Randy Rasmussen’s lifestyle change began in 2006 when he had his tonsils removed. After taking that first step to improve his health, he has changed his diet, exercise routines and overall lifestyle.
“I never thought I would get to the point I’m at today,” he said.
“It’s all because I got rid of my tonsils. I had strep throat three times a year until I had them out. I got rid of all the poison in my system, and then changed my diet.”
After his first triathlon in 2008, Rasmussen spent the next winter preparing for the next one.
“At first I was kind of scared,” he said. “What scared me the most wasn’t the biking, or the fact that I hadn’t run very much. But swimming in open water with a bunch of people was not my idea of fun.
“My nephew brought me a flyer from the Yankton triathlon. So I thought, ‘OK I can do this. It’s not very long and I can do it.’ So I went and did it and it was about the most exciting thing I’ve ever done in my entire life.”
After completing three triathlons, Rasmussen tried a vegetarian diet for eight months before he decided it wasn’t for him. Now he’s on the Blood Type Diet, a diet that correlates what foods and exercises work for each person depending on their blood type.
“I found out the vegetarian diet was not for me,” he said. “I didn’t get enough meat and I didn’t have enough protein so I was run
down when I shouldn’t have been run down.
“The nice thing about the Blood Type Diet is that it’s mainly whole foods. It’s not processed foods, so you’re not getting a whole bunch of bad calories. Every day I eat a salad and some dried fruit, nuts, and beans.”
Switching from processed foods to whole foods gave him more energy, and Rasmussen said after he got started, it became easier to keep doing.
“Once I stopped eating the foods I should avoid, I had more energy, I lost weight in about a week – not that I was trying to lose weight – and I kept it off and kept going,” he said. “Then I got it into my head that I was going to do longer triathlons. The first long one I did, I told myself I was never going to do another one. Now I’ve done four since and I’m going to do three more next year, basically because it’s a healthier way of living and I can do it now.”
Although the Blood Type Diet works for Rasmussen, he said it isn’t for everybody, but still focuses on eating foods such as fruits, vegetables, dried fruits and nuts instead of processed food.
“If you eat a handful of those types of foods, you can feel as full as if you were eating a whole box of processed foods. They’re healthier for you – you’re getting real calories instead of bad calories,” he said. “As far as eating goes, once you get into good habits you can stay with them.
“I try not to walk down the snack food isle, because even though I don’t buy any of it, looking at that stuff makes you think, ‘Why don’t you just eat that stuff.’ Once you get started it’s easy, but you bet it’s hard at times.”
Rasmussen spends a lot of his time at the Wellness Center bicycling five times a week, swimming three to four times a week, running three to four times a week and lifting two to three times a week.
“I train a lot, but if you just want to change your lifestyle and get healthy, it’s an hour a day,” he said. “Step away from the TV, get up and you can even do it in two work outs. You can work out for half an hour in the morning, and half an hour at night if you don’t have an hour.”
Although he has completely changed his lifestyle, Rasmussen says it doesn’t have to be as drastic for everyone who wants to live healthier.
“You can’t do this 100 percent of the time – nobody can. You can’t follow anything 100 percent of the time. There is that freedom,” he said. “It isn’t as bad that way. Every once in a while I can say, ‘OK, I’m going to have a Dr. Pepper.’ When I go out to eat, which is not very often, I have dessert. I’m not that much of a stickler about it. Doing these things has made me a lot healthier and has allowed me to do a lot of things I don’t think I ever would have done.”
Rasmussen said he will continue to use the Blood Type Diet, exercise routinely and compete in triathlons as long as he’s having fun.
“The diet thing – I think I’m going to do that forever. I would eventually like to do a full iron-man – I’ve done a lot of halves, and I’ve had a lot of success with them,” he said. “You just always want to keep going to the next step. I’m not afraid to try and fail.
The feeling of accomplishment you get after finishing something like that, whether it’s a short one or a long one, is worth the reward of all the training.”
