“Before, I would go work out, and when I finished I would feel hungry. That hunger made me scared, and after leaving the gym I’d run down the street and get a burger. Any weight that I had lost at the gym was put back on, and probably more,” said Professor David Wheeler of Suffolk University. Before, Dr. Wheeler weighed 274 lbs.Before, he had a cholesterol level of 229 mg/dL (too high) and triglyceride level of 242 mg/dL (also too high). Before, he was running a risk of diabetes and heart disease.
Before was just two years ago, in February of 2007, when Dr. Wheeler decided to get serious about his health. His transformation started off slowly, knowing that “a lot of people will come into the gym trying to get it all done in one day. They have a bad experience and end up not coming back,” he said. Dr. Wheeler began tracking his weight with a digital scale. He continued to exercise at Fitcorp, already a member here, going on walks with a digital pedometer clipped to his pants, and eating less “bad” foods.
“Giving up four donuts in the morning wasn’t easy,” said Wheeler, “and it sounds like it wouldn’t be that hard but when you’re used to that routine it is.” And that is why the first ten pounds are the hardest to get rid of. “You feel like you’re going to die,” he said. “You get nervous because sometimes that feeling of light headedness makes you think you need to eat to live, but your body can live on its fat. I could have lasted on my fat for a while at 274 lbs,” he said, laughing.
After the first ten pounds, the next ten, and the next, are easier and easier. Dr. Wheeler started walking further, using Fitcorp’s resources, and eating healthier. “The trainer, Ryan, was phenomenal. He was good at showing me exactly how to use the machines and tell me what I was doing wrong. And Maria is my and my wife’s favorite. She has that personality that makes you want to come back,” he said. Inside the gym, Dr. Wheeler likes to use the stationary bike so he can read screen plays that he’s working on at the same time. And, after injuring his bicep in an accident, the adjustable weight machines have been helpful in building back his strength.
He is also now participating in Fitcorp’s, “Commando Krav Maga,” Israeli self defense class, which he feels is really pushing his endurance, but says yoga is still out of his limits. “I’m almost 70,” Wheeler said, “it’s hard for me to stretch like that.” Outside the gym, Dr. Wheeler has been pushing the distance of his walks. “Once the endorphins get flowing,” he said, “I feel like I can glide along.” In one instance he walked from Beacon Hill over to Brighton and upon returning felt good enough to ride Fitcorp’s stationary bike for a while. Throughout the month of October, Dr. Wheeler recorded that he walked a total of 150 miles. Now instead of a burger, Dr. Wheeler recommends stopping in at Kinsale Irish Pub for a caesar salad topped with salmon. He also enjoys cereal with Whole Foods orange/banana juice, and has given up meat. Now Dr. Wheeler weighs 219 lbs. Now his cholesterol and triglyceride levels are perfect. “The biggest change is how I feel,” he said, “It’s good for your body and your mind. I’m more prolific in my writing and activities and my thinking has improved. I no longer feel like a sloth.”
He has published a best selling book called, “Journey to the Other Side, Life After Death”, has a sailing license, a pilots license (which he mentions is good until you kill somebody), has traveled the world, has taught in Thailand, and participated in a two week “walk-about” with Aborigines in the Australia outback. “I don’t want to grow old,” he said, “I can’t do much about growing old… but I don’t have to be stodgy.” And so far, he’s not slowing down.
