Celebrity Dance Challenge Part 3: My former life as a personal trainer.

My Fitness Personal Training Dec 2003

I have two children, Zach who is about to turn 18 and Quinn who just turned 16. Zach was born in 1993 and weighed 10.6 pounds. I gained 75 pounds. I remember spotting a scale after I delivered on my way to my hospital room and despite the fact I could barely move, I walked myself to that scale only to discover I had only lost 15 pounds post delivery. NOT GOOD.

I had Quinn 23 months later. I gained 85 pounds with her. Here’s the thing, I was sick BOTH pregnancies with a nausea that is beyond anything I have ever experienced up to this point in my life. The only thing that made me feel better was bread and depending on the day it was a baguette or crackers. I was tested for diabetes and other issues but my body was doing what it needed to do.

Post pregnancy #1 I went to the gym and took classes. I felt pretty good about where I was at by the time I was pregnant with #2 I was within 10 pounds of where I started. However, post delivery with #2 I could tell my body had changed. Everyone said I looked good but when I saw pictures of myself I had flabby arms. Never in my life! I was an athlete! That was how I pictured myself and that was not how I was looking. And to top it off I couldn’t get out of the house. The 2 kids 23 months apart rendered me useless. I found managing an infant and a 2 year old the hardest thing I have ever had to do. At one point my friends did an intervention. I hadn’t gotten out of my red robe for weeks. They made me get dressed.

I decided the gym would be a good idea. It would get me out of the house. The hour for working out and the SHOWER! The uninterrupted time in the SHOWER while the kids were in the childcare room. Ahhh. I made the gym a regular occurrence, and slowly I became more fit. It was 1996 and personal training was becoming more popular.

I had never weight trained before. As a cyclist it was discouraged to add extra muscle weight (STUPID) so I only trained my legs in the winter for 3 months.  I had no idea any of the principals or understanding of physiology. However, I watched the trainers at the gym and decided I would use someone to help me get back in shape since my body was not bouncing back.

Allen was my trainer. Within 4 months of training I had a better body then I did when I was in college. I felt strong and fit and saw amazing definition. I watched the trainers work and I thought I could do that! I had a sports  background, I was a great motivator, I was comfortable being a person’s personal space AND my kids could stay in the childcare room while I worked!!!!  I asked Allen how you became a trainer… Answer: you take a nationally certified test. I became certified and was hired to work at Ladies Workout Express in East Cobb (Marietta).

I spent 10 years in East Cobb as a personal trainer. I learned so much about my own personal fitness, how to build a clientele, how to motivate others and hold them accountable. I worked my way up to nearly 30 clients and many of those I had over 8-10 years. I miss training today.

When I left personal training I was 12-15% body fat. I weighed 155 pounds. What that means: I had 18.6-23.25 pounds of fat on my body and the rest was lean mass. No one ever believed I weighed that much. I was a size 6….or as I like to say a size 6 with a size 8 butt. 🙂 That was my genetic potential. Meaning there was no dieting or exercising myself any thinner. That was it.

I never anticipated I would stop training all together. When I started Authentic Beauty I was working out in the gym at least 6 hours a week plus on the bike time. It varied when I stopped racing but I was still on it 4 times a week an hour or two or three at a time.

Launching Authentic Beauty was like having a child that needed full time attention 24 hours a day. I found myself for the first time EVER sedentary. I was in front of the computer or in front of the chair doing brows 24-7, I ate bad food…actually, I ate NO food all day and then ate event food and drank more alcohol than I ever did in college.

What I learned while I was training. DON’T GET ON THE SCALE. It does not tell the whole picture. You must test your body fat and do measurements. Feel your clothes.

I truly believe we are, as Americans, body image obsessed. After working with Alison Cross, the co-founder of Project Authentic Beauty and founder of the Body Beauty and Bravery Project and being made aware of how disordered we all are by buying into this STUPID unrealistic standard of beauty and in my case the unhealthy obsession with being thin for my sport; I used to measure EVERY morsel that went into my mouth…..this was normal. I  realized  how NOT normal this was. Alison is an EXPERT eating disorder specialist and LPC. She was telling me I had a LOT of warning signs. How could this be? I was a health advocate.

I observed my obsession with my food. It took a while but I definitely had a break through.

However, I used launching this business as an excuse to eat poorly and ignore my well being. Yes, it did require my full attention as a child would. But the child just turned 4. How many women have you heard they never lost the baby weight? And the baby is 10? It is NOT healthy to have a large percentage of body fat in proportion to your lean mass.

When I was asked to participate in the Dance Challenge I promised myself I would not become obsessed. This event is to benefit EDIN- the Eating Disorders Information Network.An organization that is COMMITTED to healthy body image and self-esteem in girls. They provide a much needed perspective on food and eating among other important things.

How I have reframed my position on losing weight: BECOME HEALTHY. BECOME FIT. It is not about the scale. However, I knew I needed a baseline to begin this training. I got on the scale. I gained 25 pounds since I stopped training!!!!  I took a deep breath. My measurements: I gained a few inches on my hips and waist but the biggest surprise: 4 inches in my chest and let’s be clear that is not in my boobs. WOW.

So how do you get fit and healthy and not obsess? You go back to basics. What I know? You weight train 2-3 times a week and do the same for cardiovascular activity. You make sure you eat every 2-3 hours healthy foods that nourish your body.

So far I am down over 10 pounds and an entire dress size.

In the next entry I am going to share what I am doing. I have a LOT of wonderful resources that were not around when I was a trainer. I discovered so many cool things.

What I love most about training again: FEELING STRONG AND BALANCED and energized. Looking good isn’t a bad thing either.

TO PURCHASE FOR THE TICKETS FOR DECEMBER THE 3RD CELEBRITY DANCE CHALLENGE  CLICK HERE

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