I do so much research every day and try to get you the best information on the web about losing weight general weight loss and getting fit. I research google and try to see what people are looking for and to see what other trainers are doing out there. The one thing I’ve noticed is that people are looking for the magic weight loss bullet or easy weight loss. And people/companies market to that.
Habits built over a lifetime take time to change.
They make promises that their pill or supplement will magically change you and you’ll lose weight quickly. The fact is you won’t. Losing weight is a long term strategy that will require you to change your habits. Some of those habits you have, have been decades in the making and to change them is no small task. Habits built over a lifetime take time to change.
I want to renew my commitment to you that I won’t do that, no quick fix promises. I will give you long term strategies to change your lifestyle. Have I been guilty of putting some messaging out there to get your attention? Yes, I have a little. But I genuinely know that if I can get you to follow my processes for losing weight, you will be successful. I’m not going to promise quick weight loss anymore just to get your attention.
The fact is, getting fit and staying fit is hard. Losing weight and keeping it off is hard. Just like anything worth doing, it never comes easy. I even struggle at times with my own health. Lucky for me I work in a gym and am constantly inspired and motivated by you and my clients. And my access to the time to workout and equipment to work out are much easier than what you probably have. I can easily work it into my day but I understand that for most of you it is not that easy.
There are 4 things that I have learned with my clients over the years that it takes to lose weight:
1. You have to be ready.
You have to be at a point in your life where making a change in your habits is less painful than staying how you are. Meaning, if you do not have a good enough reason to lose weight, you won’t stick to any program. You have to find your why. You have to dig deep and really understand your pain. How did you become overweight in the first place? Some deep down pain you are hiding? Bad habits that you grew up with? Your environment? Too much stress in your life?
A Real Life Example
I had a client come to me one year several years back. She said she wanted to train with me and needed to lose 100+ lbs. I started training her and giving her homework but she wasn’t into it. She didn’t do the homework, the workouts were done without any passion or want.
After a couple of weeks, I sat her down and said,”I don’t think you are ready. I don’t want you to pay me if you are not ready to do this. You’re wasting your money and my time and I don’t feel right taking your money if you are not ready to make the change. ” She agreed and we stopped training together.
Two months later she came to me and said, with tears in her eyes, “I have to do this, I am in so much pain right now. If I don’t do this for myself right now, things will only get worse. I AM READY“.
I could see the pain in her eyes, and I so wanted to help her because I knew I could. We started training together again, and guess what happened. She went back to her old habits and we stopped training together AGAIN. She wasn’t doing the homework, she had no drive to push the workouts. I had to stop training her. We were both a bit heart broken I have to say.
But Then It Happened
Fast forward three more months: She came to me again and said she wanted to train. I said to her hesitantly, “Are you ready?“. She said yes, she told me she had been working on her diet on her own, she began walking some and she looked me in the eyes, misty with tears and said, “I AM READY, I will do whatever you tell me to do. I cannot live like this any longer.“
I told her I wanted to come to her house and look in her fridge and pantry right now! She was hesitant but agreed. We drove over there and I removed every bad piece of bad food in her house. We cleaned it all out and said goodbye to the way she was eating.
She owned a bakery in town and I then told her she could no longer eat anything she was baking. I believe my exact words were, “You can’t eat this shit anymore!” No more cupcakes, muffins or sugary treats. She was an amazing baker by the way so I know this was hard. She was around all these delicious treats all day long. Can you imagine?!
But she agreed to it all. The nutrition the workouts, everything. We came up with a plan and she trained with me religiously for a year. She followed my diet advice and cut out all the bad “shit”. She changed all her bad habits and then she started to see the change. It didn’t happen right away but it happened.
2. You have to have a goal
Together we spent an hour talking and set a goal for her. Our goal was for her to lose 2 lbs a week and to lose 100 pounds in a year. It was going to be tough but together we laid the ground work for her to be successful. We made sure we set a SMART goal so that it had a deadline and was attainable but still pushed her limits.
3. You have to have a plan.
After we set her goal, we made a plan for her. It started with looking at the year ahead, then each month, then we planned out each week. She scheduled time to workout with me 3 times a week and to stick to the nutrition plan and homework workouts I gave her, “no bad shit!” She started losing the weight. Two pounds a week , sometimes more, sometimes less but over time the weight was coming off. Just as we planned.
She had momentum now!
After eight weeks, 16 lbs were gone. Ten weeks went by and she had lost 20 pounds. Twenty weeks went by and she had lost 40lbs. After a year of hard work, 52 weeks, she lost 104 lbs. Right on target! Right on our plan! She reached her goal. And she never stopped after that. Permanent change, a new life and a new lifestyle!
Was it always easy for her. Nope. There were many sessions with tears and frustrations and life stress to overcome. There were ups and downs all through the year but she had a goal and a plan. She was ready and she wanted it badly. She wanted it more than she wanted to be comfortable. More than she wanted things to stay the same. She was ready to change and she wanted and needed that change badly.
So, How Bad Do you Want it?
