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Success Story
I’ve accomplished many things in my life, but this … this was instant joy. And the best part? The feeling was contagious. Completing a simple fitness goal has rippled into every aspect of my life. I feel more confident with everything that is thrown my way.
I ran my first-ever Surf Sweat Repeat Retreat in 2015 in Kauai, Hawaii - a fitness retreat that I created with the goal of inspiring people to lead healthy, active lives. I wanted to create a vacation retreat where people would return with a renewed sense of themselves, feeling rejuvinated and inspired to take charge of their health.
The retreat got me thinking a lot about why it is that people struggle in their journeys to lead healthier lives. Why are fad diets and 30-day exercise challenges so popular, and do they work to help people?
The thing to remember first is that any habit or lifestyle takes time. I don't mean 30 days, 60 days, or even 3-6 months. I mean years. I mean 2-4 years of consistent work and learning what works for you and what doesn't. My journey started 8 years ago - I did push-ups in basketball practice, and went for runs because I knew I "should" - but I didn't love it. When I started running I had to count my breaths with my steps to keep from sucking wind on every run. Slowly, year by year I started trying new things with my nutrition and exercise. The only thing that ever remained the same for me through this process was that I never stopped putting effort into consistency. I had a workout partner that kept me going to the gym every day with her. I was too cheap to eat out, so I learned to cook for myself. I took nutrition programs, and tried tons of "diets" in the hopes I could just lose weight fast. But through this trial and error, I have learned what is healthy for my body over years of tweaking and watching and feeling my body change. I also learned that consistency meant so much more for my health than anything. Consistency in nutrition, and exercise.
Working towards LIVING a healthy life means doing something every day to get better and more healthy/fit. It is means living life in a way that you are treating your body well, and eventually reaping the benefits from the way you treat it:
The key is that fitness and healthy living is not about achieving a goal. When we have a goal in mind, it's essentially a short-term plan that may not create new habits for us. A goal is a time-oriented tangible target, and can be useful in accomplishing targets or establishing motivation for something, but creating a habit makes the change more permanent.
Arash is a client who attended my retreat, and had some incredible insight following his return. I was inspired and proud of what he shared with me regarding his habit-formation, and I wanted to share it directly with you:
"I’m no fitness expert and have no qualifications but I have come short on my “goals” often enough to re-evaluate what I was doing wrong. I’ve always regarded fitness as a means to an end. Meaning it was always about losing 10 or 15 pounds, getting in better shape because summer (or a cute girl) was around the corner. These reasons were near-sighted and superficial. There was no opportunity for real lasting change, because everything was done for a temporary cause. I used to get ready for a vacation a couple of months prior which included crash dieting and over working myself to get in shape only to over eat and drink for a week or two. I would always come back feeling much worse than when I left. I spent a good 15 years building these bad habits.
I’ve come to realize that if I choose to live a fit and healthy life, that I must make this choice for myself, and not for anyone else, and that this must be my lifestyle. Meaning I would have to actually schedule in a "rest day" because it would be my regular routine and habit to be active and exercise. In order for this to be my lifestyle I need to form new and healthy habits.
Working with Leigh prior to and going on this retreat showed me a much different side of life. I got to see that with time and effort, fitness and healthy eating could be the "automatic habit' if I create it that way.
I experienced that it is not only possible but also enjoyable to continue a healthy and fit lifestyle even when on vacation - so how could I NOT do this at home? I found through this retreat that building and re-enforcing healthy habits makes working out and eating healthy no longer a chore but can be enjoyable and become the norm. It was one of those “light bulb” moments where I realized that all those failed attempts of achieving a healthy lifestyle was a result of not being patient enough to allow the formation of good positive habits that would support this lifestyle.
Habits don’t form over night, they take time and repetition, and then more time and more repetition. Understanding that it’s about a little progress every day or week, and not perfection allowed me to change my thinking to become patient enough to get through the tough days (the days you don't want to). It's getting through those dips that really allow the habits to build. Surrounding myself with people that live the lifestyle I want to lead makes the formation of good habits natural and motivating. You better believe I came back from that retreat and started working out everyday, cooking my own meals and joining a gym where there's a community to keep me accountable!"
I was working out with Leigh the other day, and she made a comment about how happy she was I was working out on my own (I think she said something like “…it’s so awesome you’re doing all of that work on your own now…”). At the time I joked about how long it took me to ‘get it’. I think I’d been working out with Leigh 1 to 2 times a week for about a year before I realised I needed to make time and workout on my own to get where I wanted. Somehow when I started, and I’d been pretty sedentary, I always told myself that “well, once a week is better than nothing”. Soon enough though, I plateaued; I wasn’t losing weight, and I wasn’t getting stronger. About this time I realized that if I wanted to reach my goals, I was going to have to work harder.
