Can a new way of looking at diet plans and eating, a new fat loss formula, along with a new way of exercising make a chronic disease go away and restore health? For David Musikanth, the answer is a resounding yes.

The Ultimate Weight Loss Battle

A good plan is one where you eat what you like. It’s something you don’t see in most diet plans.

For most of his life, Musikanth had suffered from Crohn’s disease, a chronic inflammatory bowel disorder that brings on unpredictable spells of pain, diarrhea, bleeding, and constipation. It also causes fatigue and, in general, makes your life miserable.

“You can be at home and you want to go out and all of a sudden your stomach isn’t 100 percent and you can’t go out,” he says. “You absolutely can’t. You have to stay somewhere where you have facilities. Crohn’s ruled my life.”

Musikanth was medicated for the condition, and he did exercise, but even then he says it’s still difficult to control symptoms. Finally, a little over two years ago, at age 43 with a wife and two children, he reached a point where something had to change.

“You realize you’re not getting any younger,” he says. “Health is a bigger issue and it was hitting home much harder than it ever did. I wanted to do something for myself that didn’t involve doctors and treatment.”

His first stop, as it is for most of us, was the internet. What could he find? Who could help? He didn’t really have a set diet (“I didn’t think much about it at all”) and his workouts had never changed his body in any meaningful way.

Soon he stumbled on trainer Adam Bornstein’s Twitter feed. “I was intrigued by his posts,” Musikanth says. “So I just asked him some basic questions about nutrition and exercise.”

Bornstein engaged and suggested that Musikanth overhaul his approach to both eating and working out. The first change? Instead of eating the way he’d always had, Bornstein suggested intermittent fasting. It’s a simple concept: Between the hours of noon and 8 p.m., you eat all your normal meals. The rest of the time you consume nothing. “It sounded completely crazy,” Musikanth says.

Ditching Diets for Nutrition Plans

He and his wife decided to try it together – “It’s a lot easier if you have someone to do it with” – along with a change in what he was eating. “Before, there was no concept of diet. A typical meal would be like hot dogs or hamburgers and chips. And a Coke. I wouldn’t even think twice about it.”

Musikanth eliminated the garbage food, but also changed what he eat for the majority of his diet. He’ll eat chicken and vegetables. Fish. Eggs for breakfast. An occasional steak. “It was very strange at first, fitting all my meals into a set timeframe,” he says.

The biggest difference, though, was the flexibility. There was no talk of removing family favorites like pizza night and sushi. Instead, it was understanding how to build a eating style around a lifestyle, and then make sure the plan was doable.

The first three months were tough because of the adjustment of the “good foods” to eat, not because of what was restricted.

“What was amazing was where I initially struggled,” says Musikanth. “It’s not strict in terms of avoiding all foods. A good plan is one where you eat what you like. It’s something you don’t see in most diet plans.”

“But the bigger issue is how much you stay on plan versus having flexibility. In time, your body becomes trained for it. Now it’s second nature. More importantly, Adam set expectations so that when progress stalled, we knew that the plan didn’t stop working. Instead, we discovered how plateaus can be part of progress.”

Bornstein also gave Musikanth a new approach to fitness – a combination of strength and metabolic training that he’d never encountered before. “I did go to a gym, but what I did was very old fashioned, very boring kind of stuff,” he says.

“Now I walk into the gym and have to do all these strange movements. It was very weird at first. But in four months, my whole body changed. Even the people at the gym were asking me, ‘What kind of training is this?’ These were exercises that no one had ever seen.”

Reinventing The Fat Loss Formula

In those first months, Musikanth dropped 22 pounds, which took him from flabby to shredded – an unexpected side benefit. “I hadn’t been majorly fat. It wasn’t like I needed to lose this weight, but it was simply my body shedding fat. Now I look completely different.”

But again, to really appreciate Musikanth’s story, you have to look past the aesthetics. In those first months, along with the physical changes, all of his Crohn’s symptoms disappeared.

