Wellness with Friends - Q & A with Shaun Fulford

I’m excited to share my very first interview with you! I recently had the pleasure of seeing my friend Shaun Fulford here in New York City. We see each other a few times a year when he’s in NYC for business, and I’ve been noticing something about him over the last few years: he’s shrinking. Dramatically.

Shaun’s a normal guy; that is to say, he’s not a fitspo celebrity or a social media influencer (although, after this…). He’s a husband, father, and a successful sales executive who works for a national brand denim company. While Shaun has always been super-focused on his career, he hasn’t always been as focused on his own health and wellness. Four years ago that changed. He dialed it in and has maintained his focus for over four years, seeing some dramatic changes as a result. Oh—and did I mention he’s also one of the nicest guys I know? He's Canadian; 'nough said.

Shaun’s health and wellness journey has been filled with challenges, set-backs, exciting accomplishments, as well as deep learning about his own body, mindset, and what it takes to improve his health and wellness. We’ve talked about his journey off and on over the years, and every time we do I’m inspired to make changes in my own life; I hope you are too! Read on for our conversation.

Q: Shaun, when I saw you a few years ago, you had started making a noticeable physical transformation. What prompted you to improve your health and wellness?

A: My wife and I had decided to take our kids on a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Disneyland, the Happiest Place on Earth ™, and I was…miserable. I was the unhealthiest and unhappiest I had ever been, weighing in at 340 pounds. I was walking around Disneyland with a bum knee, popping Advil, and it hit me—if I didn’t make some serious changes, I wouldn’t be around for my family. At the time, I was eating terribly and drinking too much. My health, by any metric, was not good.

Q: You’ve made some dramatic improvements to your health and level of fitness over the last four years. How did you start and what did you do?

A: One of the first things I did when I started this journey was a lot of research. I wanted to find an exercise program that would help me get my health and wellness back—one that I could stick with. I looked at a lot of options, but kept coming back to CrossFit. The team mentality of CrossFit reminded me of the camaraderie I felt when I played basketball and other team sports.

A dramatic change. It's taken Shaun time and effort, but it's all been worth it.

Q: How have you sustained your motivation and enthusiasm over the last four years?

A: Results are motivating, and when I started seeing results from CrossFit it just really fueled me. I was getting stronger and doing things I never thought I would do again, like pull-ups, and I had to buy smaller clothes. It was just insanely motivating seeing those results.

But I know that to keep seeing results I have to focus on the process. To do that I maintain consistency in my workouts, scheduling them like I would a work meeting or conference call; it’s that important for me, and it leaves no room for excuses. I make my fitness and health a priority.

Q: What do you think is the biggest obstacle to sustaining motivation, and do you have any tips or tricks for others?

A: The biggest challenge I think people, myself included, have is wanting to see instant results and becoming demotivated when it takes longer than you think it should to see them. My personal journey has been going on for over four years, and I’m still not at the goal that I have in my head—mainly because as I improve the goal evolves.

As far as tips or tricks, try to focus on what you’ve already accomplished. Each day that you accomplished a goal, no matter how small, was a win. Focusing on that will help you stay disciplined and motivated for the long term. Also, give yourself some leeway throughout the process; you can’t cut out everything you enjoy and expect to stay disciplined for very long.

Lastly, having a support system is invaluable, whether it’s your friends or family. For me, the support of my family has been a big key to my success; it would have been impossible to do this without their 100% unconditional support. Taking care of myself is an inherently selfish act that requires me to take time away from my family. Having their support and understanding has been key to successfully making long-term change.

Q: What does a typical week look like for you in terms of workouts, sleep, and food?

A: A typical week when I’m not traveling for work looks like this:

• Workouts: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. I coach my daughter’s basketball team; when they’re in season the weekdays get pretty busy, so I’ll shift a weekday workout to the weekend.

• Sleep: 7.5 or so hours per night (in bed by 10:30pm, awake at 6:00am).

• Food: Three main meals a day with a couple of snacks during the day, and a protein shake at night to fuel my body for my workouts. My diet is focused on vegetables and protein.

A typical week when I’m traveling looks much the same, except I may work out a bit less, based on my schedule. I make it a point to seek out CrossFit boxes wherever I travel, but if I can’t make it to one, I’ll do a workout in the hotel gym or do bodyweight exercises (air squats, push-ups, burpees, sit-ups, etc.) in my hotel room.

