About Howtobefit.com
Howtobefit.com is a
sole proprietorship located in Albuquerque, New Mexico. It is owned and
operated single-handedly by Richard Dafter. I have a
Better Business Bureau AAA Rating, my online store is
secured by GeoTrust and I
am a
Verified
Authorize.net Merchant. Go to the
online store and
click on the seals of the Better Business Bureau and each security system to
verify that you will have a safe and secure shopping experience.
In January of 2007,
I became an Independent
Beachbody Coach and I am very proud to say that as an TBB Coach, I am part
of a nationwide wellness revolution. This opportunity has grown way beyond what
I ever dreamed possible and I now have almost 2,000
Beachbody
Club members and guests, all of whom are people just like you who want to
get fit and feel healthy.
Goals of Howtobefit.com
With a
wealth
of health and fitness articles to improve your quality of life and the
absolute best security for online ordering, the goal of my website is to be the
most reliable and informative fitness website on the Internet. I personally
guarantee that each and every one of my visitors and customers will leave my
site having had a positive experience. By providing prompt and courteous
service and unbeatable prices, I now have an exceptionally large group of loyal
and satisfied customers. I will do everything possible to make sure that you,
too, will be a satisfied customer and that you will benefit from all of the
information that Howtobefit.com provides.
I am driven to help
and guide you to improving your health and fitness because I have a chronic
illness which has robbed me of my health. By telling my personal story, I hope
to help others know that with will and perseverance they, too, can
achieve their fitness and health goals.
Prior to May 1985,
I was super fit and super healthy, routinely running between 50 and 70 miles a
week. Between March 16th and May 5th 1985, I ran 34:32 for 10K, 57:46 for 10
miles, 53:20 for 15K, 27:38 for 5 miles and 16:26 for 5K. I was 34 years old.
On May 17, 1985, at around 5:00 pm on a Friday night, I was driving home with
my then five year old daughter and we hit a van broadside. The van had been
stopped in the left lane of a four lane road with its left blinker on and
unexpectedly made a right turn out of the left lane directly in front of us.
That accident, although we both survived, in an instant, ruined my health and
changed my life. On Sunday, May 19th, I ran the Midland Run 15K (which I had
run and eventually would run or try to run, 13 years in a row) and ran
53:03.
The next day,
Monday, I had what seemed to be a toothache. This began a ritual of going back
and forth between dentists and ear, nose and throat specialists, each saying I
had a sinus infection and not a toothache or a toothache and not a sinus
infection. After 3 years and 13 doctors and specialists, a root canal,
extraction of a tooth and countless prescriptions for antibiotics, a dental
specialist found a hairline fracture in the tooth that had actually been
damaged by the car accident, which had allowed bacteria to enter my jawbone,
cause an infection in the jawbone and a cyst to form in the adjacent sinus. I
had to have oral surgery on my jawbone with no Novocaine (it would spread the
infection) at 9:00 one night and then later, surgery to remove the cyst in my
sinus, but my health issues continued.
Thinking that my
health nightmare was finally over, I was devastated to find out over the next
20 years that my health was irreversibly ruined. Three doctors, two of whom
were specialists and the last at the University of Pennsylvania hospital,
confirmed a diagnosis of Chronic Fatigue Immune Deficiency Syndrome and a
systemic yeast infection from the overuse of the prescribed antibiotics. The
doctor who performed the surgery on my sinus also performed a Caldwell Luc
procedure which "opened up my sinus" and permanently altered the sinus in such
a way that I cannot blow that left nostril and I have had perhaps as many as a
hundred sinus infections in that sinus since.
Out of a $10,000.00
settlement from the car accident, I got about $3,000.00 (the lawyer took the
rest) and out of that, I bought my first Polar heart rate monitor in 1986 - a
Polar Vantage XL. That is what led me to become a Polar authorized dealer. At
my worst, I was so weak that I had to sleep on the floor downstairs because I
could not walk up a flight of stairs and obviously could not work. Even on a
yeast and sugar free diet and the antifungal Diflucan (at $12.50 per pill per
day, with no health insurance) to combat the systemic yeast infection, I only
functioned at about 50%. Given my physical gifts and will, however, that was
enough to lead a somewhat normal life. I became a personal trainer to have a
healthy occupation (for many, many years I had managed a woodworking shop, but
could no longer do the physical labor and it didn't seem like a healthy
occupation given my compromised immune system). I also started my
www.howtobefit.com website to spread the gospel of fitness (a college aptitude
test showed that I should be a brick layer or a minister, so helping others
with their physical walk through life seemed just right).
As for running, it
came back at times, ( in
1995, I ran the Philadelphia Independence Marathon again) but I would never
know what to expect from my body which was constantly being battered by health
issues. I basically lost all confidence in my running. My marriage also failed
because my wife wanted me to be able to make more money, but I simply couldn't.
I moved to Albuquerque because New Jersey was too damp and the climate here is
much better for my yeast issues and to run. I also needed to get away from a
racing scene that I once dominated and which had become a source of
embarrassment. I began personal training in earnest, as well as coaching
running at the high school and club level. At first, I ran well here, but the
arrhythmias (high heart rates when I was running) that I developed, became much
more frequent. In fact in my first race here, the Albuquerque's Finest Half
Marathon, I had an arrhythmia at 5 miles walked to 6 miles, stopped for my
heart rate to come down from over 200 and still ran 1:30:00. At the finish, I
mentioned to a local doctor/runner that I had to walk because I had an
arrhythmia and he scoffed, "If you had had an arrhythmia, you would be dead."
Runners don't like to hear excuses or reasons and although I had a few very
good races here, I began to avoid them. To this day, when I go to the track and
can't keep up, my peers trash talk me, but in defense of them, they don't know
why I am running so poorly because I refuse to make excuses. My challenge is
for me to deal with, not complain about.
With my fitness
websites and fitness blogs, I am fully committed to helping others in achieving
their health and fitness goals. I am a
Beachbody Coach so
that I can coach and mentor people online to achieve the same goals. From 2001
to 2005, I ran 7 days a week without missing a day, and averaged almost a 10K a
day. Then Grace came along and waking up in the night for feeding and so forth
plus being a full time dad has really impacted my running (not to mention the
additional effect of the second baby, Carly). Now I get up at 4:00 am to work,
do a 30:00 - 45:00 strength workout at 4:45 am five days a week and then work
and be with my children until 4:00 pm, when I go run. Although I run 7 days a
week, sometimes that means just 1/2 a mile on a bad day, but I am thankful for
that because many, many people with physical, weight and health challenges
can't do even that.
Even with five
websites, it is quite a struggle to feed a family of five. But having lost
mine, fitness and health are my passions and I will continue to persevere in
spreading the "gospel" of fitness. I personally process and ship all orders and
answer all of your phone calls and emails, so I know that you are getting the
most security for your transactions and the most knowledgable recommendations
and answers to your questions. I welcome any questions that you may have and
always answer my emails and phone calls promptly. Direct your email questions
to howtobefit@aol.com or phone me with
questions toll free at 866 797-7336.
If you would like to
visit my sites and blogs they are:
Beachbody
Store Howtobefit.com Beachbody Coach
Site Guide to P90X
Blog How To Be Fit With
Coach Rich Blog Heart
Rate Training Blog
| Richard Dafter |
|
| President and OEO (Only Executive
Officer) |
|
| Howtobefit.com |
|
| Albuquerque, New
Mexico |
|
Rich and
daughters Grace & Carly - his constant companions
|