Musikanth has been on Bornstein’s plan for 2 years, is now 45, and is quite literally a changed man. “I changed everything. I did a complete change in what I ate, a complete change in how I train. I’m still on the Crohn’s medication, but I have no side effects. It’s in complete remission.”

There’s one more eye-opening bit of information you should know. Musikanth lives in South Africa. Bornstein splits his time between Denver and Los Angeles. This man managed to engage a trainer and successfully implement his plan from half a world away.

Think about that. Some people live 10 minutes from their gym and still can’t make it work with trainers.

Musikanth has thought about this. “I go to a beautiful gym,” he says. “But you look at the trainers and they’re very young. To me, what makes the relationship work is having commitment on both sides. When you see the results, obviously, you see the results. Then it doesn’t matter which side of the planet you’re on.”

The Born Fitness Family: David Musikanth

The Results

I went from 83 kgs to a constant 69-70 kgs. My body fat dropped from 20 percent to below 10 percent and my fitness level just improved like mad enabling me to do my 1st 10km run as well as complete 2 Impi challenges, which is a 12km trail run with 20 odd obstacles in between.

These would never even have been contemplated before Born Fitness online coaching. More importantly to me is that in the now 3 years of Born Fitness I have not had one incident of  Crohn’s disease throughout this period which is quite astonishing!! Even my doctors are at a loss. For me this has been the real success of Born Fitness, helping me get my life back.

Why Born Fitness

I grew up in a home where diet certainly wasn’t an issue, so I was always overweight even though as a kid I went to the gym and did routine weights. In my 20s I was diagnosed with the chronic disease Crohn’s which affected me really badly both from a diet perspective and a training perspective, it all went flat from there on.

Even though I still trained I just had no plan and I ate pretty freely as well as being on chronic medication daily. This went on until I discovered Born Fitness when I was 44! Once I had joined Born fitness my life did a complete u-turn even at this late age. I got a managed, educated, designed and completely different training and eating plan that delivered the results I so desperately craved in its 1st month!!

Certainly a plan designed just for me and diet constructed around what I eat just made it easier and much more simple to negotiate. I would definitely say that a new world of exercises in a structured plan was what instantaneously made a difference. A mix of functional cardio and focused weight training just breathed new life into my system.

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The post The Fat Loss Formula for Any Age: The David Musikanth Story appeared first on Born Fitness.

I forgot to take a breath, closed my eyes, and suddenly began to panic.

My mind said, “Push!” but my arms wouldn’t move. I wondered if this was what trainers meant when they warned about their extreme programs that could cause “death by barbell.”

Don’t fit your square life into a circle hole of someone else’s definition of fitness.

Those are the thoughts that race through your head when you lay trapped beneath your own bench press; the cold iron grazing your throat like an impending guillotine. In my desperation I gasped a plea soaked in embarrassment.

“Help… help…”

My hero ran over from some direction. I never grabbed his name, but without proper introduction he grabbed the weight and curled it off my head. I jumped up, relieved and exasperated at my Neo-like reincarnation, and thanked my savior for his amazing feat of strength. He chuckled, made sure I was OK, and left with words I’ll never forgot.

“Probably didn’t think you needed a spotter, huh?”

I looked down at the bar. Just 10 pounds sat on each side.

It was official: My 65-pound bench press found a new way to completely embarrass me.

Nearly 15 years later, and after writing seven books (including a New York Times best seller) and serving as editor for Men’s Health, editorial director for LIVESTRONG.COM, and holding advisor positions for Arnold Schwarzenegger and Examine.com,  I still remember how my strength was sparked by an undeniable weakness.

Starting From Scratch

You see, the bench press incident (let’s call it BPI because it sounds better) wasn’t an isolated account. At the time, I was just a freshman in college, and I was going to the rec center to train very early in the morning.

It wasn’t because of my schedule. I was trying to go when no one would be there. And let me tell you, if you want no distractions at your gym, hit up a college rec center at 5 am. Cemeteries are more alive.

