Wilkinsburg Man 'Takes Shape for Life'

Eric Fithyan has reshaped his mind, body and confidence level after losing 70 pounds through a program called Take Shape for Life.

“I realized when I had to have friends come over to my house to put my shoelaces into my shoes so I didn't have to bend over, and I had to roll into my car, I thought this is absolutely ridiculous,” Fithyan said. “I went from a size 40 waist to a 32 and it has just been amazing.”

Fithyan, 27, of Wilkinsburg, who works at of Monroeville and also is a board member on , had been encouraged to join the program last summer but wasn’t ready.

He said he decided to hit the gym, but the workouts weren’t burning the amount of calories he was consuming, which hovered around 5,000 a day.

“My big things were I just couldn’t breathe and do the things I wanted to do, and I wanted to play tennis and I have done that recently,” Fithyan said. “I was tired of looking heavy and my high blood pressure was out of control. To be 27 and have blood pressure that is 170 over 30 was just out of control - I don’t feel the way I used to feel anymore.”

Fithyan started the program at 252 pounds and has lost 70 pounds since March with Take Shape for Life. It’s based off of meal replacements and the principles of a five and one system with five replacement meals and one regular lean and green meal, consisting of meat and vegetables.

“The food is processed through Medifast and the program was developed by a doctor in Maryland,” Fithyan said. “A replacement meal is anything from a soup to a shake.”

The program costs $11 a day and all of the food is sent to those who join. Fithyan said the porgram is promoted by doctors across the country and also has been promoted by Johns Hopkins University.

“You have those five meals throughout the day and start eating within the first half hour of the day to break your fast overnight and then just keep your metabolism up and it puts you in fat burn, but it’s a moderate fat burn so you don’t lose any of your muscle mass and it just kind of eats your fat away,” he said. “The program guarantees two to five pounds a week and I have steadily lost about five pounds a week since I have been doing it. It has been great.”

Fithyan also became an independent health coach with Take Shape for Life. While losing the weight, each person gets a coach who checks in once a week to see how their progress is going, make sure the food is meeting their needs and to address any other issues.

“They use the trilogy of healthy mind, healthy body and healthy finances,” Fithyan said. “The company is not just a diet program. Through this whole process, I work through a workbook that talks about your goals, why you want to do it, what’s a healthy lifestyle. When you transition, the health coach will transition me and help me learn how to eat vegetables, fruits and how to start to eat starches again. That is the exciting thing - that I will be able to keep the weight off.”

The program is based on optimal body health with a chart that connects height, weight and optimal goals. Fithyan’s goal is to get down to 165 pounds, so he has 20 pounds to go.

“I have lost my high blood pressure medication and I have five clients right now,” he said. “One guy was down to half of his high blood pressure medicine dose within a week and he is over 57. It’s really about getting America healthy and changing people’s lives.”

Fithyan said not only does he physically feel better, but his confidence and work productivity has been “through the roof.” The way he looks at food and health also has transformed.

“It’s amazing to see the amount of food people consume,” Fithyan said. “I was one of those people. It has been eye-opening to me. I was always a dessert eater and I don’t eat dessert anymore. Now I can barely eat all of my meals in one day - I keep my metabolism going.”

For more information contact Fithyan at 412-518-0804, email him at efithyan@gmail.com or visit http://coacheric.tsfl.com.