“It’s not what’s happening to you now or what has happened in your past that determines who you become. Rather, it’s your decisions about what to focus on, what things mean to you, and what you’re going to do about them that will determine your ultimate destiny.”
I grew up in a suburb of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, an industrial city with a distinctive heritage, influenced by the immigration of Germans and Poles. We have a national reputation based on three related hallmarks: Germanism, Harley Davidsonism and beer. Polish sausage and bratwurst were considered food groups and were served at most meals. I didn’t think twice about it—until I met Dave.
In 1992, I was a sophomore in high school working part-time at Ace Hardware. Dave was in his 30s, happily married with three kids and worked as a mechanic. He was also a bodybuilder. He came to work every day, dedicated to his prepared containers of chicken, rice and vegetables. I was intrigued. I had never been very athletic and certainly not conscious of how I ate. I began asking Dave about how he ate and why. He schooled me on the importance of eating lean proteins, whole grains and fruits and vegetables. We also talked about working out; something I had never done.
I worked with Dave for three more years, learning from him and slowly changing my lifestyle. By the time I graduated from high school, I was working out daily and preparing all my food. When I left for college in 1994, I knew I would major in Exercise Science and would continue living and teaching the lifestyle I had adopted from Dave.
Advice for Dietary Changes
When making changes to your diet, do so gradually. What is one thing you can do today and continue doing long term? It could be drink more water, eliminate simple sugars, eat out only once per week. The key to success with any challenging habit is to take steps that are sustainable above all else. If you can’t sustain a particular routine in your life, you’re going to revert back to your previous routine. Once one change seems normal and completely sustainable, add another.