I wanted to be isolated because I was embarrassed. I was weak. I was scrawny. And I had no idea what I was doing. I even knew a girl that could shoulder press about twice as much as I could, so I had to schedule around when she was there. Then again, struggling in the gym was nothing new to me.

Growing up I was overweight. And I’m not talking about little-boy-that-can’t-shed-his-baby-weight. I was fat. I was a constant target of jokes in junior high because boys that saw me in the locker room were convinced I had some of the biggest breasts in school.

At my Bar Mitzvah, I needed some special tailoring because apparently they didn’t make dress pants for young men of my (short) height and extreme girth. I blamed it on genetics. And maybe that was part of it. But my late-night brownie and cookie habits didn’t help either.

Then in high school I suffered a comedy of injuries. I broke my back. I suffered concussions. I tore a muscle in my elbow. I broke my back—again.

Every injury was a roadblock. A hurdle. A reason to quit, give up, and decide that fitness wasn’t for me. I loved playing sports and being active, but I never felt I had the opportunity to show and prove what I could do.

I had a drive to become something better. But I had strong doubts if whom I wanted to be actually lived within me, or could even be fulfilled.

I wanted to quit fitness, but there’s really no escape. It’s like the mob in that way. Some of us just choose to make it a more prominent part of our lives, while others either ignore the value or never cease to grasp that fitness—and health—can be an enjoyable, invigorating, and stress-free (as well as stress-busting) experience.

Ultimately, that’s what kept bringing me back. I felt that I had more to give, and more that I could achieve. Only I had yet to figured out how to release my potential and be happier with me.

A Lesson in Failure

I’d love to pretend that after BPI, I rediscovered the gym, found my Mr. Miyagi, and everything instantly became better. But that would do an injustice to human nature and real life.

Life doesn’t happen in montages. (Although it would be awesome if it did.)

Looking back at my approach to fitness, I’ve probably made more mistakes than every person I’ve ever met—combined.

I lifted weights without instruction and never took time to be coached. I pushed through injuries, which only caused more injuries. I avoided all dietary fats. And then I avoided all carbs. To top it off, I ate hundreds… and hundreds… and hundreds of grams of protein. And I made several girlfriends suffer through the “ass of fire years.” (My sincerest apologies.)

I felt supplements were evil and took none. And then I tried every (legal) supplement in an attempt to become bigger and leaner.

I bulked. I cut. I ran. I swam. I did yoga. And I lifted weights—big weights (eventually) and small weights. I did high reps, low reps, timed reps, Tabatas, and Tae-Bo.

I’ve tried every type of HIIT training, low-intensity cardio, and kettlebell workouts imaginable. I’ve tried ab machines, tested crazy cleanses, and had a shake or two of the Shake Weight. I even used pink dumbbells one time to impress a girl. To no one’s surprise, it didn’t work.

But I never stopped working at it.

And then one day I tried to do something different and learn from other areas where I was actually successful. I was always a good student, and part of the reason for my success is that I never focused on grades.

Instead of stressing about goals, I looked at the process. I didn’t worry about how much weight I lost or strength I gained; instead, I focused on learning what techniques worked. And I spent my time learning how to exercise correctly and improve movements.

By shifting my focus to different goals and removing the stress of the mirror, I discovered a philosophy that changed my life, shaped my career, and allowed me to transform my body.

I am a model of failure, and that is why I have succeeded.

I never quit. And I never stopped learning or worrying about how long it took to make changes. I measured myself by different metrics of progress.

Did I learn something new? Did I set a new goal? Did I try a new exercise, eat a healthier food, or ask a new question about something I didn’t know?

Most importantly, I discovered every life is worth living the way you want. But no life can be lived without a concentrated effort to include healthy behaviors as part of your lifestyle.

The Born Fitness Guide to Success

I’m asked all the time about my favorite piece of advice. So here it is: Your health isn’t limited to a gym, a diet, or the image you see in the mirror.