You have to want to change more that you want to stay the same. You have to create some self motivation to get out of bed at 5am and do your workouts. You have to know that every choice you make throughout the day will affect you over the long term. Should I have the donuts in the break room this morning or just chew a piece of gum? Every choice, every day will make a difference. Every good choice you make is a small brick in a very large house that you are building. If you make more bad choices in a day than good ones. Nothing will change. And this goes for everything in your life. If you fill every, day, of every week, of every month of every year with little positive changes, positive change will happen. But not until you want it bad enough.
Making good choices is very hard. I get that. It can wear you down in the beginning for sure. But over time, as your habits change from bad to good you will change. The good choices will become easier and then they will become your life, your lifestyle. And that is how permanent weight loss and fitness happens. Make the hard choices first, power through it in the beginning with all you’ve got, then it becomes easy, or at least easier.
No Positive Change Happens Fast Or Easily.
What Value Do You Place On Your Health?
You have to place a higher value on your health than you do on being comfortable. You have to understand that in our world of easy choices and fast meals, doing the thing that takes longer will reward you greatly in the long run and lead to lasting change. Slowing down and being mindful of every part of your life will allow for that long term change. But this can only happen if you first value your health and understand the benefits of being healthy.
What I’ve seen over my 30 years in training people is the one’s I offer to train for free don’t change. Now I’m not trying to sell you anything but only offer what I’ve seen. How many free things in life do you assign value to? Free is valueless. The clients that pay me always show up and do the work. They know that they are wasting money if they don’t. They payment becomes a part of self accountablity. Not only do they need to meet me but they are paying for the service and that provides that little bit of motivation to show up. It creates pain (in their wallet) if they don’t.
So think twice before you think free YouTube videos are going to change your life. They probably will not. Even for myself. When I am training for an IRONMAN triathlon. I pay a coach. I have all the knowledge, all the expertise and a good amount of motivation but that monthly payment to my coach provides the accountability and the plan I need to be successful. I don’t think many other people are different.
4. Accountability
Many people need accountability, I need accountability. They need someone to talk to about their struggles and someone they need to make proud or at least not disappoint. They need help making a plan and setting goals. All of the most successful people out there have coaches to take them to the next level. Like I said above, I have a coach to help me reach my goals.
Accountability can come in many forms. Community, a mentor/coach, family and friends. I always tell my clients to tell their family and friends what their goals are. Tell them you want to lose weight. Post it on your Facebook page. Tell people what you are doing and tell them by when. Most of the time you will get positive feedback and the support you need and you also will be held accountable.
Community is another great way to find accountability. A private facebook page or a workout group. A workout partner that you set a time to meet at the gym. All of these are great ways to get motivation when you need it. Because accountability is a two way street. As you seek support from your community you will also probably jump in and support others with the same goal. And that feels really good to help others. The others in your group will also inspire you. I know all my clients inspire me and that is one reason I love helping my clients. It is such inspiring work.
Just know that as you find your “tribe” we’ll call it. You will be inspired and motivated by them along with feeling accountable to them. It is human nature to seek community and it is a fabulous part of making positive change. At the same time you will be inspiring others to change. You won’t notice it at first but by you making a positive change in your life, you WILL be inspiring others too and that is pretty cool too right?
Your Health Is Your Most Important Asset
Can you be the best version of you and live your best life without your health? I’d argue that you cannot. You need to take care of your mind and body first or you cannot take care of anyone, or anything else at your highest level. Can you get by just fine. Yep, you can. Maybe you are right now but I’d ask you to close your eyes and envision the life you want for yourself. Do you want to just get by and be comfortable? I doubt it or you wouldn’t be reading this!
You want your best life
I know you daydream sometimes and wonder, “How awesome would it be if I could lose 10,20, 50 or 100 lbs?” That daydream is your inner self telling you it is time to make a change. Listen to it. Change your values, make the hard choices and you will make a change.
That nagging inner voice that has been telling you to change this or that can be exhausting. We all have it in one way or another, telling us to change one bad habit or another. When you seek your best life, when you seek that positive change the inner voices subside because you know deep down you are working hard to make a better life for yourself.
Weight Loss and Fitness Do Not Happen Quickly
I didn’t want this post to sound like I am yelling at you. Telling you what you need to do to be better. But I am so passionate about helping people reach their goals and I know that I can help them if they would just listen to me or other trainers for that matter, they can have a better, more fulfilling life.
It All Begins With You
I get so frustrated with all the bad information out there telling people that it can happen fast. They are just trying to sell you something that may or may not work. And I’m sure a lot of the products out there do work. A lot of the weight loss trainers can help. But as they say, ” It all begins with you”.
I have seen that first hand. I know you have it in you to make a positive change and I sooooooo want to help you. I may not be a famous trainer to the stars, although I have trained some, but I know you have it in you to make a better life for yourself. I see “normal” people make changes every day and it is an amazing feeling. I know that you can do it too!
You may not trust me to be your trainer or weight loss coach, but maybe there is someone you do. I would encourage you to hire someone to help you and hold you accountable whether it is me or not. All I really want is for people to feel how great it is to be healthy. To live a healthy, active lifestyle and to take care of themselves.
There is no magic pill but I know you can do it. It will be hard, It won’t happen fast. But it will happen if you are ready, you make a plan, you set a goal and you stay consistent long term. I can’t say this loudly through a web page but I KNOW YOU CAN DO THIS. Just make the choice to make the change and know that I am always here to help you and provide good information on how to live a healthy lifestyle.
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