HOW THIS LADY GOT STRONG PHYSICALLY & MENTALLY

It's easy to feed ourselves lies about weight loss. "I just don't have good genes." "I could never look like her." I've also heard people say that being okay with their weight is part of self acceptance.

I'm here to say that I've been there, and the thing that will make or break your fitness journey is not your genes or your past successes and failures with weight loss.

What matters is whether you're ready to get honest with yourself, dig deep, and push ahead even when you want to settle back into the status quo.

My Rock Bottom

When I was in my 30s, several personal events weakened my self-confidence and ate away at my commitment self care. Even though I was a personal trainer, encouraging clients to exercise and eat healthy, I started letting despair and hopelessness control my own life. Little by little, I abandoned the things that brought me joy (including fitness), and turned to food for comfort.

The thing is, gaining 50 pounds it a lot like making a mess. You can make a mess really fast but cleaning it up is hard. The extra weight and self hate definitely clouded my judgment. I knew I needed to do certain things, but I let my feelings control my actions. If I didn't feel like doing something, I didn't do it.

The more I made those choices the deeper I got.

How I Turned My Life Around and Lost the 50 Pounds

I realized I needed to make a change when a friend I hadn't seen in years visited. We reminisced over some pictures, and seeing myself looking thin I realized how much weight I had gained.

More importantly, I realized  that I couldn't hide the mental state I was in. People could see. I was obese and overeating, but my friends and family knew there was a lot more going on underneath the weight gain.

I started reflecting on what I really wanted out of life and paying attention to the little things I could control. I found a lot of solace in journaling and prayer. I also decided to wake up early every morning and run my neighborhood.

I should clarify...the idea was to run, but there was no running going on! It was more of a walk or crawl. And through pushing myself, emotions got stirred up. I found myself crying through my cardio sessions, especially when I'd get to the top of a hill. I could tell that I as purging myself of everything that was keeping me back.

Truly, the process of losing weight empowered me to reconnect with my deepest self. It also empowered me to start loving myself again.

Honestly, it's this story that makes me excited to work with my personal training clients everyday. Sure, clients make amazing strides with their physical fitness. But the really cool thing is that they also grow as people.

I can't tell you how many times my clients have told me that they feel better equipped to handle the challenges in their life because of what they've done in personal training. And it's truly an act of self love to give yourself a few hours a week to exercise and eat healthy.

I've never been so honest on my website before. It's not for clickbait or social shares or whatever. It's because I truly care about you and want you to break through whatever challenges are holding you back. Hit me up if you want a little tough love from a personal trainer as you learn and grow in and out of the gym!