For the last 17 years as a health professional, I have spent a great deal of time trying to educate and motivate others to make the necessary changes to improve their health and quality of life. But as we all know, it is up to the client to take the information and decide to make the necessary changes. It takes courage, time and a lot of hard work to make those changes and when clients are successful we celebrate! Personally, I get a lot of nachas and inspiration from past and present clients and I would like to share some of that nachas with you.

Y. is a 48 year old mother who has to travel quite a distance to see me. She started her journey to good health with our Lose It! program. Although she lost an amazing 20 kilo, there was more work to be done in order to reach the range of healthy weight. Now she has become a daily exerciser. Her husband got a one-time bonus from his job and offered to buy her a gift. She asked for the only thing that she really wanted—to go to Personal Training. Y. was an insulin dependent type 2 diabetic and Baruch Hashem, the amount she now takes has been lowered by 900%! She is also coping with some of her life’s stress much better.

S. is a 24 year old currently learning at a Baal Tshuva yeshiva. He has a past history of obesity as well as addictions. He did the Lose It! program originally and lost over 30 kilos. But he too still had a long way to go. He began a combined program where he was seeing our therapist for an hour a week and began Personal Training as well to up his intensity in exercise. This past week, he had to return home for a week to attend a wedding of an old friend. He exercised on his own, was polite to his old friends without engaging in dangerous and destructive behaviors, seemed to have enjoyed himself and has really “passed the test”.

A. is 20 years old. She has always wanted to be a normal weight but getting there caused disordered eating. She hasn’t finished Lose It! yet, but she is eating healthfully and ordered, and she is exercising on her own. But that isn’t all. This past week, we were talking about career planning. She is so turned on to her new-found health and wellbeing that she is considering this as a career…to be continued.

B. is a Rav who is very involved with the needs of the community, particularly with our youth. He needs to be in good health and to have the energy it takes to do his job. He was a type 2 diabetic, on the verge of getting medicated. It isn’t just the 25 kilo he lost. He exercises, drinks far more water everyday than he used to, eats well and most of all, he can stay up late nights to deal with all of his cases and handle his phone calls from times zones abroad 10 hours away. That enables him to save precious Neshomas in Klal Yisrael.

M. is a Yeshiva Bachur, who’s eating was truly out of control. That was coupled with almost no activity or exercise. His parents got him to come to Lose It! when his weight was approaching 150 kilo. He has lost over 25 kilo, and has more to go, but he is going down. More than that; he is learning better than he has ever learned before and he has control over his life in general.

A divorced mother of 2 takes medication for mental health problems as a result of a bad marriage. Now that she has completed our intense 3 month program combining Exercise, Behavioral Therapy and Dietetics, her new Psychiatrist (whom we recommended) has cut her medication in half and is hoping to halve it again next month. She is coping with life much better and continues to improve.

5 Years ago, a 37 year old man came to me totally unfit, with blood sugar almost twice the acceptable level and his triglycerides were “through the roof”. He has an impossible schedule, learning a full seder every morning, running a high pressured business in the afternoon and evening, and spending his evenings tending to Chesed cases. He started slowly but was determined to get his health back, especially at such a young age. After 12 months, there was a drop of 205 points in his triglycerides and 98 points in his blood sugar. He lost more than 30 kilo of weight. He hasn’t been with me for a couple of years now, but continues to exercise and has given himself a whole new lease on life.

Yes, I could go on and on and on. There are countless people with whom I have dealt in all of my programs over the last 17 years who have come out as the new and improved editions Even those who don’t reach all of their goals, usually have improved their lives in some positive way. Thank you readers for sharing in my Nachas. Sharing helps me “add hours to my day, days to my year and years to my life.”

Alan Freishtat is an A.C.E. CERTIFIED PERSONAL TRAINER and a LIFESTYLE FITNESS COACH with over 17 years of professional experience. He is the co-director of the Jerusalem-based weight loss and stress reduction center Lose It! along with Linda Holtz M.Sc. and is available for private consultations, assessments and personalized workout programs. Alan also lectures and gives seminars and workshops. He can be reached at 02-651-8502 or 050-555-7175, or by email at [email protected] Check out the Lose It! web site – www.loseit.co.il US Line: 516-568-5027