Being a personal trainer, it's literally my job to help people through their struggles in their journey's to achieve their weight loss and health goals.
Sometimes when I talk to my clients, they are under the assumption that I was always fit and have never struggled with my own fitness journey. I've had the assumptions of "well it must be nice to not have struggled and just always be fit" Which couldn't be farther from the truth!
The truth is, it wasn’t easy, my journey was full of ups and downs, as well as a lot of trial and error. I didn’t know what I was doing. I had some major struggles and things that I had to work on in my fitness journey.
I thought I would share some of the biggest struggles I’ve had because I realize everyone can probably relate to them at some point or another.
Struggle #1- I sucked at committing and consistency
Yes, it's true. It took me a loonnnggg time to figure out how to actually commit to the process and stay consistent. I had the notion in my mind that I would just have to workout “for now” until I reached my goals and then I could just not workout after that. That mentality sucked, I had all the excuses in the book, I spent years yo-yo dieting and working out with zero consistency. Guess what? It got me NOWHERE!
What I did- I eventually realized that if I wanted to stay fit, I had to actually STAY fit, meaning I couldn’t stop. I remember when I first decided to buckle down and get serious I said to myself, "What if I just didn’t stop this time?" Pretty harmless question but it changed my way of thinking. What if I just fucking did it already? That little question changed my lifestyle forever.
Struggle #2- I had no idea how to eat healthy.
Sometimes when I talk to my clients, they are under the assumption that I was always fit and have never struggled with my own fitness journey. I've had the assumptions of "well it must be nice to not have struggled and just always be fit" Which couldn't be farther from the truth!
The truth is, it wasn’t easy, my journey was full of ups and downs, as well as a lot of trial and error. I didn’t know what I was doing. I had some major struggles and things that I had to work on in my fitness journey.
I thought I would share some of the biggest struggles I’ve had because I realize everyone can probably relate to them at some point or another.
Struggle #1- I sucked at committing and consistency
Yes, it's true. It took me a loonnnggg time to figure out how to actually commit to the process and stay consistent. I had the notion in my mind that I would just have to workout “for now” until I reached my goals and then I could just not workout after that. That mentality sucked, I had all the excuses in the book, I spent years yo-yo dieting and working out with zero consistency. Guess what? It got me NOWHERE!
What I did- I eventually realized that if I wanted to stay fit, I had to actually STAY fit, meaning I couldn’t stop. I remember when I first decided to buckle down and get serious I said to myself, "What if I just didn’t stop this time?" Pretty harmless question but it changed my way of thinking. What if I just fucking did it already? That little question changed my lifestyle forever.
Struggle #2- I had no idea how to eat healthy.
Literally zero ideas. I had no clue how to eat to lose weight, gain muscle or really just to feel better. For my entire life up until I turned 19, I could eat WHATEVER I wanted! Did you go through this too? Many of us have, until we get older, less active and become adults so we have the freedom to eat whatever we want. I thought the way to go was to cut things out of my diet, dairy, carbs, fun?!? I had no idea what balance or a calorie deficit was. In my mind, it was all or nothing. I either at healthy or ate like garbage.
What I did- I started following different fitness professionals and personal trainers on social media. I read every article and sample nutrition plan I could find. I started with small changes. Not buying lunch 3-5 times per week (Bonus: budget-conscious too so I could afford a gym membership!). Cutting down on sugar and cream in my coffee. Drinking minimum of 2-3 litres of water per day. Swapping a sugary granola bar for veggies and hummus or greek yogurt and fruit. These changes were slow and not all at once, but they were the changes I made as I informed myself and saw progress.
Struggle #3- Injuries!!!
You most likely know about my struggles with my knee injuries and knee surgeries. Quick rundown: in November 2015, I tore my ACL in my left knee. In June 2016, I tore my ACL in my right leg. September 2016, I had Bilateral ACL surgery, and in March 2018, I had over 60% of my meniscus taken out of my left knee after a bucket handle tear left my meniscus unrepairable.
What I did- I started following different fitness professionals and personal trainers on social media. I read every article and sample nutrition plan I could find. I started with small changes. Not buying lunch 3-5 times per week (Bonus: budget-conscious too so I could afford a gym membership!). Cutting down on sugar and cream in my coffee. Drinking minimum of 2-3 litres of water per day. Swapping a sugary granola bar for veggies and hummus or greek yogurt and fruit. These changes were slow and not all at once, but they were the changes I made as I informed myself and saw progress.
