Outgoing Horowhenua District councillor Todd Isaacs hits the bag at Prime Performance.
Outgoing Horowhenua District councillor Todd Isaacs hits the bag at Prime Performance.
It is not uncommon for politicians to gain weight while in office.
Whether that could be attributed to stress, or the free food, or the countless hours sitting in meetings - who knows?
But Todd Isaacs has bucked that trend in a big way. He will exit the Horowhenua District Council chambers almost 40kg lighter than when he first sat at the table three years ago.
The 51-year-old one-term councillor, who did not seek re-election for a second term, was weighing in at 159kg after the last Christmas holidays.
"You get so busy and it does get away on you, and I came to the realisation that it had got away on me. I'd blown out. It was time to do something about it, to have a crack at my own wellbeing," he said.
"There's so many more things you can do. You think better, you feel better. Everything changes."
Isaacs said there was no magic recipe to the weight loss, no silver bullet, just hard work and commitment.
His initial goal was to be fit enough to play a one-off game of rugby for a Levin College Old Boys rugby club jubilee, to join in with some old mates, rather than watch from the sideline.
So, at the beginning of this year, he walked up to the doors of the Prime Performance gym in Levin, where his wife Kyra was a member, and took a step inside.
He's been back every weekday ever since - most days he goes at least twice a day - giving himself the weekends off.
"I've changed my philosophy from motivation to discipline now. Motivation will only get you so far. Discipline will beat motivation every day of the week," he said.
"The physical goes with the mental too. The more physically fit you are, the more mentally fit you get."
Isaacs credits Prime Performance gym owner Rene Olmas as a key figure in his weight-loss journey, mapping out a programme to suit and encouraging him to push his limits.
Rene Olmos and Todd Isaacs in action at Prime Performance.
"Rene has been awesome for me. He's a good man. He's very hard, but notices the little things and makes you work on stuff you wouldn't normally work on," he said.
"It isn't easy. There's a few ups and downs, but the trick is to stick at it," he said.
His next goal was a 50km adventure walk with friends in Taranaki in March next year.
Meanwhile, Isaacs said did not seek re-election for a second term as councillor at HDC, conceding the role was far more demanding than he had imagined.
His initial intention in standing was to be actively involved rather than criticise from the sideline, although he admitted to underestimating the demands of the role.
"I wasn't happy with the way our district was being portrayed, in the media, just watching it from afar. And I know people are quick to criticise, without putting their hand up. So I put my hand up," he said.
He wished every new councillor elected all the best for the coming term.
"It's a beast. It's so complex. A lot of it comes down to time. Time and experience. It's not as easy as it looks from the outside, I can tell you.
Outgoing Horowhenua District Councillor Todd Isaacs hits the bag at Prime Performance.
"There is a lot of support there, but it just takes time to fully understand. It's not anywhere near as simple as it looks from the outside."
He said the experience of Mayor Bernie Wanden and councillors like Sam Jennings, Ross Brannigan, David Allan and Piri Hira Tukapua would be vital in the coming term in helping new councillors come to grips quickly with a smorgasbord of issues.
"Years ago council might have had a few roads, a few parks and a few pipes, and one or two major issues to deal with in a term," he said.
"We've had at least six big ones on the table ... central government is pushing more and more the way of local government. It's putting more and more on council and council staff.
"I'd like to see a breakdown of rates to see how much now is actually central government tax."
Isaacs said if the demands on elected members were to continue to rise, he could see value in having people elected to council fulltime, and paid accordingly. The current base rate for councillors was less than $40,000.
"It's getting that way that the role almost demands it. Have far less councillors, but have them set up office fulltime and be accountable, and pay them accordingly," he said.
"We can be in a meeting at 2pm and come out at 10.30pm at night. The emails never stop ... I can tell you now, no one there at council table will be there for the money."
Isaac said he didn't have any hidden agenda burning away in the background, he just wanted to put his money where his mouth was.
"To be honest, I'd never been into council before," he said.
"I went in with a clean slate. I knew for the first six months I'd have to keep my ears open and my mouth shut to see how it all works, but honestly? You almost need a whole term to find out how it all really works."
Isaacs was the fifth highest polling candidate for the five seats on the Levin Ward in the 2019 election with 1718 votes.
Elected to the Levin Ward last week were Jennings and Tukapua, joined by new councillors Clint Grimstone, Alan Young and Mike Barker.
They join Paul Olsen (Miranui), Allan and Brannigan (Kere Kere Ward), Rogan Boyle and Jonathan Procter (Waiopehu Ward), Nina Hori Te Pa and Justin Tamihana (Horowhenua Māori Ward), and Mayor Wanden on the newly elected council.
