At $250 an hour, Karas claims to be the city’s most expensive trainer, with several celebrities among his clients.
WHO’S YOUR BIGGEST CELEBRITY SUCCESS STORY?
Diane Sawyer lost 25 pounds. She shows that at any point in your life you can take control and get your body back. . . . People say, “Sure, you can lose it if you have a personal cook or trainer.” [But] someone like Diane has much harder demands on her schedule, and the whole public is watching.
HOW CAN YOU CHARGE SO MUCH?
It’s hard to relay this in the right way . . . I can relate to this type of clientele. A lot of my clients are used to hearing “yes” all the time and how great they are. I’m willing to tell someone how great they are when they’re doing a great job . . . [but] I’m very honest, very straightforward at times.
WHY ARE SO MANY PEOPLE OVERWEIGHT?
Portion distortion. We have bagels the size of steering wheels and pasta bowls that could feed a family of five. Big Gulps–we never had this in the past. Even our plates are larger now.
WHAT’S THE FIRST STEP TOWARD GETTING IN SHAPE?
Set realistic goals. So many people say, “I’m going to exercise an hour a day every day and I’m going to cut out refined sugar and all alcohol.” You have to take baby steps. Make an appointment with yourself to do half an hour of strength and resistance exercise a week. . . . Do 25 percent cardio and 75 percent strength and resistance.
GOT A GUILTY PLEASURE?
Baked chips. There are times I could crawl into a bag and eat my way out.
