08/14/2014
This week, at the gym, I have been told a couple of things, that made me decide to write this post. The first thing I was told was "You've probably been skinny your whole life, you don't understand what it's like to be fat". The other thing was "Once you have kids, you will understand how hard it is to get your body back". I apologize now, for the long post.
If you don't know a person, please don't assume they have never struggled with their weight or their fitness level.
For those of you who don't know me, yes, I was always naturally "skinny", growing up. I also was always very active, and my parents made sure we had fruits and vegetables with just about every meal. I may not look my age, but I do have 2 children, both of which I gained 50 lbs with. I felt like a very large girl, following both of my pregnancies, and I hated how I looked, how my clothes fit, and the fact that it seemed to take forever to get back to any sort of fitness level that resembled the athlete I had always been, after both pregnancies.
I will never forget the first time I tried to play softball, after having my first child, and as I was running to first base, both of my quadriceps "tied up", and I pretty much fell on my face. I had been a pretty fantastic softball player pre-baby, so this was very difficult for me. Or the time I went on a walk with my neighbor, after my second child, and I couldn't even make it up the hill, pushing the stroller, without being completely out of breath. It took me what seemed like forever, to get back to anything I felt resembled my old self.
So even though it hasn't been that way for most of my life, I do know what it is like to struggle with weight. I understand that it seems impossible to be able to run for 2 minutes, let alone for the 2 1/2 hours that I am hoping to finish my first ever 1/2 marathon in, this fall.
We all have to start somewhere. Most trainers weren't born at the highest, most advanced level of fitness, they had to work to get there. I know, I personally have worked my ass off (literally) the last 2 years, to get to the level I am at. Everyone has been a beginner at something, at some point in their life. If it's something that you feel is important to you, you will most likely make the necessary changes to get to the level where you want to be.
Trainers are people too. We have days where we don't like how we look. We have "fat" clothes, for those days we aren't feeling our skinny workout pants. We like to eat...a lot. I LOVE cookies, cake, pizza, and kit kats....I try to limit myself, and if I have a day of poor nutrition choices, I don't beat myself up, I just get "back on the wagon" the next day.
So even though you make think your trainer has no idea what you're going through, because they are fit and "skinny", chances are, they have struggled with some of the same stuff you have.
