Michael’s Journey: A Father, An Example, An Advocate

Michael Gallion used to suffer from the mid-afternoon crash. Overweight and working busy, long days as a nurse anesthetist at the University of Iowa Hospital & Clinics in Iowa, Gallion would hit a slump after lunch. “I had bad acid reflux and I wasn’t sleeping well,” said Gallion, who was 35 and weighed almost 235 pounds at the time. “I felt tired constantly.”

Following in His Father’s Footsteps

Five years earlier, his father signed up with Profile and had lost weight and kept it off. Gallion, a father of three himself, followed his father’s lead and became a Profile member himself. As he followed the plan, he watched his mind and body transform.

To date, he has lost 62 pounds, accounting for 26 percent of his body weight.* He feels amazing and is feeling the upside of a healthier lifestyle. “It’s a massive change,” he said. “My energy level is much better and I can get through the afternoon without feeling exhausted. My clothes fit better, I sleep a lot better. There’s no acid reflux. I don’t get tired nearly as easy.”

A Living Example To His Children

Beyond enjoying all the benefits of a healthier lifestyle, Gallion noted the importance of modeling his healthy habits for his three children. “They’ve never seen me at this weight,” he said. “They look at me in a different way.”

His 7-year-old son, in particular, is paying attention. Gallion would often times get up before his son in the morning and eat a Profile bar. When his son got up and saw that his dad wasn’t eating a bowl of cereal, he would refuse to eat his own. “I didn’t realize I had that effect on him,” he said. “It’s nice to know that I’m setting a good example for them and how they view eating.”

An Advocate For Healthy Living

Working in the medical field has made him see his priorities. When people come in to the operating room, many are suffering from preventable diseases. Gallion has made it a priority to talk about healthy foods. “A lot of the health issues people have are related to weight gain,” he said. “It made me realize, I want to get healthy and be around to see everything. I don’t want to have to have a laundry list of surgeries related to my weight.”

In combination with following the Profile food plan, Gallion has focused on exercise as well. He tries to hit the gym about 6 days a week. “At first, I could barely run a mile,” he said. “Now I can do three miles comfortably. Last summer, I ran five miles a couple times a week.”

Gallion was able to accommodate the Profile plan around his hectic work schedule, he hopes to inspire people who also have challenging work schedules. “I thought I would have problems because it can get fairly busy,” he said. “But I made it work. It was a lot easier than I thought it would be. When your coach gives you your plan, follow it top to bottom, every day.”

Viewing Nutrition Differently

Profile helped him shift his view of nutrition. “Now I think of food as something to live,” he said. Gallion also focuses on drinking enough water every day and cut out his typical two to three beers a day alcohol consumption.

Since his health transformation, Galion said he is frequently approached by people wondering how he did it – and how he is keeping it off. Several coworkers have signed up for Profile because of his journey and have started their own. “Most people are concerned about the cost,” he said, but it is affordable if you count the cost of eating out, additional snacks, trips to the coffee shop and other foods that would be replaced by your Profile food.

Either way, it’s worth it. “Can you put a price on health?”