People often ask what drives my passion to help people so much. I have been hesitant to share these things with all of you, but for some personal mental clarity, I think it’s time.
As I stated in my personal story, I struggled with my weight throughout childhood. My mom was an old-school cook. Dinner always consisted of cooked meat, potatoes, along with lots of butter, fats and creams. To this day, her diet consists of much of the same foods.
She is a nurse and is truly one of the hardest working people I have ever met. She takes care of an entire office from dawn till dusk. However, she has neglected to take care of herself. I beg her — often with tears — to take care of herself so she can live a long and healthy life, but she is just so stubborn. It is the same excuse day in and day out: “I don’t have time,” “There is nothing you can do for me” and “I am too old.”
My mother began her life with a major disadvantage. She was born with a lung disease that caused her to have most of one of her lungs removed. Regardless, all the stories I have been told from her past would make it seem like she never had any problems. She was 6 feet tall, could run like the wind and even dunk a basketball — a very impressive woman to say the least.
Along came three sons, a career, and soon, a very rapid decline in health. And now, at ONLY 60 years old, she is on oxygen and can hardly walk from the car into a restaurant to eat with her beloved grand-kids.
I truly believe I am a motivated, professional personal trainer. How then, could I not get my own family members to change their ways?
It breaks my heart because my mother has waited her whole life for a granddaughter to spoil. Now her excuses from the past really are valid. The things it would take to give her the high quality of life she deserves probably would kill her at this point. She is on every medicine under the sun just to make it through the day.
I know this will haunt me and I sometimes feel as though I may never be able to fully forgive myself.
I suppose in carrying on a profession as a personal trainer, I hope to give each of my clients what I feel like I could not give even to my own mother. I cannot help but feel some resentment toward her for not supporting me and not allowing me to help her. But today, I want to let that resentment go. I need the mental clarity that only forgiveness can bring, so I have to just say MOM I FORGIVE YOU. Through all the tears and hardships I will always love you.
I am still going to ride you constantly to try and keep you from eating all that fatty food and drinking all of those Pepsis. My mission is to try to help all of you from experiencing the pain of watching someone you love — or perhaps yourself — slowly killing themselves by not caring for their bodies.
OK, so now that I have achieved that mental clarity, let’s start talking about you all. It’s time to take the next step in this journey. No more excuses! You all are capable of being healthy and happy. Hopefully, each of you has begun to follow the baby steps routine by taking the stairs or adding walking to your daily routine.
So today, let’s talk diet. Over my 20 years of training, I have found a few fundamental truths about people regarding diet and exercise: People often lie, to themselves and others. We underestimate how many calories we consume, while overestimating how many we burn each day.
Let’s face facts: It is easy to eat. It’s so comforting when we are stressed; it is something to do when you’re bored; it is entertaining; it has become a staple in almost all gatherings, whether it is a birthday party, holidays, even a funeral. We love to eat. The problem is we are a nation of sugar and fat addicts. Each day we go looking for the fix.
What I have done — and suggest that you do — is keep a dietary log of what you eat every day. That way, you can evaluate what you eat, when you eat and the emotional state you were in at the time. You can even print a copy of this log online JUST CLICK HERE.
So start today by looking at your diet, and next week, we will give you information on foods to help you make more informed choices. Also, check out a few of these Web sites that provide some great dietary information:
- www.projectswole.com
- www.hsph.harvard.edu
Let me know what you think. Leave comments and/or questions here or on our FaceBook page.
by Mike White
Owner, Body-N-Motion
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