Meet Rolando Mercado: Be Fit Superstar

Job Title: Senior Community Resource Specialist
Department: Integrated Care Management
Years at MGH: 12
Team: Los Valientes

Reason Joined Be Fit:
I had heard about Be Fit, but kept putting it off for every reason I could find (too busy, taking vacation, not the right group).  I finally decided to take a leap of faith spring 2020.  The sessions started right around my birthday, so that gave me a good kick start.

How Be Fit Helped:
I love new approaches to every day routines.  I learned a lot of basic nutrition information that I should have known before, but never took the time to fully comprehend.  The weekly nutrition email was a plus and helped me plan my goals for the following week.

I told my trainer that I finally learned the mechanism of a proper push-up!  I also realized I was playing it safe with exercise and felt a "7" effort was good enough.  Now I have been pushing myself more to an "8" or "9" effort and I feel good! I was also happy to learn new fitness techniques (Tabata, core yoga, and even Zumba).  Because this happened during COVID-19, I was able to take classes online at home. 

Most of all, I feel that eating better and exercising regularly for 10 weeks during the health crisis was not only good for my body, but also for my mental health. I'm not sure if I would have coped so well with quarantining at home during COVID if I didn't have Be Fit helping me stay focused on self-care goals.

Favorite Thing About Be Fit:
I liked the non-judgemental attitude from my trainer, Damien, and my nutritionist, Emily.  Damien kept encouraging me and pushing in a very supportive way to keep the workout regimen going without any chastisement on the times I had to miss a couple sessions.  I discussed with Emily my awareness to drink less alcohol and she even found some cocktail recipes that had low ABV - I was very grateful she went out of her way to research it for me.  She was also very sensitive about the challenges of ethnic foods and shared some tips on still being able to eat traditional meals with minor adjustments.

When will I be eligible to do the program again?!