and founding partner of Fitness Town, a chain of fitness equipment stores. I also became a Level 1 Coach of the popular strength and conditioning pro-gram, CrossFit.
But I reached a pivotal point at age 32, when, despite hav-ing a wonderful family, strong physical fitness and some profes-sional success, I felt untethered. I had become obsessed with physical fitness, and while that meant I had achieved my goal weight, I hadn’t done anything to heal myself emotionally and spiritually. There were underlying issues that I hadn’t dealt with, so I strayed from the very things that should have brought me the most happiness.
If I look at my life in terms of the five Fs, I can easily see why my house was crum-bling at the time. I was physically and financially fit, but I wasn’t paying enough atten-tion to the state of my faith or my family. I was a fractured person on a downward spiral, having little fun, and this cast a shadow over my entire life. I was depressed and disconnected, and felt like I was headed for a midlife crisis—and I wasn’t anywhere near midlife!
Even though I had lost all that extra weight as a teenager, I was still burdened by shame and guilt. I still saw myself as unattractive and unlovable. So when I started becoming successful, I binged on other people’s attention. I craved validation from others, because I had felt deprived of approval for so long. I neglected and disre-spected both my family and myself.
It was Christie who brought me back to what was important to me. I saw that I didn’t really need approval from the whole world, and that that kind of attention would never satisfy me anyway. What I really needed was a steady and secure connec-tion with the people most important to me: my wife and daughters.
Christie has always seen something in me that I couldn’t see in myself then. She saw me as the man that I wanted to be, and helped me choose to be that person. Similar to the epiphany I experienced when I was 15, I realized that I was the only person who could really turn my life around.
It all starts with clarity. You have to know WHY you do WHAT you do.”
—Start With Why author Simon Sinek
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Dai Manuel’s Whole Life Fitness Manifesto
I started by taking inventory of my life at that moment. Now let me just say, this is not an easy task for anyone. It takes brutal honesty and a willingness to explore past choices and paths travelled. Whether the outcomes were good or bad, this exercise is not meant to create stress, anxiety, guilt or regret. It’s simply an exercise to recreate the road map of our life, in order to understand what has brought us to where we are today. Through understanding our path, we can gain valuable insights to help us bet-ter navigate or change our course.
When I underwent this exercise of introspection, I felt much like Dorothy exposing the Wizard of Oz behind that proverbial curtain. I had erected many façades to por-tray myself as what I believed to be a “success.” I worked long, hard hours as I chased a professional title and recognition, but often at the cost of my family and friends. My physical and mental health suffered with the added pressure of the expectations I had set for myself. With no outlet for my mounting stress, I continued to withdraw and immerse myself in my work, thinking that would make me feel better. I was wrong. Admittedly, I was very proud of my work ethic, which I had learned from my parents. But without stability and balance in my personal life, the walls of my house bowed like blades of grass in the wind. Something had to change.
In retrospect, I don’t look at my decision to pursue my career as a mistake, but as an opportunity to learn what is most important to me. At that moment, I made a decision to put my family and personal health ahead of my career. Over time, as I committed to daily physical exercise, I found that my health improved and my stress decreased. I spent focused time with my wife and daughters every single day—no matter what else I was doing, they came first. And do you know what happened? My career advanced. I found I was even more productive at work because I knew that I had to maximize my time on the job. My mindset had shifted a full 180 degrees, and I now cherished time with family and friends, along with my daily ritual of physical exercise.
One of the first things I did to get back on the positivity train was giving up alcohol. I had started to use booze to calm myself; it was my numbing agent.
Dai and his Whole Life Fitness Power 30 have helped me get through one of the most difficult times of my adult life. Even when I wasn’t following the program, his voice was in my head, telling me that I could get through this. The lessons I’ve learned from him have helped me to go forward, with confidence in myself.” —Erin
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