After recently researching and editing a list of Dallas-based boot camps and nutrition plans for a recent blog post for D Weddings, I was intrigued by a particular local program: Utopia Food & Fitness. (The fact that I was intrigued by any fitness program means there was something special about this one.) The scientifically calibrated food and fitness regimen promises losing pounds and inches while only working out 40 minutes a week for six weeks and eating prepared food by local chef Mike Smith (of The Common Table and Thomas Avenue Beverage Company, as well as the the now-closed The Green Room and Arcodoro & Pomodoro). No cardio? No cleanses? No intense kick-your-butt military-style boot camp? Crazy talk.
The hectic working-mom-of-two in me wanted to believe what I was reading, but the skeptical editor knew there had to be a hook.
I haven’t worked out in years. In fact, I haven’t been a member of a gym/class/workout plan since I got married almost seven years ago. I’m an active mom who often pushes a stroller down the Katy Trail and chases her kids at the park, but go to an organized class at a gym? Um, no.
Who has time for that when you’re working full-time and shuttling kids through carpools and activities? I can’t even get motivated to walk across the street to the downtown YMCA to take a class on my lunch break.
And not surprisingly, I am not happy with the way my clothes fit. I have that last few hard-to-drop pounds that come with a baby. Every time I zip up my jeans it’s met with a sigh. A grunt. A frown. My husband sees me reach for the denim shelf in my closet and runs for his life. I am not a nice person when I get dressed.
And let’s not even talk about the impending thought of going to the pool with my two kids. I think at one point in the last year I have Googled “cute full-body bathing suits that cover all the skin.”
The fact is I have not found a way to fit in a workout plan that doesn’t require me to get up before 7 a.m. (Nope, never gonna happen.) or cook uber-healthy, Paleo-clean-low-carb-whole meals that are hard to maintain. If my kids are eating Chick-fil-A, so am I. Because that’s one more meal I don’t have to make.
I needed a plan. One with results. And one that was easy on a hectic schedule.
I needed a plan. One with results. And one that was easy on a hectic schedule. The promise of a low-time commitment and prepared meals was enough for me to book an information session.
I met with Utopia’s fitness director Stephanie Stephenson to see if my goals matched up with the program’s promises. And I had to taste the food. If I can’t stomach the meals, this is never going to work. (I barely made it a week eating another, ahem, healthy food chain’s prepackaged food.)
Stephanie and I talked results–a few inches here, a few pounds there. Yes, I had to step on a scale. Yep, she measured my inches. And she even got out that scary body fat caliper. (When it’s coming at you, it’s a little intimidating.) She input my information and came up with a personalized plan and realistic goals.
We also talked strategy: eat their meals, drink water, work out two days a week for 20 minutes. No cardio. That’s it. I can still drink coffee, but I have to give up alcohol. I gave it up for nine months. Twice. I can do six weeks.
I took home a few prepared meals from the refrigerated case and tasted a sampling of dishes. After downing the double chocolate muffins and chicken quesadilla, I decided this was definitely doable. I called Stephanie and booked my first training session. This is happening.
I’ll be back next Monday to recap my first week on the program.
Ryan Conner is associate editor of D Weddings and D Home.
