Blog by Jim Baker

In early 2019 at a Vistage Group meeting in Raleigh, each member had to go through his or her strategic commitments for the year.  Most talked about their business goals and some brought up the need to become healthier by losing weight. After listening to everyone, I threw out a challenge to those that vowed to become healthier. I bet each person that if they hit their weight goals, I would donate $100 per pound for every pound lost to their favorite charity.  In return, if they were unable to hit their goal, they would have to donate $10,000 to my favorite charity, Durham Nativity School. Two of my fellow group members took me up on the challenge.

The first person asked me to check in and push him weekly.  He started off strong by working out four days per week given that he wanted to lose 30 pounds. He walked, went to boot camp, and rode the bike.  Unfortunately, he lasted as long as the average New Year resolution, which was about one month. In February, I knew it was over for him, but secretly hoped he’d re-commit for the next 11 months.

The second person started strong by implementing a healthy diet and trying to do something active every day. He is a former college athlete and a very passionate person who can be rather impulsive; however, over time he had let himself balloon an extra 30 pounds.  Out of the two, I thought he had the best chance. Over the course of the next ten months, he went nowhere. He was unable to discipline himself to drop and keep the weight off. In November, he realized he’d have to drop 30 pounds in 45 days to win. He went at it hard.  Water and a leaf diet and a lot of exercise. He rapidly dropped 20 pounds and then hit a wall. With 10 days left, he only drank water and exercised like crazy. With about three days left in the year and four pounds shy, he realized his body could no longer sweat and gave up.

It was bittersweet as Durham Nativity received an additional 20K in donations, but my friends couldn’t lose the weight. Unfortunately, this is how a lot of us live. We get distracted from our bodies, and we look in the mirror and see an 18 year old version of ourselves.  Unfortunately, the rest of the world sees you as a 40-60 year old person that is carrying too much weight and does very little exercise. At Optimal Bio, we provide Wellness Programs and treatments that help you shed your weight, feel better when exercising, and ultimately make you a much healthier person.  Contact us today.