Having children is very rewarding, but it can be hard to balance taking care of yourself with the commitments of being a father. Being a father means less free time than you had before. This may have been the time you spent taking care of your body’s needs, or maybe you weren’t living the healthiest lifestyle before and want to get in shape, but are finding it difficult to make time for exercise and proper nutrition.
SCNM class of 2016 alumnus Dr. Anthony Balduzzi founded the Fit Father Project to help busy fathers live a healthy lifestyle. Dr. Balduzzi was inspired to start this project by his own father, who passed away in 1999. “Growing up, I watched Dad work long, exhausting hours and neglect his health to put food on the table for me, my mom, and little brother. Dad skipped exercise, ate unhealthily, gained weight, and dealt with so much stress. His health slowly began to slip away. I know Dad was just doing what he thought was best for our family. Yet, I wish I had a time machine to go back and teach him what I now know about diet, exercise, and healthy living.”
The Fit Father Project is about more than diet and exercise. Dr. Balduzzi emphasizes finding a deep motivation for getting and staying healthy. In order to stick with a healthy lifestyle long term, one must have a purpose beyond looking good or shedding a few pounds. Assistance in finding this person, coupled with advanced fitness and nutrition coaching backed by thousands of hours of research is what makes the Fit Father Project unique.
We asked Dr. Balduzzi about how being a naturopathic doctor has helped him in this endeavor. He told us, “