Jose Gonzalez
Jose Gonzalez, pictured above on the far left, is an expert Fleet Maintenance Mechanic at Kuehne Company’s New Jersey facility. But it turns out that Jose has another skill in his back pocket that he has been sharing with his coworkers – that of a health and wellness coach. He has been taking his health seriously since long before this summer’s Wellness Wednesday initiative, and back in May, he and 2 other mechanics, Jose and Devin, decided to make some health goals and diet changes together.
Gonzalez has been eating a modified version of the keto diet for about 2 years now. He has taken the time to research the benefits and reasoning behind this diet and was happy to share his knowledge with his coworkers. In fact, he is so dedicated that he prepped meals for them for the entire month of May to help get them started.
Gonzalez knew that introducing exercise too early on could potentially cause burnout, so after getting their diet in order for one month and letting the guys see some results, they started making goals to do a certain number of pushups during their lunch break.
Besides having lost 20-25 pounds each, they are all feeling a lot better. Gonzalez mentioned that they got rid of all the junk food snacks and replaced them with keto-friendly snacks such as almond flour based cookies. He also noticed that there has been an energy drink in the fridge for quite some time now. Nobody has needed it.
Devin Lloyd, one of the fellow fleet maintenance mechanics who has been eating healthy and doing push ups, says that Jose is “a hard-driving team player, very confident in anything he does … I appreciate him for helping me on my path of dieting, helping with a jumpstart of prepping meals and guiding us about what to eat and not to eat. And now it’s easier to continue this weight loss path to success.”
Jose Fernandez has also joined with Gonzalez and Lloyd on the fitness path. He says “I enjoy working with him; he is very friendly and a joy to be around. Mechanic wise he is top tier, I had to do a lot of convincing in order to get him to join our team. As a health and fitness coach he is also top tier. He’s not pushy – he just expresses that he wants you to be healthier. The meals he prepped were great! Especially his lasagna – that meal was the best one of all. But overall, he was a great addition to the Kuehne team/family.”
Gonzalez emphasizes the fact that his diet is a lifestyle change. He has eliminated or drastically reduced the intake of many types of foods from his diet – primarily carbs and dairy products, as well as many fruits and other high-sugar foods. He focuses on greens, lean meats and healthy fats such as avocado. He says that eventually “you stop missing the potatoes and other carbs.”
Some of the meals they have been enjoying include lasagna made of an egg based pasta, ground turkey, spinach, and mozzarella. They also eat salad with oven-roasted chicken. Mashed cauliflower with turkey bacon and cheddar cheese is a favorite as well. Gonzalez says “If I weren’t a mechanic, I would be a chef.” Well Jose, here at Kuehne, we are grateful that you chose to be a mechanic!
Lunch time pushups
9 Comments
Submit a Comment
Other News & Announcements
Find out what’s happening at Kuehne.
Kuehne wins Lt. Governor’s Challenge Delaware Health Leader Award
Kuehne Company’s employee health-promoting program, Wellness Wednesdays, has been recognized with a 2022 Lt. Governor’s Challenge Delaware Health Leader award. “By creating the Wellness Wednesdays program,” said Lt. Governor...
Halloween at Kuehne
Kuehne celebrated Halloween with an office & workspace decorating contest. In the New Jersey plant, taco treats were served in the fleet maintenance garage as well, giving everyone ample opportunity to...
Kuehne Implements 5S Systems in South Kearny
Over the summer, team members from various departments of the South Kearny Kuehne Company facility gathered on the third floor of the Brine-to-Bleach building for a one-week training in 5S. The training...
Our Employees
Get to know our valued and diversified team members.
Clyde Gallagher
This month, I am pleased to introduce you to Mr. Clyde Gallagher, who has been a vital part of the Kuehne Company family for 16 years. Working as an A Operator in the Delaware Plant, Mr. Gallagher is...
Rudi Fernandes
In the control room of the South Kearny Brine to Bleach facility, Rudi Fernandes sits quietly monitoring the operations of the plant. Born in a small town in Portugal, Rudi moved to the US about 20 years ago, where he finished...
Ken Carola
One of the people who makes Kuehne Company a great place to work is Salesman Ken Carola. In his 34 years with Kuehne, he has played a critical role in enhancing community safety by working with municipalities to educate them...
I’m honored to have been in this months spot light, I never expected this type of recognition I simply was helping my co-workers / friends make better health decisions. They were the ones who put in the hard work and stuck with it and with that dedication came the reward of the weight loss and all around feeling better of them selves. Thanks again to all.
How Wonderful! You even helped them prep the meals! Thank you so much and we are all very grateful to have you in the Kuehne Family.
Great stuff team. We are lucky to have you all!
Nice work, sir. This is great stuff!
He knows how to prepare good food!…
If he can fill me up, I think that I am going to be really good friend with him…
Good work.
Inspiring. Love to see goals become reality.
This is truly awesome! As I get more fit I will need to challenge the mechanics to a push off. We are truly fortunate to have such a dedicated Team member that cares about his Team’s health. I hope to get the lasagna recipe some day.
Thanks to Jose’s help with starting me on the keto diet and his help with my new exercise routine, i feel a lot better. So glad we were able to add him to the team/family
I’m extremely proud of all these men. Being a manager is fun and easy with people like this on the team!