Jeff Pettit decided to meet with a LiveWELL health coach during a very stressful time at work and after learning  of some potential health challenges. 

Another motivator was an upcoming canoe trip with his wife to the Boundary Waters in Minnesota to celebrate their 35th wedding anniversary. Pettit wanted to increase his strength and stamina to be ready to carry their canoe over portages. 

During Pettit’s visits with his health coach, Carla Melby, they worked to prioritize his health and intentionally practice healthy habits. Melby encouraged Pettit, an associate professor in the Department of Family Medicine within University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics and associate director of the Office of Consultation and Research in Medical Education for the Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, to feel good about each healthy choice and positive step, and to notice how even making small changes helped him to feel better.

Pettit qualified for nine free sessions with a personal trainer and was matched with personal trainer Elia, who taught him several full-body workouts. When Elia learned Pettit wanted to carry a 45-pound canoe during an upcoming wilderness trip, she devised a fun and innovative plan specific to his goal. Then, to test his strength and endurance, she loaded a bag with 40 pounds of weights to create a simulated canoe and instructed him to carry the bag on his back while walking around the indoor track.

“I cannot say enough about how helpful this program was for me,” Pettit says. “With Carla’s positivity support and Elia’s workouts, I am mentally and physically much better. My family has definitely noticed a change—I’ve lost a little weight and have happier outlook. I am in much better shape and ready to tackle carrying a 45 pound canoe for lengths up to a quarter mile at a time.

“I would strongly encourage anyone who wants to improve their life to contact a coach or connect with a personal trainer. It’s been fun and very enlightening.”