Thursday, February 28, 2013

Incredible shrinking woman

I've been training a friend of mine in her living room for the past month, in order to gain experience in one-on-one training and also to help her gain self-confidence and lose pounds and inches.  I wasn't sure how things were going for several reasons: she didn't keep in close contact with me during the week (which made me think she wasn't sticking to her diet and wasn't exercising like I prescribed), she didn't make her food log readily available for me to scrutinize, and she changed appointment days often.  I wasn't sure if she was truly invested.

Finally, on the last appointment of the month, I asked her probing questions about her underlying issues and motivations for trying to change her life through fitness.  She opened up, we had some laughs, some "ah ha" moments and some tears.  Then, she showed me her food log, showed me her kitchen cabinets, and even discussed changes in her bra size and bowel movements.  It was amazing how my digging deeper really opened her up to sharing about her progress.

We ended the session with her telling me that her buns, thighs and hips were feeling much less squished in her jeans, and I had noticed her mid-section was much less full when sitting and standing.  I asked if I could write about her progress in my blog.  She seemed proud that I thought it was so remarkable and gave me the go-ahead.  The truth is, I don't think it's that remarkable that she is following through with a diet and exercise plan and losing inches -- she should be losing weight if she follows my advice and accepts my support.  The thing I feel is remarkable is that a 50 some-odd year old woman would desire change in her life and go after it ... even to the point of having a younger friend come over and tell her what to do, make her sweat and squirm and have her cabinets looked into.  I hope I inspire her to continue to seek personal growth (through fitness and other avenues), and I love that she inspires me to want to pursue ongoing growth for the rest of my life.

May we both have another 50 years or more of physical, emotional and spiritual health... and may we be there for one another in the process.