Pasquale Cozzolino ate pizza every day and lost more than 45 kilos. Mamma mia!
The problem
I moved to New York from Italy in 2011. My goal was to open a restaurant with a friend, but first I needed to get to know American food , so I started eating 10 or 11 times a day and stopped exercising. My two years of? Research? they resulted in an extra 63 kilos, high cholesterol and blood pressure, knee pain, back pain and rashes. My doctor warned me that my physical condition and lifestyle as a chef could become a serious problem.
The wake-up call
During a trip back to Naples in 2015, my friends and I went to the beach. I didn’t take off my shirt. I felt like a big piece of meat. The experience was so embarrassing that when I returned to New York I wrote down a goal for the new year: lose weight.
Food
He ate pizza five or six times a day at work. It’s my job! I still eat a margarita pizza during lunch in Ribalta, but I start my day with foods that allow me to keep my commitment to my nutrition plan. Breakfast is fruit, cereal, eggs, yogurt, and orange juice. Dinner is salmon with zucchini or broccoli on the grill. After changing my way of eating, it was no longer toxic for me to spend all day surrounded by food products.
Fitness
I used to think I didn’t have enough energy to exercise. Now I know that by doing so I gain vigor. I wake up at 6:30 in the morning three times a week to practice kickboxing in the gym before breakfast. My lunch break is usually my running time. I even found a group of Italians who also work in the restaurant industry to play soccer for fun and health.
The reward
I have much more energy. My general mood is more positive. My friends, family, and coworkers tell me that I look great. I am no longer ashamed of my appearance. Now when I go to the beach I have the confidence to take off my shirt.