Does this sound familiar?
Sunday: “OK, I’m starting my diet/exercise program today.”
Wednesday: “I’m doing great! I’ve been to the gym three days this week and I’m eating well.”
Friday night: “Oh, well. It’s Shabbos. A little challah won’t hurt.”
Saturday afternoon: “You have to eat cholent on Shabbos.”
Sunday: “OK, I’m starting today for real!”
For many of us, that scenario plays out over and over and over, sometime 52 weeks out of a year. And every year sees just a little more weight gain, or loss of control over food, or decrease in weekly exercise time.
People need a way to break that cycle, and Yael and Elnatan Rudolph hope they have found the answer. Earlier this month, they launched kosher-fit.com, a website dedicated to the fitness of the Orthodox community.
Kosher-fit.com offers the guidance and advice of over a dozen local professionals in the fitness and nutrition industries, from personal trainers to nutritionists and more. Its goal is to be a resource for people on the path toward a healthy and fit lifestyle, specifically those living a traditional Jewish lifestyle.
“Shabbos and holidays are hard,” noted Elnatan. “The food is plentiful and delicious and ‘one taste can’t hurt.’ But it’s always hard to get back on track. People need to learn that Shabbos isn’t a cheat day, and how to do winter break healthfully. We started kosher-fit.com because people need information.”
Kosher-fit.com provides exercise, fitness and health tips, along with healthy and tasty recipes that do not have to be modified for the kosher consumer. There are featured articles offering tips like “Fat Loss 4 Idiots,” “Cardio Workouts With…,” “Self-Esteem Self-Help Programs,” Stomach Exercise to Lose Belly Fat” and “How Healthy is Popcorn?” All articles are written by local professionals – currently, they hail from Bergen County, Brooklyn and the Five Towns – and the Rudolphs are actively seeking additional professional involvement.
“It is easier to get people to view the website than to contribute to it,” Elnatan said. “Nutritionists and personal trainers all have full-time jobs and it’s hard for them to find the time to write.” He encourages anyone who is interested in contributing to reach out to him.
“There are so many people in this field. We wanted to create a place to bring them all together,” Elnatan said.
He continued, “We provide pictures and videos featuring people you know, so you can relate to them and say, ‘I can do this, too.’”
What inspired the Rudolphs to start this website? For them, it was the natural continuation of a journey they began six years ago. “Six years ago I had stomach surgery and in one year I went from 400 pounds to 240 pounds,” Elnatan stated. “But then I gained 80 pounds, despite not really being able to eat anything, and realized that I could easily put all the weight back on. My wife also had the surgery and had lost 120 pounds. We decided that we had to make a lifestyle change.”
“You can’t keep doing the same thing and expecting different results,” he added.
Yael is now a certified personal trainer, teaches senior girls fitness at Ma’ayanot and is also a nutritional consultant. Elnatan is a certified spin instructor. They changed their lives and never looked back, and now they want to share their passion with others.
“You don’t get into fitness and nutrition for the money,” Elnatan joked. “I teach a 5:15 a.m. spin class because I love it.”
Part of what inspired the creation of kosher-fit.com was the Rudolphs’ intention to give the kosher-keeping community more options. They wanted to offer advice and motivation, but they also hoped to provide readily available healthy food. They plan to open a kosher cafe in Tenafly to accomplish this goal. They will serve fresh salads, wraps and smoothies, all appropriate for the health-conscious person on the go.
The Rudolphs are excited about their new ventures and are hoping that over time they will get more and more contributors involved with the website. They also still have a few spots available if people wish to invest in the cafe.
To view the website, visit kosher-fit.com. For more information, or if you are interested in contributing your expertise or would like information regarding the cafe, contact Elnatan by email at [email protected] or [email protected].
By Jill Kirsch
