In Episode 041, Allen Lundy explains what led him to be a health coach

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Today I will be speaking with a man who just got tired of the way he looked and how little energy he had. As he was inching toward his 50^th birthday, Allen Lundy was also putting inches on his waistline. But a decision to change worked to alter the direction of his life. Today, he has helped thousands of people adopt healthier lifestyles.

Allen used to be a computer coder, but he wanted much more freedom than working in an office every day. So he, his wife and three teenage children sold their home and moved into a recreation vehicle. For five years, they traveled all over America living a lifestyle many people dream about.

But, as Allen approached his 50^th birthday, he started experiencing signs of aging, which included aches and pains as well as an overall lack of energy. Allen forgot what it felt like to feel good. He knew he needed to lose weight, and he watched some friends shed pounds rather quickly on the Optavia program.

He started the program hoping to lose 20 pounds. After losing that relatively quickly, he kept increasing his goal. Eventually, he lost 65 pounds in five months. Today, eight years later, Allen is 56, but enjoys a much healthier and much more active lifestyle.

I met the Lundy family back in 2015 when I was traveling in an RV myself. As I watched Allen lose weight, I watched my waistline expand. Although I traveled around the country as well, I did little more than sit at a desk in my motorhome for three years.

By the time I gave up RVing myself, I had ballooned to nearly 275 pounds and my blood pressure was dangerously high. I worked with Allen and lost more than 70 pounds from mid-April to the end of October in 2017. I maintained a somewhat healthy lifestyle until COVID made a mess of everything. So I went back on Allen’s Optavia program in mid-June and lost another 57 pounds so far this year.

Allen is doing so much more after losing his weight and adopting a more active lifestyle. He said it breaks his heart to see older adults just going through the motions of life because they lack the energy to do anything productive. Those folks saved and invested their entire lives in order to travel in an RV, but, once retired, they were confined to the campground. They weren’t healthy enough to do any of the things they had originally planned to do.

Allen blames the food industry for producing high-fat, high-calorie, but easy-to-prepare, low-nutrition food. Yet, people share the blame by adopting a sedentary lifestyle where watching television is more fun that taking a walk.

The program Allen teaches is super-simple. People simply change their habits to eat five light fuelings a day plus a larger meal consisting of lean protein and vegetables. They also start moving, whether walking or doing some exercises.

I loved Allen’s explanation of how the human body burns energy from four buckets of fuel, the third being fat. People rarely get to the fat-burning stage because they keep replenishing the first two buckets, which consist of sugar, free carbs and glycogen.

By sticking to the Optavia plan, people lose weight relatively quickly while learning better portion control and how to make healthier choices in what to eat. That way, once they achieve their weight-loss goal, it’s easier for them to keep the weight off.

Allen and his wife, Margie, are happy to talk to people of any age who want to enjoy a healthier, more active lifestyle. They especially want to work with seasoned citizens to help them improve their “why power” to ensure they have the energy and physical strength to do all the things they want to do in retirement.

Clients don’t pay anything to Allen directly for his coaching services. The only cost people incur is the food they purchase through the Optavia plan, and the company compensates Allen from that.

To connect with Allen, email him at allenlundy17@gmail.com, or connect through Facebook at www.facebook.com/allenlundy.

That’s all I have for this week’s show. If you’d like help in identifying a purpose for your life or to get help planning your next steps, I’m offering a complimentary brainstorming session to members of the Forward From 50 Facebook community. For details, connect with me on Facebook or visit www.forwardfrom50.com.

I’ll have another inspirational interview on the next episode of the Forward From 50 podcast. Thanks for listening. If you like this show, please consider leaving a review wherever you download the episodes.