Sean Rodman

Dear Tosca,

I have been an athlete all my life. My sport was track and I competed at the state level in the 400- and 800-meter races. After college, life happened. I had a wife, kids and a job. A couple of decades later and I found myself in the worst shape of my life. I developed a weight lifting habit in college as a means of relaxation that I'd kept, but any muscle I'd built over the years was, by age 43, covered in fat. I wasn't obese by any means but I wasn't my old self ... my fit self.

My turning point came when my oldest son got married. Being fitted for a tux was eye opening. I had no idea my waist had gotten that big. And then came the wedding photos. I was shocked. At what point in my life did I become Tony Soprano? Rather than wait for the turn of the New Year, which I could have easily done ... and was tempted to do, I decided to take immediate action. So on December 1st of 2009, I made a commitment to getting fit.

It just so happens that at the same time my wife brought home The Eat-Clean Diet®. I was skeptical to say the least, my belief being that most diet books were based on equal parts praying on false hope and pseudoscience. But curiosity got the best of me and I opened Tosca's book. I was surprised to find it straightforward and filled with practical information. This was a book based on real fitness principles and not fads.

Now I'll admit, as a guy, I found some of the advice a little hard to swallow. The recipes seemed a little skimpy and a little too vegetarian-leaning for my taste. But then I found The Eat-Clean Diet For Men. This book, while adhering to the same principles, seemed a little more forgiving and much more tailored to how men think about weight loss.

After just a couple of weeks I began to think differently about food. Whereas I used to gobble down anything made of processed flour or sugar, I was starting to eye such foods suspiciously. My tastes were changing and I started to exercise.

I did my first run, two miles, in 20 minutes. For a guy who used to be able to run two miles in under 10 minutes, this was humbling. But this was about weight loss, not winning the Olympics, so I plugged away. Two miles for two weeks, then two and a half for another two weeks. Then three, three and a half, and so on. Today I run six miles at a 6:30 minutes per mile pace.

As I dropped weight, my stamina and overall fitness level began to improve. I added a day of interval training to my routine. I started to lift weights three times a week instead of just one or two and my body started to change rapidly. Four and a half months after I'd begun I reached my goal.

Exercise played a huge part but the Eat-Clean Diet Principles I learned played an even bigger part. I didn't have to starve myself, I just had to make smarter choices. I could count the number of times I ever felt really hungry on one hand and for guys I think that's the key. If we don't think we're getting enough to eat, any diet plan we're on is going to fail miserably. That's what makes The Eat-Clean Diet so special. It's not a fad diet. It's just a smarter way to eat that's not going to leave you feeling like you're going hungry or depriving yourself.

Now I'll be the first to admit I wasn't perfect. My demon? Beer. I'm a beer snob I'll readily admit. I like my beers strong, flavorful and full of calories. I don't do light beers. So giving up beer entirely, while recommended, simply wasn't an option. So I cut back. I adopted a "never if I have to work the next day" rule which, essentially, cut me back to just two days a week. But this was far and away my biggest diet challenge.

As I write this on September 1, 2010 I'll have managed to maintain my goal weight for five and a half months. I still exercise five to six days a week and I still follow the Eat-Clean Diet Principles. I don't even consider this a diet anymore ... it's just a part of who I am. I don't ever worry about going back to looking like Tony Soprano. That's just not me anymore.

Sincerely,
Sean Rodman