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Many people say they want to get fitter so they can keep up with their children. Rachel Byers, 35, learned how important this was when her 3-year-old daughter, Holly, headed to the swimming pool near their Los Angeles home.

“We were at the playground and he was so fast. He came right up to the edge of the pool and people had to yell at him not to jump in. I couldn’t catch him to keep him safe. That made me realize I had to make a change,” she told TODAY.com.

Looking back, he now sees other reasons why he wanted to be more active. “I wasn’t setting a good example for my daughter. I want to be the mother who runs with him at football training or does ballet, not the one in the corner talking on the phone. “That’s why I wanted to learn to be strong,” he says.

He was also starting to see health problems creep into his life. high cholesterol And blood pressure. “I asked myself the question: ‘Do I want to take medication, or do I want to take control?'” he says.

Byers dropped his weight from 162 kilos to 118 kilos. She learned how to make healthier food choices. He increased his strength, saw his health tracking numbers improve, and made major improvements in his mental health. He now has the speed and endurance to keep his daughter safe. And he did it all in about 20 weeks. Here’s how.

He started with what he knew he needed most: Responsibility.

“I’ve experienced all kinds of equipment and there are opportunities but no responsibility,” he says. “I realized I could never fit exercise into my life doing what I was doing. i needed plan this first and then figure out everything else.

Her husband Will is fit and active, but he didn’t want to turn to her for responsibility: “You can’t expect your partner to hold you accountable and love you at the same time.”

She relied on him for emotional as well as practical support. help with meal planninggrocery shopping and cooking. “I couldn’t have done this without my husband’s support. If I need to go to the gym, he makes sure he’s home to take care of our little one or take him to school,” she says.

To take responsibility, he started working with trainer Eddie Escobar. Superior Performance Los Angeles. “I told him I wanted him to hold me accountable; no excuses. I’m an all-or-nothing kind of person and I wanted to be completely committed, Even at Thanksgiving and Christmas. “If that meant hurting my family members’ feelings because I wouldn’t eat their pie or dinner, I had to stick to my guns for myself, my little one, and my family.”

He even did this for holidays, birthday parties, and friends’ wine tastings in Temecula. “I was the designated driver,” he says. “I decided to stick with the plan. I pulled out every excuse I could and said, ‘I’ll give it my all for 12 to 20 weeks.'”

His plan includes:

• Weight training two to three mornings a week: “I’m a morning personSo it makes me want to wake up early and do this before work. This change is crazy to me.”

• a target 10,000 steps per dayEven if it means walking back and forth In closed areas.

• Other exercises included pilatesstrength training classes and boxing: “I’m trying new things that I would never have tried a year ago. “I socialize, make connections and have fun through my movement.”

• Finding a good work/life balance. After logging off at the end of the workday, he doesn’t log back in to finish notes or spreadsheets: “I’ve got meals to make, a small meal to play with, and work to do.”

• Organised, restorative sleep for eight hours a night: “Before, I was sleeping four to five hours a night, and then every two weeks, I would oversleep one day.”

More tracking macros, less fast food

Takeout and fast food were daily habits for Byers; sometimes more than once a day. He says he goes to Jack-in-the-Box so often that the workers there notice when he gets a new car. After he changed his habits and the local Chinese restaurant hadn’t heard from him in a while, they called to see if he was okay.

he learned track your macros (protein, fat and carbohydrates) and uses the meal delivery service called macroplate. Now that he’s achieved his goal, he adds more healthy carbohydrates such as quinoa, rice and oats. On weekends, she will have dinner once or twice with her husband, sister, or other family members. “Back then, I don’t keep track or care about what I eat, and I go back to work on Monday,” she says.

He had a week where his life got busy and he stopped tracking his food. “I noticed that I felt more tired, cranky and irritable. Looking back, I added a lot more sugar. “Even though it feels great in the moment, I’ve realized that sugar affects my ability to get quality sleep and my overall happiness,” she says. “I’ve learned that it’s okay to eat sweets because sugar interferes with my sleep, but it’s okay to eat them in moderation and not right before bed.”

Room drink more water. “Two quad espresso iced lattes a day, plus Dr. I was drinking pepper and soda. I drinking all this caffeine and I feel very exhausted,” he says. “I don’t drink coffee or soda anymore. I only drink one small energy drink a day. There is movement and nutrition it gave me energy and life again.”

Now that she’s maintaining healthy habits, she’s becoming more mindful of the impact of her choices: “As I’m introduced to more foods and going out with friends, how does it make me feel? How does it affect my sleep? How does it affect my work? I’m learning what’s good for my body.”

The move improved his mental health

Byers saw mental health counselor Before her daughter was born, in order to develop strategies for coping with the postpartum period. He later reconnected with the counselor because intrusive thoughts about his daughter.

“I thought about Holly rolling out of bed, climbing out the window and jumping off the balcony, even though she was a newborn,” she says. “Then I lost my grandmother four months after giving birth to Holly. Thinking that life was so fragile sent me into a spiral. I was trying really hard to be present in my family life.

She had no energy or motivation, didn’t like the way she looked, and was disappointed in how well her husband was doing.

“I was very unhappy. I was quick to act when Will wanted to eat healthier or didn’t want to take Postmates with me. “I felt internally judged for my choices, eating dumplings and Jack in the Box every night of the week,” he says. “I used to get mad at him when he wanted to go to the gym and exercise. I was so angry I didn’t know why. Looking back, I was jealous that he had that discipline and that mindset of taking care of himself. “I didn’t have the tools.”

She was telling her counselor that she would be more active, but he wasn’t doing it: “Every week I had to come in and admit that I hadn’t done the homework. I felt like I was failing, so I started spacing my appointments further and further apart.

He stopped talking about what he was going to do at the gym and started doing it. “This really gave me back my sanity. I feel clearer with less intrusive thoughts and ideas. concerns“he says.

He changed his relationships with the people he loved

Byers changed his mindset, which in turn changed his relationship with Will. “Earlier, I felt sorry for her because she would be married to this person for the rest of her life. I was so grumpy and tired. Sometimes I didn’t want him to hug me or even look at me. I wanted to watch my shows and escape from the world. “We were able to reconnect and get on the same page in our marriage,” he says.

They love traveling and took their first big trip to the Cook Islands since she started focusing on her health. “I was looking forward to going on a trip for the first time. I was excited to wear cute clothes and swimsuits, go kayaking, and be active. “I wasn’t just eating chips and drinking,” he says.

He also started new family routines. Every night before her daughter goes to bed they going for a family walk and then play and play in the backyard: “We make sure we eat dinner early enough to reflect his timetable.”

He is changing his and his daughter’s future

Byers is pleased with the changes in his appearance. “But this more than aesthetics. Being able to keep my little one safe. “And it shows him how we move our bodies for fun, because we can and we should celebrate that.” “We shouldn’t see exercise as punishment for something we ate or did. “We can teach children how to energize their bodies so they can move well and be productive in their lives and activities.”

He realizes that once he finds motivation, he can change his life. “If you find something in your life that you want to improve, you can eliminate all excuses,” he says. “No matter how old you are, how young you are, your size, shape or goals, you can take responsibility for your health. “There is a movement for all of us.”

This article was first published on: TODAY.com