Rick's Health Tricks

Do you know Rick? Otherwise known as Ricky Martin, Ricky Ponting, Ricky Lake and Bella's Dad. Rick joined us two years ago on a mission to improve his health and wellbeing. He made progress and stayed with it and then 4 months ago, he started really working on his diet with our in house amazing Naturopath Bek Nutter. Have a read of his story below. We're inspired and know you guys will be too :)

Firstly, the question that springs to mind is, after a couple of years training with FJ, tell us about the motivation to dig deeper.

I was struggling with sleep, that is I went to sleep quickly but it was poor quality and was struggling throughout the day, in actual fact I had withdrawn from some of the things I liked doing like volunteering in our local community, my wife and daughter strongly suggested I need help with what I'm eating & should see Bek Nutter who is conveniently located in the same complex as FJ's.

In your earlier adult life, how did you exercise and move?

I played rugby league, social tennis and touch football and moved back to the country in my early thirties to our hobby farm, played with our two children & supported them in their sporting life.

Have you always been active? Yes, always, with the hobby farm, volunteering in the local fire brigade, school P&C functions when our children were school age and our children whilst playing sport, was sports trainer for my son's rugby league side for many years and recently I'm back in a sports trainer role with our local rugby league side in Stroud.

When did you realise that your habits were effecting your sleep etc? Probably mid-2017 , very sad I know that I did not act on this much earlier.

In your earlier life, what were your eating habits like? I found in early life as a child we as a family ate healthy balanced food , except for the bottled soft drink which was a treat !!!!, I found in my late teens , early twenties I could eat what I wanted & it did not seem to alter my body weight.

What does your work involve? Manual, sedentary, a lot of driving / sitting? A lot of sitting & driving to & whilst at work with a moderate amount of walking.

Do you think your work life impacted your health? Yes, I believe so, from March 2017 to Feb 2019 I spent two to three days working in Sydney, usually staying down a min of one night, not eating healthy & on the road a lot, I would try to get to FJ's at least one to three times a week, this may not sound like a big deal but I was travelling from Stroud to the centre if Sydney (min 3hr one way trip), I managed my fatigue quite well with regular stops but I was far from functioning to the best I could I believe, again because of a poor diet and not getting adequate rest.

Did you have weight worries or did you hit a certain age and gain more than you were comfortable with? Yes, from the late twenties when the kids came along, even though I thought I was active I was actually eating too much and in many cases the wrong food.

Tell us about your diet and habits and the basics of your changes. Bek Nutter, my wife Leesa and daughter Isabella have been instrumental in helping me adjust to healthy eating habits, my wife prepares delicious nutritious food, I've cut back on bread / carbs, fast food, sugar, Bek has made suggestions to help with hunger and ensure I eat plenty of protein, my afternoons were the worst when I got the munchies and craved that sugar hit, I've since turned to Greek yogurt, natural additives such as cinnamon, nuts and berries to take care of the afternoon cravings, I also have found that having breakfast later in the morning assists greatly and am feeling fuller longer and also understand I don't need a huge meal in the evening with dessert!!, I find now that my body reacts if I stray to the carbs & sugar !!, it's exciting too when people notice a change in you and you share your journey with them, I am really finding this a big positive at the moment especially with a couple of colleagues at work who since my journey began in April / May are making changes in their lives to support a healthy lifestyle.

Do you drink alcohol and if yes, how often? Yes, socially maybe once a week, the odd bender now & then !!!

How often are you exercising? Tell us about that. Two to three times a week at FJ's, walking our two dogs couple of times a week, sports trainer with the local rugby league side - 1hr on a sat during winter, generally walking around the farm also on a weekend.

Going forward, have you made a permanent lifestyle change? Yes, I understand the importance of exercising to maintain a healthy body but also what food you put in your body and how it reacts with you, I'm finding I have much more energy and am sleeping so much better and yes it feels great to get back into clothes that you could not comfortably wear previously !!!.

What is one tip you can give to other members? You know your body better than anyone, listen to it and don't be too proud to ask for help, I took health for granted, you must look after yourself, its logical yet amazing how what you eat can affect your quality of sleep, there's definitely a connection there for me.

Lastly, what do you love about Fitness Junction? And you can’t say Bella! I have always felt welcome at FJ's. No one judges you, all the trainers have their own individual style of training and it is never boring, also I love to have a "little shit stir" at times with the staff knows about this & it's another chance to mix with people who care about being active, it's a great atmosphere, except when Bella flogs her Dad !!! .

Thanks Rick! Rick also noticed that his fitness has elevated and his sessions are much more enjoyable. He has gotten stronger in his weight training as well, which no doubt motivates him. If you'd like to talk weight loss or improvement to your diet, we can gladly help starting with working with our fabulous trainers. We'll to rolling out a few more client spotlights, watch this space.