Weight Loss

"Have you ever struggled with your weight?" 

That's a question I'm asked from time to time. This is understandable, because people want to know that the fitness expert they're working with understands what they're going through. 

As an example of the negative side of the coin, I once scheduled an appointment with the top-rated vocal cord doctor within a certain hospital system. He quickly shoved a wire into the vocal cords, told me he didn't see anything, and sent me on my way. From my perspective, I had been dealing with a throat problem that had unfavorably altered my life for the last four years, and here I was finally meeting with someone who could set me in the right direction.10 minutes later, I bitterly realized I was no further along after seeing this doctor. He understood medical procedures, but he did not get me as a human being.

For your viewing pleasure.

To answer the above question, I have never struggled with my weight. However, I know what it's like to feel self-hatred, frustration, depression, shame, embarrassment, and anxiety about a part of myself, namely, my throat and voice. As a fitness expert, I both understand the physiological processes involved in weight loss as well as the ways people who are struggling with their weight may feel on the inside. I don't claim to know specifically how it is to struggle with weight in a physical-experience sense, but I do most certainly claim to have understanding and experience with the underlying feelings that go along with that struggle. 

I Bet You Know These Weight Loss Strategies

I've said this over and over, and the people I've worked with have confirmed it: Knowing how to lose weight isn't the issue; it's taking consistent, regular action that poses the biggest problem. Most people know the following: 

• Eat tons of vegetables. The darker the better.
• Perform 20 minutes of cardio 4-6 days per week, increasing the intensity as able
• Perform resistance training with proper form 2-3 days per week
• Eat lots of unsaturated fats
• Drink enough water so as to cause a debate in your mind whether your urine is clear, or ever so slightly yellow-tinted
• When you hit a plateau, adjust your food intake and exercise program. What worked for the first five pounds won't necessarily work for the next five 
• Do all of the above steadily and persistently- a month on and a month off will not yield results. 

The Deeper Issue

I would be hard pressed to find someone who isn't aware of the above concepts. The problem, therefore, is not a lack of knowing what to do, but the internal dynamics that take us off the path. For example: 

• I feel terrible today, inside and out, so I'm going to eat the rest of those cookies. 
• I feel lonely and don't want to exercise alone, further confirming my aloneness. 
• I'm so busy that it would be wrong to make my health a priority. 
• I'm essentially making no progress, so why not skip today? 
• I would feel better if I ate [fill in your food of choice]. 
• I feel so utterly unmotivated, I can't continue on the path. 

Those are just a few examples of the struggles which arise when attempting to lose weight. Feel free to share your own by commenting below. The point here is that there is much more to the situation than simply knowing what to do. Along the way, emotions will rise up in us like a volcanic eruption; feelings you've worked hard to conceal. This makes the choice to move forward much harder: Face the feelings that are spouting up in order to stay on the path, or hold the feelings down at the expense of getting off the path?

I used to fantasize about getting away from it all and living in a place

like this. Today, such a place seems better suited as a vacation spot.

Admittedly, it's a hard decision. When starting out as a personal trainer, there were days when I chose to cancel training sessions because I didn't want to go through the experience of facing the pain that was coming up for me. It was easier to cancel and go home, which kept the feelings far enough out of my awareness that I didn't need to face them squarely.

A personal trainer friend of mine, Chelsea Boytim, has this to say about her own weight loss journey:

"People think because they fall off track, they've failed. They think since they ate bad today, they'll just continue and maybe they won't ever lose that weight that they want to...

Before beginning my weight loss journey in 2009, I fell off track countless times. I'd eat good for two days and reward myself with McDonalds after work.

I can tell you I went through some crappy things in 2012 and gained all my weight back... AGAIN. It took me months to get myself motivated to start this journey again. To all of you who say "she doesn't get it, she's not overweight"... I do get it.

I can't tell you how many times I've heard "I just wish you knew where I was coming from, you've never been overweight, you don't understand how uncomfortable I am, how unhappy I am"...

I remember being that unhappy girl, being uncomfortable in my own skin.. Having guys pick on me for being ugly and fat, and they picked on my high school boyfriend for "dating the ugliest girl"... yeah, I've been there.

This is why I changed my degree from Graphic Design/Photography to Exercise Physiology - I want to help people find their confidence, their happiness.

I truly LOVE what I do. If you feel stuck or lost- please don't hesitate to inbox me on Facebook: Chelsea Boytim."  smile emoticd love to help you any way that I can."❤

Presently, there are still days when the urge to leave strikes. Between the tightness in my throat, the struggle to speak, and the feelings of frustration, I want to alleviate the internal pain by going away and being alone. No more struggle...at least, not for that day. But tomorrow lurks. I've decided to no longer let tomorrow lurk, allowing thoughts of tomorrow destroy my present experience of life. Instead, I deal with the frustration as it arises rather than run from it, freeing me to live in the moment rather than fearing tomorrow. 

The Physiology: A Gateway Into the Soul workshop is on May 14th,
11:00am-4:00pm. You'll have the opportunity to cross that bridge and
 finally face the internal dynamics that are holding you back from your
goals, freeing yourself to live in the moment.
Email nicsaluppo@gmail.com for details.

If you're struggling to stay on course with your weight loss process, my encouragement to you is to face the frustration, depression, sadness, anxiety, shame, fear, embarrassment, anger, and rage as it arises. Don't shove it back down and leave yourself in a state of fearing the next day. Face it as it arises, giving yourself the freedom to live life freely in the here and now.  

With love, -Nic



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