Free Health Education Series Coming to Ramona

Suzanne Butler keeping fit with bands. Photo by Jim Evans

By Jim Evans

Most people — those with any common sense, that is — would not put sugar in their gas tank and expect their car to run. Yet most people — with or without any common sense — consistently eat a diet laden with sugar and high-fat calories and expect their bodies to run at optimum.

So much for common sense.

“My message is one of ‘eat well to stay well,’ ” said health and fitness expert Suzanne Butler of Ramona, “learning how to take care of yourself, and choosing the right foods — ones that heal.

“Healthier foods make for a healthier body and mind and will give a better chance of resisting and recovering from illness. Doughnuts and coffee are not a recipe for success,” she said firmly.

Butler is especially concerned about nutrition for children who “can recognize the ‘Golden Arches’ even before they can speak!”

Butler has been promoting her message of health and nutrition for more than 28 years. One of six children in her family, and the only girl, she grew up in the San Joaquin Valley, where her father was a farmer and her mother a nurse-turned-homemaker. She began working in the fields at age 6 and became a competitive athlete in track and field by 7.

“I loved sports!” Butler recalled enthusiastically. “We ran track against the boys, and then the scorers would separate us for placing by gender. I was the best girl athlete and second overall in the school at age 12. Of course, this was before Title IX.”

The 1972 educational amendment required that schools, which receive federal funding, provide equal opportunities for members of both sexes. It specifically addresses the availability, quality and kind of benefits, and the opportunities and treatment that athletes receive.

“The fitness business was a natural path for me,” Butler said. She put herself through college working in health clubs and college sports programs and was hired to design and teach the spring conditioning program for the Fresno State football team.

She went on to earn associate and bachelor degrees in physical education with an emphasis on coaching and nutrition, and is a certified and licensed Holistic Health Practitioner. She also has been certified by the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America as an aerobics instructor — she taught for 12 years — and by FITOUR as a Master Practitioner Personal Trainer.

To no one’s surprise, Butler continued her pursuit of athletics by becoming an amateur natural (drug-free) bodybuilding champion for the prestigious American Bodybuilding Conference Committee. She competed professionally in the World Natural Bodybuilding Federation, eventually becoming a physique judge.

She has worked with clients of all ages, including many professional athletes and Hollywood stars, developing a reputation for life-changing results.

For the past several years, Butler has commuted from Ramona to her business — Team 4 Life — in Pacific Beach, but she now is launching a series of free educational seminars in Ramona designed to cover a variety of different health issues.

“The quick-fix ads on TV do not fix anything,” Butler said. “Most are very misleading and designed to grab the consumer and trigger impulse buying.”

“Fitness is over a billion-dollar business, and there are a lot of people trying to cash in on it. Be wary,” she warned.

“The power to change lies in education, beginning with one person at a time,” she added.

In this case, one seminar at a time. The first of the Team 4 Life Educational Seminars, “The Rainbow Diet,” will take place at 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 17, at the San Vicente Inn & Golf Course in San Diego Country Estates. It will feature nutrition specialist Paulette Suzanne, BA, CNC, NMD, from Carlsbad. The seminar is free and open to the public. However, space is limited, and readers are asked to RSVP by calling (760) 788-9434.

One of Butler’s favorite quotes is from U.S. Surgeon General and Vice Admiral Richard H. Carmona: “There is no greater imperative in American health care than switching from a treatment-oriented society to a prevention-oriented society.”

To learn more about the series of Prevention Plus Meetings and Healthy Lifestyle Presentations sponsored by Team 4 Life, call (760) 788-9434.