Revisiting the Dad Bod

Giovanni Roselli with daughter, Juliet Rose. Courtesy the author.
Exactly one year ago, Giovanni Roselli wrote about his plan to combat the “Dad Bod” after the birth of his daughter, Juliet Rose. In this month’s column, he looks back at the past 12 months and recaps his strategy thus far.

“Happy, healthy parents make happy, healthy children.”  – Dr. Miriam Stoppard

Exactly one year ago, I wrote about my plan to combat the “Dad Bod” after the birth of my daughter, Juliet Rose. In this month’s column, I’m going to take a look back on the past 12 months and recap how my strategy is working so far.   

Time flies…

I have been told many a times — “It goes by fast.” I 100-percent agree. I cannot believe that a year has flown by already and understand that it will continue to go by even faster. The older we get, the quicker life goes, and I think that once you have a child that’s when life begins really to fly by. I’ve done my best to cherish all the moments I can. I must admit, my favorite part of the day is when my daughter falls asleep on me.  

I wish I could find the right words to describe the love I have for my daughter, but it is literally impossible. I often say that if there were a stronger word for love, I would use it. The closest word I can use to describe her is as a “blessing.”  

I’ve been fortunate to work a lot of great jobs in my life and accomplish some things that I am both grateful and proud of. I’ve worked as an actor, wrestled professionally as “Romeo,” became an accomplished fitness professional, but being called ‘Daddy’ is far and away my most cherished title.  

Teamwork

Here’s one thing that’s also been confirmed — parenting a child is truly a team effort. My wonderful wife, Stacey, lets me sleep when she knows I have a big work day ahead of me, I make time for her to make sure she exercises, she still cooks amazingly healthy and delicious meals, I book massages for her, and the list goes on. We have both made sacrifices, but we always make sure we are still taking care of ourselves with our health and wellness in mind.   

Fitness, health and wellness 

Have my workouts changed? Yes. Has time management become even more important? Absolutely. Have I been able to manage my wellness and stay on track? I’m happy and proud to say that I have.     

In a past WAG article, I quoted Edward Stanley, Earl of Derby, who once said, “Those who think they have no time for exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness.” This is something that my wife and I truly take to heart. Take a look at the majority of the aging, elderly population who decided not to find time to exercise. There is usually a myriad of health-related and cognitive issues, medications, orthopedic concerns and hormonal imbalances, among other conditions.   

In my original Dad Bod article last year, I mentioned three different types of plans — the full workout, partial workout and quick workout. This has worked well for me thus far, and no matter how much time I have (or don’t have), I’ll always make sure to do something. My advice still rings true:  Doing something, anything, is better than doing nothing.  

Still want to say that you have no time? Here’s the simplest I can make it: Do one pushup either when you wake up or before you go to bed — if you do that every day you will have done 365 more pushups this year than you planned on. In some instances, that may need to be the mentality. What’s the alternative? Would you have rather done zero? Chances are just doing one consistently will probably snowball into additional efforts.

Entering Year 2

My daughter has yet to walk on her own. However, she can crawl like the wind, never stays still and couldn’t be more curious about everything in her sight, all to be expected from a 1-year-old. The walking is coming any day now, probably by the time this column is published. I have been told that once your child starts walking, the chase never ends and a whole new batch of time-management challenges begin.  

Glad I’ve been working out all these years so I can keep up to what’s ahead. I look forward to another eventful, healthy report card next year. 

A final note: To my daughter, Juliet Rose, I know one day you will probably read this, so I just want you to know how much I love you and how much I enjoy being your father. 

Reach Giovanni on Twitter @GiovanniRoselli and at his website, GiovanniRoselli.com. 

More from Giovanni Roselli
Lift weight to lose weight
You’ve probably heard it before:  You need to lift weights. It will...
Read More
Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *