Fit for Life registering students for fall class
Dr. Timothy McKnight, Caleb Raymond and Kelly Bowe met recently to discuss the Fit for Life program.
Caleb Raymond of Cambridge never thought about retirement. He didn’t think he’d live long enough to get there. He was obese, inactive and on nine different medications. Then he learned what a difference three months can make with Fit for Life.
He didn’t go willingly into the class. His sister Rachel Eckelberry had recently completed Fit for Life and was feeling great. When Raymond asked what she wanted for her birthday, Eckelberry wanted her brother to enroll in the program.
The former smoker is now down about 150 pounds from his highest weight at about 377 pounds. He attributes 112 of those pounds lost directly to his participation in the Fit for Life program, which he took online beginning in January 2024.
Fit for Life is not just about weight loss; it’s also about mindfulness, intentional healing, flexibility, cardiovascular fitness, strength fitness, learning how nutrition affects health and disease, and disease prevention and healthy aging.
Raymond continues to see results and has been able to discontinue some of his medications.
“Prescription acid reflux medication was the first thing I was able to come off of. My acid reflux was bad, and it kept me up at night,” Raymond said. “I was always eating, probably five to 10 times a day.”
Raymond no longer takes diabetes medication, and his doctor is weaning him from other medications for cholesterol and blood pressure. His eczema is nearly gone, and he’s saving at least $200 each month on prescriptions.
He continues to exercise, something he did not do before.
“I couldn’t run to my mailbox. Now I run Monday, Wednesday and Friday. I do a 5k every morning at 6 a.m., and then, right now on average, I’m at 5 miles a day, walking and running,” Raymond said, adding his wife says she can no longer keep up with him.
The program was a blessing.
“God can move mountains, and I was a mountain. I think God’s building me up for something. That’s what I tell everybody when they ask how did you do it,” Raymond said.
The Fit for Life program was created by Dr. Timothy McKnight, M.D., of Trinity Twin City Hospital in Dennison.
“I got it started because I didn’t have time in the office to help people reverse their illnesses because they only had 15-minute visits, and it wasn’t enough time to really educate them,” McKnight said.
Over the years the program has received grant funding and support in the amount of $1.5 million, and the program’s success got McKnight invited to a meeting at the White House in 2012.
Still, what touches McKnight and Kelly Bowe, Fit for Life director, most is stories like Raymond’s from past students who have turned their health around. The program has graduated 4,000 students.
Students are supported throughout the class with a variety of resources including lectures and a private Facebook page. They receive a 200-page workbook and a companion journal to track their progress. These resources were put together through a grant that allowed them to work with an adult learning specialist.
Raymond appreciated the way the course was presented.
“It was laid out to where you’re gently brought into it,” Raymond said, adding it is scary to take such a big step. “You’ve lived with whatever you’re dealing with, whether it be the different health problems you may have and how you’re going to fight them. It was not drastic change immediately, and the workbook is laid out to gradually get you there.”
Raymond would thoroughly study the workbook chapters.
“You can reread it three times, four times, and each time pull out something very good that you’re going to use going forward,” Raymond said.
The program teaches the human body does not always need as much food as we’ve been conditioned to eat. Participants can try fasting on a limited basis, and there are advantages.
“There are three things: First is to understand the difference, to feel the difference between an appetite and true hunger. Second is to realize a lot of times we’re putting stuff in our mouth when we’re stressed or we’re not even paying attention, and the third reason is to give your intestinal tract a rest. We rest every night, but our intestines, if we’re always eating, they don’t get a chance to rest, recover and regenerate,” McKnight said. “But there is a lot of good evidence that it stimulates stem cells. It stimulates the immune system to fight off cancer.”
The class will be held at Dover Public Library on Tuesdays for 12 weeks beginning Sept. 17. The cost for the program is $100, and it is limited to 50 in-person participants. There is no limit on the number of online students. Register at www.trinitytwincity.org or call Bowe at 330-401-5900.
“When it comes down to it, no matter what, it’s going to be on you to do what you’re supposed to do,” Raymond said. “But to have someone say ‘good job,’ or ‘you’re looking good,’ or ‘I can tell that you’re trying hard,’ it’s enough to get you through the day, through the hour, through not eating that, and it’s seeing improvements, whether they’re small or big.”