Keith and Kimberly Hartke

Submitted by Kimberly Hartke, January 26, 2006

Keith and I had health problems that motivated us to get serious about our physical fitness. Our parents are also struggling with various ailments, which made us aware of the consequences of neglecting our health. My father is fighting Cancer. Keith’s family also has a history of heart disease. Keith’s father had quadruple bypass surgery and died of heart failure several years later. His mom also has heart problems; she wears a pacemaker and is on heart medication.

A few years ago, Keith was diagnosed with high blood pressure and his Doctor put him on medication and told him he would have to take it the rest of his life. This was his wake up call. Kimberly had two different doctors recommend weight loss due to chronic knee pain and high cholesterol. I also felt tired and sluggish quite a bit. Our lifestyle was fairly sedentary (we were active but had done little regular exercise in recent years).

In January 2004, our goal to change our lifestyle, caused us to try the South Beach diet, which emphasizes a well balanced diet full of fresh vegetables, lean meats, ie., good carbs and good fats. We eliminated bad carbs such as white flour and potatoes, and bad fats such as fatty red meats and vegetable oil, and switched to lean meats and olive oil. That same month, we embarked upon an exercise program with the help of a personal trainer, James Phifer of Phifer Fitness.

The South Beach diet combined with personal training sessions twice a week, and cardio workouts 4-5 times a week resulted in a “total body makeover” within three months. Keith lost 30 lbs and dropped two coat sizes (from 42 to 40), Kimberly is down 20 lbs and an amazing 3 dress sizes (from size 10 to size 4).

We found having a fitness coach incredibly helpful, James taught us how to exercise to get the maximum benefit, he kept our routine varied and challenged us with aggressive workouts (way beyond what we would have done on our own). James also fostered the discipline of making exercise a priority, and he kept us accountable to our diet and exercise goals. We both feel that James was instrumental in helping us to shape up and slim down. We look forward to each session with him, and we are constantly learning new exercises and techniques from him.

Keith's blood pressure is now normal and much to the surprise of his doctor, he is now off the blood pressure medication. Both of our cholesterol numbers have improved dramatically. Kimberly, who previously had the worst cholesterol profile, was told by Dr. Agatston, the cardiologist who wrote the South Beach diet book, that her new improved cholesterol profile had the longevity factor—meaning I could live to be 100 years old! We are now patients of Dr. Agatston and plan to have him monitor our health annually, while we strive to maintain our new level of health. Also, my energy level is back, and the joint pain in my knees is all but gone. Most significantly, we have easily maintained our weight loss for two years now. We no longer view this as a diet, but as a change in eating and exercise habits we can maintain for a lifetime.

Keith is Principal Broker of National Realty, Kimberly runs an art gallery in their office space, Creative Home Gallery, and a vacation rental business, www.awesomebeachvacations, and www.awesomemountainvacations.com. They can be found on the internet at www.nationalrealty.biz.