I get so excited about sharing my love for fitness with people, so when someone reaches out and shares it with another – I am elated! Sahar and Ruby are clients of mine, they are cousins, and great friends. Sahar began training with me this January, and soon enrolled Ruby to sweat along with her so that she could spread the love and have better accountability. The moral of the story - grab your pack and go the journey together!
These girls share candidly what it’s like for them to start a journey in fitness:
Introduce yourself, and your background with fitness!
S: My name is Sahar, and I work in customer service to save money for medical school, which I am starting in the fall. I have not had that much of a history with fitness. Gym class in grade school is as close as I have been to being active.
R: I am Ruby and I just graduated from medical school. The stress and commitment of school caused my weight to yo-yo. I was always stuck between hours of grueling studying, which led to stress eating, followed by panic induced crash diets. I have tried every trendy diet: HCG, Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, Atkins, Dr. Bernstiens, all with only temporary success. Physical activity was limited to things such as the elliptical, boxing & martial arts classes, ballet and yoga. While they certainly had their benefits, strength training with Leigh makes me feel stronger than ever.
Q: Why did you seek out a personal trainer?
S: I was always the “fat girl”. Just like Ruby, I have tried numerous times to lose weight and be healthy but always failed. I would lose a few pounds here or there but never made lasting change. What really got me on this path was two years ago I was at my biggest and feeling really down. To help me, my brother asked advice from a VERY good friend of his (AKA LEIGH J), to support me to make some changes. Leigh advised my brother to check out a Calgary-based weight loss coaching company (Fit Metabolism) that would teach me the right lifestyle changes I needed to be successful. It was very difficult, but I was successful in losing 70 lbs, without exercise! Now my weight loss has plateaued, and I want to feel strong, so I asked my brother about training with Leigh.
R: Personally, I was Tired of punishing myself when I lost control of my weight. So I decided to get fit, not just for big events, for everyday life. And Sahar couldn’t stop talking about her trainer, so how could I not join up?
Q: What changes have you noticed so far, and how do they feel?
S: I am very hard on myself and until I see what I want (my big goal) I see nothing. After the initial 70 lbs, I have lost 7 more with Leigh, and more than 3 inches. I know I feel A LOT better. Adopting this lifestyle has given both Ruby and I more energy, and has made a difference in our physical fitness level. We both feel strong and more confident with being ourselves, considering Leigh makes us work hard enough that our make-up runs down our faces (and we used to care, but have learned it's futile)...
Personal Training...has taught me what an effective workout feels like
Q: What is still challenging for you?
S: Sticking to it is the most challenging. I want to see change immediately, and it’s hard to resist temptation of being lazy, or eating what I know I not to eat. But it’s worth it in the end, and it gets easier when I am reinforced by my clothes getting loose. I’ve learned to see when my portions are off, and how to plan out my week if there is a birthday coming up that I want to share with someone! All the so-called “sacrifice” is worth it when I put my clothes on and am told I look pretty darn good!
R. The hardest part is watching my diet and controlling my stress eating. The trick Leigh taught me was to journal all my food and it works great.
Q: What have you enjoyed about the personal training?
S: I FINALLY FEEL SORE AFTER WORKING OUT!!! But really, it has taught me what an effective workout feels like. I have been doing squats for years, and have never done them right until now. It helps with the way my body feels too. Slowly and surely my body is going from “mushy” to hard – and that motivates me. When I have done a good workout I feel much more motivated to keep doing what I’m doing and not go home and eat cheesecake.
R: I love it! Having a friend to work out with is a lot more fun. Leigh really motivates you and gives you the confidence to push yourself out of your comfort zone. Now I feel that my body has the potential to do many "uncomfortable" things, I never thought I would be able to do.
Q: Where are you at in your journey?
S: I’m still continuing with my first goal and getting to my goal weight. Leigh and Ruby have been a great support system. She is changing my body slowly, and getting me to where I need to be, at a sustainable pace. And I know that with her help I will reach where I want to be and keep it there!
R: Currently, with Leigh and Sahar’s support, I am trying to get stronger. I also would like to train myself to feed my body right, rather than punish it with poor choices.
Q: What do you love about working out with a friend?
S: It’s super fun! We motivate each other and provide support, even when we are both being tortured by Leigh! But it has become something we look forward to. I get to kill two birds with one stone: hanging out with my friends and getting girl talk three times a week with a hard workout!
R: It is definitely nice to know that someone else is struggling through the same battle as you. That sense of community gives me the second wind when I feel like giving up. We are both so motivated to achieve our goals, we are able to go out to restaurants and share meals that fit our daily food plans. It is great to be on the same page, and have someone support what you are doing, instead of sabotaging it! No one wants to hide in the corner with bags full of lettuce and celery. I would recommend having a workout friend to anyone. It's like having a teammate!
We will definitely continue our journey together, and keep you posted as to our progress!
