Last summer, Shay Butler and his son Gavin accepted a challenge to eat healthier and lose weight—together.
The Butlers, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and famous vloggers known for their “Shaytard” videos, documented their experience of the 30-day challenge in a book, “Fat Dad, Fat Kid: One Father and Son’s Journey to Take Power Away from the ‘F-Word.’”
Deseret News reports that one of the biggest challenges for Shay and Gavin was not eating sugar, but they helped each other to not cheat. The book includes some of Gavin’s journal entries and experiences he had while participating in the challenge with his dad. On day 16, the then 11-year-old, wrote,
There have definitely been times when I’ve really wanted something that’s not healthy, and we’ve been able to talk each other through it. The other night, I was eating homemade pizza and we talked about how it’s not healthy to eat another slice just because we want it.
Shay explained to Deseret News that as he became focused on providing for his family, he allowed his health to become less of a priority. Wanting to make a change, Shay decided that journaling the 30-day challenge with his son was a good way to do just that.
“I just want to motivate people to realize that we have a limited amount of time on this earth and we are alive on it right now,” Shay explained. “And these memories we’re creating with our loved ones are the most valuable commodities you can have. In order to have more of them and better of them, we need to have healthy bodies.”
Shay does not claim to be an expert on the subject, but states that he is just “a regular dude trying to lose weight and get in shape” as he teaches his son healthy habits.
The Butlers’ book is available for purchase at simonandschuster.com. Both Shay and Gavin will be at The King’s English Bookshop in Salt Lake City (1511 S. 1500 E.) on January 16th, from 2-3 p.m.
Watch the video, posted above, that the Shaytards shared of the family opening a box of the “Fat Dad, Fat Kid” books.