Struggle #3- Injuries!!!
You most likely know about my struggles with my knee injuries and knee surgeries. Quick rundown: in November 2015, I tore my ACL in my left knee. In June 2016, I tore my ACL in my right leg. September 2016, I had Bilateral ACL surgery, and in March 2018, I had over 60% of my meniscus taken out of my left knee after a bucket handle tear left my meniscus unrepairable.
One thing many people don’t know is that when you have a major surgery like an ACL reconstruction, the muscles in your legs atrophy, meaning they disappear! So I had to start from scratch for BOTH legs after my ACL surgery. To say these injuries and surgeries were a struggle is a gross understatement.
Each time my knee would get injured/reinjured, it took a big toll on my motivation and mental health. I can’t count how many times I cried myself to sleep, I felt depressed and hopeless. So many days I wanted to quit, give up and just live my life with my shitty knees.
What I did- In the words of my mom, I had to put on my big girl panties and fucking deal with it (she doesn’t swear when she says it, but I have to put my spin on it). So I would have my breakdown, cry and be angry, then get up the next day and did what I had to do. Rinse and repeat until successful! I’d tell myself, “You can cry about it, but then you HAVE TO GO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!” Sometimes I had to have some pretty real conversations with myself because no one else was going to call me on my BS.
I had to rebuild my legs from nothing after already putting in so much time and effort training pre-surgery. I had to relearn how to walk properly, run, lift weights, etc. My physiotherapist/trainer worked with me to get myself back into shape and get myself back to where I was. I refused to give up on my progress and everything I had done, so I worked my ass off and paid A LOT of money in physiotherapy after my benefits would run out. Why? Because this was of the utmost importance to me, I knew that if I made it a priority both personally and financially, it would pay off.
Each time my knee would get injured/reinjured, it took a big toll on my motivation and mental health. I can’t count how many times I cried myself to sleep, I felt depressed and hopeless. So many days I wanted to quit, give up and just live my life with my shitty knees.
What I did- In the words of my mom, I had to put on my big girl panties and fucking deal with it (she doesn’t swear when she says it, but I have to put my spin on it). So I would have my breakdown, cry and be angry, then get up the next day and did what I had to do. Rinse and repeat until successful! I’d tell myself, “You can cry about it, but then you HAVE TO GO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!” Sometimes I had to have some pretty real conversations with myself because no one else was going to call me on my BS.
I had to rebuild my legs from nothing after already putting in so much time and effort training pre-surgery. I had to relearn how to walk properly, run, lift weights, etc. My physiotherapist/trainer worked with me to get myself back into shape and get myself back to where I was. I refused to give up on my progress and everything I had done, so I worked my ass off and paid A LOT of money in physiotherapy after my benefits would run out. Why? Because this was of the utmost importance to me, I knew that if I made it a priority both personally and financially, it would pay off.
Being able to walk around now, lift weights, stay active and be pain-free has been 100% worth every penny spent on physio and every second spent doing workouts I didn’t want to do.
For myself, these 3 obstacles were the biggest struggles I faced. There were other struggles, lack of time in my schedule between working a full-time job as a vet tech and teaching ju-jitsu/personal training in the evenings, which meant getting up crazy early to get my workouts in before work.
Feeling unmotivated and not wanting to get my workouts in meant relying on my discipline and dragging my ass to the gym when I’d rather get a root canal.
Everyone has their struggles when it comes to their health and fitness goals. And most people face the same struggles, lack of time/money/resources/injuries/lack of knowledge, etc.
You have your own struggles, I’ve had mine, but what makes the difference is how YOU handle your struggles!
For myself, these 3 obstacles were the biggest struggles I faced. There were other struggles, lack of time in my schedule between working a full-time job as a vet tech and teaching ju-jitsu/personal training in the evenings, which meant getting up crazy early to get my workouts in before work.
Feeling unmotivated and not wanting to get my workouts in meant relying on my discipline and dragging my ass to the gym when I’d rather get a root canal.
Everyone has their struggles when it comes to their health and fitness goals. And most people face the same struggles, lack of time/money/resources/injuries/lack of knowledge, etc.
You have your own struggles, I’ve had mine, but what makes the difference is how YOU handle your struggles!
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| Some pictures from my knee surgery |
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