Bakersfield Life

Healthy ever after

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     Neal and Shelia Lyday were the picture of health when they tied the knot 13 years ago.  Lean, trim and fit, the Bakersfield couple said “I do” not only to each other, but also to an unhealthy lifestyle that put their health at risk. But several years ago, the Lydays finally said “I don’t” to the life they knew, reclaiming their premarital physiques. Their amazing success story has inspired others and landed them inside the pages of Men’s Fitness magazine and onto the radar of a national TV show.      Neal, a 41-year-old certified personal trainer, was athletic in school and no stranger to fitness. Shelia, now 39, never worried about weight gain or loss. But with marriage came complacency, and the two began getting fat together. Neal, who owned and managed a pool-service company, found most of his snacks and meals in the drive-through lane of fast-food restaurants. “Before I knew it, I’d consumed 10,000 calories a day,” Neal said. “We partied and ate a lot of fast food and takeout.” As their waistlines expanded, their physical activity disappeared. In nearly a decade, their sedentary lifestyle sent their respective weights skyrocketing – his to nearly 240 pounds, almost 80 pounds overweight, and Shelia’s to 70 pounds above her ideal weight. And though Neal came from an athletic family, heart disease was also part of his gene pool. His high cholesterol and triglycerides were flagging down a heart attack waiting in the wings.       Two years ago, their wake-up call came when Neal picked up a copy of a national fitness magazine. Neal took photographs of himself, and encouraged his wife to do the same. It would be the most important photo session of their life. “After looking at photos of myself, I thought, ‘I’m done,’” Neal said. The decision may very well have saved their lives. “I knew I needed to change and I wanted a better life for both of us,” Shelia said. “We weren’t getting any younger and we needed to get back into shape before things got worse.”       They began by carving 20 minutes out of every day of the week but one for cardio. Then they took a long, hard look at what they’d been consuming. They modified their daily intake, replacing fast food with fruits, vegetables, carbs and protein. “By having the support of each other we were able to stay focused. As a couple, having the same goals was necessary,” Shelia said. “Having one of us try to make a lifestyle change while the other stuck to the old ways wouldn’t work. We wouldn’t have succeeded if we hadn’t done it together.”       Together, they lost nearly a collective 150 pounds and an extraordinary amount of body fat. They significantly lowered their cholesterol and clothing sizes. “You have a 90 percent success rate if you’re doing this with a partner,” Neal said of their greatest collaborative effort. Today, they are the poster couple for health and wellness. “Changing our lifestyle and getting healthy has improved our quality of life. We are able to do things now that we couldn’t in the past,” Shelia said. “It feels great to have accomplished this and to know that we can help others do the same through Neal’s personal training.”      The Lydays have paid their success forward, helping some 50 to 60 others achieve the same success Neal and his wife have. “I’ve saved a couple of marriages too,” he added. “People are unhappy and sick and tired of being tired.”       Their advice to other couples and individuals in the same situation is simple: “You didn’t get here in two weeks and you’re not going to get back in shape in two weeks either,” Neal said. “Know that it takes time and this is a lifestyle change involving portions, not diets, and losing body fat, not weight.”