Healthy Faces: Meet Doug Marquette
By Julie Perine on May 22, 2021 from Healthy Faces
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"Healthy Bridgeport" is comprised of health-concious individuals; the same group that served as the steering committee for Team Bridgeport in The Health Games, sponsored by Healthy Harrison.
After winning the competition between cities, Healthy Bridgeport is off and running with a number of initiatives, all intended to make residents healthier. To date, a free health app has been launched, The Biggest Loser and 10% Takedown weight loss competitions will end with The Bridge to Health 5K to be held June 24. Read all about it and register HERE.
Learn more about Healthy Bridgeport and all of its programs HERE at the Healthy Bridgeport Web site. Download the free Healthy Bridgeport app at your app store. Interact by tracking your goal progress and you might just win some fitness-related prizes.
Each week, Healthy Bridgeport features a "Healthy Face." Today, we feature Doug Marquette. Learn about him and what motivates his health and fitness journey here:
Thanks for being this week’s Healthy Face! Tell us a little bit about yourself…
For the last 16 years, I've owned an insurance agency with offices in Bridgeport and Philippi. Prior to that I was a Nationwide Insurance employee for 24 years, so I've been affiliated with Nationwide for 40 years and been in the insurance industry 42 years. I'd like to say I started at 10 years old as a child insurance prodigy but that's not true. In addition to work I serve on the Bridgeport Development Authority board, and the board of the Associated Businesses of Bridgeport, currently as their president.
I'm married to Jackie Shipman. I have two adult sons, a stepdaughter in college, and two beautiful granddaughters, Genevieve and Isla.
What are your favorite healthy meals?
My breakfast and lunch are the same nearly each day. I love these meals and they are very healthy. For breakfast, I have three scrambled eggs - simple and healthy - and for lunch I eat a keto chicken with bacon, cheese, spinach,
cucumbers, onion, and tomato with harissa aioli and bacon jam on the side from Winnie's. They are nearly perfect meals for me. I've successfully eliminated bread from my diet, so when I eat a cheeseburger, I've come to really enjoy it without the bun whether I make it myself or eat it at T&L.
cucumbers, onion, and tomato with harissa aioli and bacon jam on the side from Winnie's. They are nearly perfect meals for me. I've successfully eliminated bread from my diet, so when I eat a cheeseburger, I've come to really enjoy it without the bun whether I make it myself or eat it at T&L.
What is your favorite workout?
I need variety in my workout, so I have a lot of things I do, which keeps it fresh for me. I play singles tennis once a week year round, I rollerblade once or twice a week, I walk two or three times a week, I lift weights once or twice a week, and this spring I've started biking a couple times a week, which I've really liked. My plan is to add swimming to the schedule once The Bridge (Sports Complex) opens up. I look forward to doing all these things and never have to force myself to do them, which is the key for being consistent. I try to do two of them a day, but I always get in at least one.
How do you fit your workouts into your busy lifestyle?
How I fit fitness in my life starts with first not having to force myself to do it but instead wanting to do it. Then it becomes a matter of just scheduling it. For me, getting up early and getting something done before work is key.
What is your favorite self-help book?
I generally don't read self-help. I love the word of God and also enjoy reading books with historical relevance.
What is your favorite quote?
“I am come that you might have life, and that, more abundantly.”
How did your health journey begin?
I started towards healthy living in 1998. I was about 250lbs, working a stressful job, and doing nothing for exercise. Everyone in my family had started playing competitive tennis. Someone asked me if I was going to play. I told them I hadn't decided. I was either going to play and get in shape or die of a heart attack. I quit golf and replaced it with tennis and started then. It’s been a struggle since because of diet, but Healthy Bridgeport has been a significant help with that. My goal is to lose 40 pounds. I'm down 33, but the real goal that will make the .jpg)
difference is for this to be the last time I have to lose weight.
difference is for this to be the last time I have to lose weight.
What are some easy habits to incorporate for a healthier lifestyle?
There are two habits when you get started that are key: The first is find fitness activities you like to do. If you despise running, don't do it. Find something you like to do that you don't have to force yourself to do. For example, I couldn't run a mile if I had a gun to my head, but I can chase a tennis ball at full speed for two hours and love it. The second is record what you eat and pay particular attention to ingredients and the small details. For instance, I was shocked at how much sugar and calories were in ketchup and shocked at how many calories I was consuming with my coffee creamer. No ketchup and less creamer were easy impactful changes for me.
