In the beginning...

               Working out and eating right are not just things you do to get ready for the beach or for a wedding that you’re attending, even though those occasions are great motivators.  Working out and eating right are how you achieve a healthy lifestyle. This is not something I learned the easy way, but when I did come to this realization it drastically changed how I live my life.  Let me share with you my journey to becoming a personal trainer.  I cannot remember a time in my life when I did not love sports.  Like most teenagers, I played multiple sports all through high school. I even went on to play soccer and basketball in my college years.  During this time, I fell in love with weight lifting. My dad had given me his old weights and he taught me how to use them.  My activity level drastically decreased after my college years, but my eating habits, unfortunately, stayed the same and possibly even got worse.  A couple of years into this new sedentary lifestyle, I looked at a picture of myself and realized just how overweight I had become and it really bothered me.  At the same time, I started playing recreational sports and realized how this extra weight was really affecting my performance.  I decided then that something had to change, so I set out on a journey to get back into shape.  
            It was not easy at first, but I tried to stay focused on my goals and to be consistent in training and eating well.  My strategy was to run for my cardio three times a week and do strength training three times a week. For my diet I started eating every three to four hours and didn't worry as much about what I ate but rather how much I was eating.  Since then I have learned that what you put into your body is also very important, but I’ll save that for a future post.  I started my fitness journey around the middle of February that year and by the end of April I had lost 25 pounds and had become addicted to a healthy lifestyle.  I was young then and my greatest motivation was to look good and to be able to perform well when I played sports.  As I started getting older, my focus started to change from just looking good to realizing how important it was for my health and well being.  I also yearned to share my passion with others by helping them to reach and maintain their fitness goals.  I realize how much of a struggle it is to eat well and to find time to exercise as you try to balance family and job responsibilities.  I have two little boys who take up a lot of the free time that I used to have to go for a run or play sports, but just like everything in life you have to learn what's important and what can be given up.  

            I feel like the struggles I had with my weight and health have helped me to be a better personal trainer.  I think it helps me with assessing where my clients might also be struggling and shows me how to help them overcome those struggles and achieve their health and fitness goals.  As I said previously, it is a lifestyle and it must be approached this way in order to maintain your weight and health.  If you reach your goal and then fall right back into your previous lifestyle and bad habits, then you will also fall back into your old body.  So, today I have shared a little of my journey to show what has led me to my rewarding career as a personal trainer.  In future posts, I plan to give advice and tips that will help others in making healthy lifestyle changes.