TALK FITNESS WITH AN EXPERT
After much consideration, I’ve decided to add even more value to FitWise. Not only will you get the book, but I’m also offering a 30 minute fitness consultation to the first 50 people who get a copy. Additionally, everyone will have access to a series of short fitness videos where I explain exercises in depth and talk about technique. You’ll also get access to a private Facebook page where we can discuss our wins and our struggles.
I don’t believe that you need to spend your entire life at the gym and I don’t believe that you need to starve yourself. It’s all about finding a balance. Some days it will be more centered than others and unless you are in serious training for an event, that’s okay. That being said, I do believe that it won’t always be easy and more importantly, that it doesn’t have to be. It’s okay to push yourself and to try new things and to strive for more.
I really have everyone’s best interest at heart. My goal is to provide you with a solid base that you can build on. I want to be there to celebrate your successes, no matter how small or big and give you a helping hand when you are struggling and need a little boost.
My body issues started when I was about 14 or 15 years old. I wasn’t ever really skinny, but I was at a healthy weight for my height. Then one summer, I went away for a few weeks and gained some weight. I will never forget the moment when I became acutely and painfully aware of my weight. I was already self conscious (that came from developing at an early age and attending a very competitive elementary school), but it was the moment when a friend of the family exclaimed, “wow, you’ve gained weight,” which has remained embedded deep in my brain. I can even picture where I was standing and what I was wearing.
From that moment on, the roller coaster started. I managed to lose a few pounds and then gained a few more. It wasn’t until my first year of university that I managed to lose a lot of weight and keep it off. I felt great and then, of course, took it to the extreme and decided to see just how much weight I could lose. I was dancing pretty much full time at that point, so I was exercising a lot and it was quite easy to limit my food intake. It wasn’t until when one day I looked at myself in the mirror that I realized I could see pretty much every bone in my body, my hair had started falling out and my nails were really brittle. I knew I had to stop.
Shortly thereafter, I moved across the country and got a job working at a gym (while continuing to dance). My weight continued to fluctuate. There were days when I had trouble looking in the mirror and other days when I felt good. Although I wasn’t exactly where I wanted to be physically, I was moderately happy. I loved working at a gym and then later, owning my own Pilates studio, but I never realized how invasive it could be living under, what seemed like, everyone’s scrutiny. I remember one incident of being in the grocery store and having a client actually look into my basket to see and comment on what I was buying. I was already uncomfortable eating in front of others, but that just magnified the whole situation.
It was somewhere around that time that I started gaining weight and feeling sluggish all the time. Naturally, I exercised more and tried to starve myself, but nothing worked. As it turned out, I had hypothyroidism. You can read all about that struggle here: Health Fitness and My Thyroid and Underactive Thyroid and Weight Loss
Needless to say, that did not help my self image.
So as you see, I’ve struggled with body image issues for most of my life. While I still have problems eating in front of others, I’ve found that I feel best when I’m moving. Nothing excessive and I certainly don’t have the time or stamina to workout for hours and hours everyday, but just doing something is huge. Not only do I feel better physically, but mentally as well and because I am moving, I feel like eating better and therefore I’m generally healthier.
Why am I telling you this? It’s to show you that I struggle just as much as you do. I have successfully talked myself out of attending a dance class or going to the gym more than once. I have declined invites because I’ve felt bad about myself and to this day, it takes a huge mental effort to actually eat at a buffet style party. So you see, I’m just like you, with the same fears and hang-ups. The advantage I have is years of in-depth study when it comes to fitness and health topics. Over the years, I have studied dance, rock climbing and Pilates. I have worked with professional athletes, moms, dads and everyone in between.
Although our end goals might differ, in the end we’re all the same. We all have struggles, challenges and have to face our limitations. You know that athlete we’re so in awe of? Well, they may have more fitness knowledge than the average individual, but they are just as eager to figure out how to increase their abilities. Having trained a number of actresses, I can definitely say they are, for the most part, insecure and need a lot of encouragement. As for trainers, well they are the experts who have to be up on the latest and greatest trends, they get stopped at parties to answer fitness questions and they have to look the part.
So, what are you waiting for?