Q: Do you ever feel a sense of deprivation or that you’ve had to make a lot of trade-offs or compromises to get to where you are now?

A: I really haven’t felt a sense of deprivation or that I’ve had to give up a lot. Back when I started I knew that I wouldn’t be successful if I felt deprived, so I’ve allowed myself to have a cheat meal or day here and there—I just make sure it doesn’t turn into a cheat week! I still enjoy most of the things I enjoyed in the past, just in moderation—it’s a balancing act. The best thing is that I know how to get myself back on track if I do have a couple of cheat meals.

Q: What's been the hardest thing for you on this journey?

A: The hardest part of this 4+ year journey has been hitting plateaus and having to fight my way through them. I’m in my 40s and sometimes it just takes my body longer to react to the changes I make in my workout and diet routine than it would have when I was younger. It can definitely be frustrating, but it’s just something that I’ve had to get used to. I try to concentrate on the fact that I’m doing what’s right for my body, and I know that eventually my body will realize it as well!

Q: At one point I know you worked with a nutrition coach (full disclosure, that coach was not me). Why did you decide to work with a coach?

A: I started working with a nutrition coach because I was at one of those plateaus for a really long time. I quit drinking about 2 years ago. At that time I weighed about 264 pounds and I was convinced that I would lose weight like crazy once I stopped drinking, but no matter what I tried I couldn’t lose weight. At most, my weight changed by about 4 pounds, staying within a range of 260-264 pounds for a year.

When I finally sat back and evaluated what I was eating, I realized that I had absolutely no idea how to properly fuel my body. So I started working with a nutrition coach to help me learn how to eat and hopefully lose more weight.

Q: What were the benefits of working with a nutrition coach vs. going it alone, and would you recommend it to others? If so, why?

A: Working with a nutrition coach was one of the best things I could have ever done. My strength and endurance increased, the amount of time I needed for recovery decreased, and I started losing weight again—over 24 pounds!

One of the biggest takeaways from working with a nutrition coach was the knowledge of how to properly fuel my body. When I was working with my coach I wrote a note to myself that said, “everything you eat either takes you closer or further away from your performance goals!” I still have that note on my desk and I look at it every day.

I would definitely recommend to anyone that they work with a nutrition coach, regardless of how good of a job you think you’re doing on your own. A coach can help you get results you wouldn’t get on your own.

Q: What are you most proud of when it comes to your health and wellness journey, and what’s been most gratifying?

A: I think the thing I’m most proud of is how my kids have reacted to my journey and to the “new” me. I can tell they’re proud of the changes I’ve made, and I hope that the example I’m setting for them will help them now, and later in life as well.

The most gratifying thing about this journey is that I feel like an athlete again, and that’s awesome! I’ve participated in some CrossFit competitions and have done fairly well. I also ran three Spartan races (Sprint, Super, and Beast), and have actually started playing a little basketball again. None of these things would have been possible a few years ago.

Q: Last question, what does health and wellness mean to you?

A: For me, health and wellness means being the best you that you can be. It’s about being able to do the things I want to do, when I want to do them, without physical or mental limitations. It also means helping other people be their best; so one of the things I’m working on now is getting my Level 1 CrossFit coaching certificate this year, so I can help others regain their own health and wellness. The CrossFit community has been so amazing in helping me change my life, and I want to do the same for others.

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While I follow celebrities and jacked fitspo influencers on social media, I decided to do this interview with Shaun after looking around at the people in my life and realizing that I was just as inspired by all they were accomplishing with their health and wellness. People like Shaun are inspiring because they improve their health and wellness on the DL, while doing the everyday stuff of life: working full-time, raising kids, being a part of their community. I hope to bring you occasional interviews with other people like Shaun, and I hope you find them just as interesting and inspiring as I do. If you know anyone who has made an inspiring commitment to their health and wellness and who has wisdom and insights to share, please contact me.

*Shaun's home CrossFit box is Crossfit Funky in Milwaukee, WI. CrossFit can be a great way to get fit and connect to a passionate community of like-minded people—one of the things that can keep you engaged and consistently active. As always, check with your own doctor to make sure you are cleared to participate.