You can't cure people with fat loss

Published: Sat, 03/09/19

This is a really poignant phrase in the health and fitness industry.

On the surface it is has an obvious meaning that you can't cure all ills with a loss of fat mass..they will remain.

However, where the phrase really hits home is when we look a little bit deeper...

The over-riding goal of most people that come through our door is the loss of fat mass.

Of course having less of it is good for our health, although do we put too much focus on it to the detriment of more important behaviours we need to change?

Are we wasting time and energy on assuming that we will be happier, more successful or more content when you lose those few kgs of belly fat?

I know for certain that losing my 35Kgs of wobbly bits was my be all and end all of the process and I definitely missed enjoying a lot of the journey.

I found that when I was where I wanted to be it wasn't all unicorns and rainbows, I still had some issues and behaviours to deal with:

Nervousness when in a crowded room, I still felt people were staring at the 'big guy' even though I wasn't anymore. My confidence was playing catch up.
Changing rooms in gyms still filled me with dread
I replaced smoking and drinking with exercise, and hit burn out and injury a few times
I was hyper-critical of most angles, folds and bumps of my body
Lack of confidence when talking to others...I was still recovering from relying on alcohol for my confidence so took some adjustment to be myself
I had lost the things I used to sedate myself so still had to search inside for resolutions to any depressive feelings and learn to confront these head on

Over time this turned into...

I don't even notice how crowded a room is and who is looking at me...doesn't everyone look at a new person entering a room anyway?
Changing rooms are as natural a place as my own bathroom now
I try to keep the best balance I can, embrace the ups and downs and be grateful for the lesson along the way
I only care what my body can DO...and is it doing better that yesterday by a little bit?
I'm the same person in a gym, on stage presenting or the pub (although I do miss the drunken walk home at midnight form the pub with the mates for some reason!)
Without the foggy headedness of hangovers (poor food choices or alcohol) I have bandwidth to learn, progress and work hard at being a better person every day (well most days!)

I'm still very much on this journey and my important things have shifted, but if you had asked me what my goals were 13 years ago I would have said..

'lose fat and tone up'

From experience from my own journey and those journeys I share with my clients, focusing on addressing the inner thoughts and aspirations and REAL reasons to get healthier is a game changer.

These are private, deep rooted (and often way past my scope of practice)
These are the things that make you cry.
These are the things that keep you in your own way!

What I noticed in myself is that I didn't notice that I was working through things UNTIL I had started to come out the other side.

We need to get good at the 'self belief' and confidence thing!

When we believe we are at our lowest, I believe that this is the beginning of the healing and it should be grabbed by the horns and ridden!

We can't cure ourselves, or each other, with fat loss, however focusing on getting strong, performing well, embracing change and trusting the process will give us SO much more!

Could that which is holding us back be that WE are resisting becoming the person we actually want to become?

Or are we pretty awesome already, but have our minds too much on the person we 'think' we should be to notice?

James Chandler
Personal Trainer
07870 262741
www.eatwellandworkout.com

'To inspire, educate and support our clients on their journey to better health'

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