Your health is what you make of it. The real distinction between healthy and unhealthy is giving a damn about your body; and making sure you do something—heck, anything—consistently so that you can live a long, active life, take care of yourself, and take care of others in this world.

I’m a big believer in goals, good behaviors, and in sharing options that are sustainable. What frustrates me more than anything is that we’ve gotten away from the real goal; we must find smarter ways to make exercise and healthier eating a seamless part of everyone’s life.

Notice I didn’t say lifting weights or cardio, recommend a certain diet, or even prescribe flawless healthy eating. Do I have opinions on my favorites strategies? Of course I do. But I refuse to be dogmatic and insist there’s only one right way.

That approach is a recipe for failure. Only a very small group of people inherently loves all healthy behaviors.

And I’ll be honest—I’ve become one of those people. Feed me Brussels sprouts and chicken all day, and I’ll walk around with a bigger grin than the Enzyte guy. But that’s not normal and isn’t what you should expect from yourself.

We need to do a better job of redefining all the different faces of health. I believe that dessert can and should be part of a healthy eating plan. Or that walking can be a perfectly suitable form of exercise. If these are the behaviors that you enjoy, then you can—and should—find a way to make them part of your life.

Don’t fit your square life into a circle hole of someone else’s definition of fitness.

My journey has created a simple goal: To help identify the diets, types of exercises and workouts, and various strategies that you can apply to your life to be more fit, feel better, and live longer.

And if those options also help you build more muscle, lose your belly, deadlift 400 pounds, or shed the baby weight, then great. Those are extra bonuses.

Your job is to find out what options exist. Healthy living is a buffet. And while there’s definitely some bad Szechuan chicken lurking (yeah, that’s my metaphor for bad info), there are too many good options to walk away without easily being satisfied and living a healthy life.

Therein lies the bigger message: There’s no reason for you to be stressed or feel that a better body, a better mindset, or a better life isn’t for you.

I encourage you to explore the numerous options that exist. Exercise the way you want, whether it’s in the gym, on the field, or in your home. Eat healthier foods most of the time, and—if you want—indulge in some not so healthy foods.

You don’t have to be staring down the chokehold of a 65-pound barbell to have this realization.

If my journey has shown me anything, it’s that the signs are there every day. No matter if it’s Men’s Health,LIVESTRONG.COM, or my brand, Born Fitness, I’ve seen some amazing changes from some incredible people. And most of the time, the individuals thank me for showing them the way.

My response: Don’t thank me. Thank you. 

Thank you for having the courage to pursue what lives deep within your soul. To answer the call that can be so intimidating and scary. And to open your eyes and see that you can have the life you want.

Accomplishing your dream is really no different than building a bigger bench press. All it takes is a deep breath, a clear plan and patience, and a desire to never stop trying.

As long as you keep coming and don’t quit, I’ll be here pushing you forward and providing the guidance to the type of life you choose to live.

This post was originally published on Greatist.com, but after questions about “what’s your background” became overwhelming, I thought it was time to share this here. -AB

Adam Bornstein

Adam Bornstein is a New York Times bestselling author and the author of You Can’t Screw This Up. He is the founder of Born Fitness, and the co-founder of Arnold’s Pump Club (with Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Pen Name Consulting. An award-winning writer and editor, Bornstein was previously the Chief Nutrition Officer for Ladder, the Fitness and Nutrition editor for Men’s Health, Editorial Director at LIVESTRONG.com, and a columnist for SHAPE, Men’s Fitness, and Muscle & Fitness. He’s also a nutrition and fitness advisor for LeBron James, Cindy Crawford, Lindsey Vonn, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. According to The Huffington Post, Bornstein is “one of the most inspiring sources in all of health and fitness.” His work has been featured in dozens of publications, including The New York Times, Fast Company, ESPN, and GQ, and he’s appeared on Good Morning America, The Today Show, and E! News.

The post The Born Fitness Approach to Health and Fitness appeared first on Born Fitness.