Leigh Elder Eat for keeps

A couple of weeks ago I made a presentation to a group of young people attending a leadership course at The Summerhill A1 Youth Academy up in the Papamoa Hills.

Having completed an overnight camp either in a tent or in the woolshed, and probably missed out on a bit of sleep, I was impressed by their ability to take on board what I was on about, and their savvy questions.

After the session, a young man came up for a chat. He told me he was 15 years old and that two years ago he was quite fat.

Jack Gordon is certainly anything but, now, and is very slim and athletic looking. As a 13-year-old he was a pudgy 73kg, and one day decided it wasn't the way he wanted to be.

So Jack stopped randomly eating anything that came his way and became far more particular.

No more fizzy drinks and cakes, he now eats more sustaining whole foods, which include lots of vegetables and a tasty breakfast smoothie made from porridge, honey, fruit and yoghurt.

He also enjoys a few pieces of dark chocolate.

Boxing is his key passion, and he also gets involved in extreme activities, including BMX and dirt jumping, and does up to 1000 sit-ups of different intensities every day.

So, two years later and several centimetres taller, Jack weighs in at 65kg.

Good on you Jack, you are a great role model for others to follow, and I'm sure proud parents Craig and Dianne agree.

We will have our free national challenge underway before too long and are looking for more stories like Jack's to inspire others to positively reinvent themselves.

Email me if you have a great story to tell. I now have some limited time available for personal consultations.

Leigh is the founder of Eat for Keeps and can be contacted on 027 2941980 or by emailing katlee@xtra.co.nz


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