Here’s my 24/7 client Sara explaining her trials and tribulations on her fitness journey:
So there I was, barreling along full-speed-ahead in my fitness revolution. Exercising practically every day. Eating clean and healthy food. Losing fat and gaining muscle. Feeling and looking better than I probably ever had before.
Yeah, those jeans fit! Yeah, I feel confident at the beach in my bikini! Yeah, getting on the scale in the morning is a happy time! I feel energetic! I feel strong! I feel healthy! I’m on a roll, nothing can stop me now!
And then I got sick. Wouldn’t you know it? Halfway through my six-week 24/7 program, I got sick. One of those nasty stomach viruses that completely wipes you out for a couple of days. While I was incapacited I thought . . . not to worry. It can only last 24, max 48, hours and I’ll be back on my feet again.
Except then I got a very nasty UTI. One that didn’t seem to want to respond to antibiotics and quickly go away. It never rains but it pours. I found myself sick and unable to exercise not for two days, but for several days.
My beloved dumbbells sat lonely and forlorn in the corner of the room and seemed to look at me reprovingly. Have you forgotten about us? Don’t you like us anymore? What, are you just going to leave us here to gather dust?
I have a very strong negative emotional reaction when I get sick. I do have some health issues (chronic bronchitis) and have never really had a sturdy and robust constitution. This is in part because of not knowing I was genetically intolerant to gluten – and, as a result, lactose – for 47 years of my life. When I was finally diagnosed, my doctor told me that most of the various health concerns that have plagued me for years could be traced back to the fact that every time I ate I had been, in his words, “poisoning” myself. Hence my body was fighting a valiant battle against the foods I was giving it, but over time started failing on various fronts. Now that I know what I can and cannot eat, things are getting better, but it will take time to build up a healthy immune system.
Being sick in bed a few times a year has become sort of my “normal” – but I hate it! Sick days are lost days as far as I am concerned. I am not fulfilling my duties at work. I am not a good mother or wife. I feel as though blocks of time out of my life are being stolen from me. My usual reaction is to crash into a downward spiral of worry, concern, fear of the worst and then the blues.
Which is exactly what I started to do this past week. I was even afraid to tell Shawna about it. Would she understand? Or would she just think I was being a lazy slouch . . . trying to get some vacation days off from working out?
So, I gathered up my courage and told her that I hadn’t been following the program and why. What was her response?
Shawna to the rescue! She was kind and supportive and understanding . . . of course! As always. She assured me that this was just a difficult moment that would soon pass and encouraged me not to make a big deal out of it – which was exactly what I needed someone to tell me.
And then she said something that almost made me cry. She said, “We’ll beat this.”
That plural “we” was so lovely to hear. I never could have imagine that those particular three little words would have such a forceful effect on me. They gave me an incredible boost of positivity and a wonderful feeling that I was not alone in this.
I guess that’s exactly what having a personal trainer is all about.
Sara is definitely a work in progress, as we all are! A big thanks to her for letting us have a peak into her every day journey.
If you’re interested in my coaching program, the one that Sara is involved in, click here to see if you qualify: 24/7 Coaching Program