Don’t (necessarily) judge a book by its cover

Today I read something on somebody’s TT challenge log that was like a red rag to a bull. This is what he said:

I saw something at the gym that annoyed me. A “Fitness Instructor” teaching a class who did not look the part. Similar to a trainer at the former gym I went to. How can I trust someone that doesn’t apply what they teach.

Sorry, but it makes me sick.

And I’m going to reproduce my reply in full here.

“Whoa, maybe you don’t know the whole story! Let me tell you mine.

With a history of being overweight that was gradually getting worse, I gave up my sedentary job and re-trained to become a personal trainer. My goals were a) to get myself into shape, and b) to help other people like me. On my first day of PT school, I weighed in at 17 stone (238 pounds), and I am a 5′ 4″ woman.

On our first day, we went round the room introducing ourselves and saying what we wanted to get out of the course. It came to the turn of the guy sitting next to me and he said, and I quote, I still remember it exactly: “Hi, I’m [....], and I don’t want to work with fat people, I want to work with athletes.”

After picking my jaw up off the ground, and ignoring the burning shame of embarrassment in my cheeks (despite HIM being the asshole), I said: “Hi, I’m Angie. And I don’t want to work with athletes. I want to work with fat people.”

As a person not blessed with the kind of metabolism that allows me to eat much at all but having grown up in a nice Jewish home where you showed love in the form of fried foods, and nice girls didn’t get sweaty, I know how easy it is to one day wake up and wonder, how the hell did I get here? These are the people whose lives I want to help improve – the ones where my intervention can make a real difference.

Anyway, despite looking quite different from the other people on the course – a footballer, a runner/martial arts practitioner, an aerobics bunny, a couple of ex-military, a competitive swimmer, etc. I sucked it up, and my background in science meant that I learned so much more than some of the others who struggled with the more academic side. But even so, come graduation (and having lost a couple of stone, but with a lot more to go), I just didn’t feel right offering advice to others. Like you, I thought, I’m still overweight, I’m not fit (although I was a lot fitter than I had been three months earlier) – why would anyone listen to me? I didn’t have the confidence to practise as a PT, despite having so much to offer, not least, understanding.

Since then, my own weight loss and fitness journey has been up and down, and I am still a long way from where I want to be, although I am a damn site closer than I was that day 3 years ago. I fight my battles everyday, including moderate to severe depressive illness, and sometimes I lose and sometimes I win. But I keep coming back, and am moving towards my goals.

And having posted quite a bit online (where people can’t see me and my own insecurities don’t come to the fore) I have realised that I have so much to offer. This has spurred me to get back into the industry. I have just been accepted on a Masters course in Weight Management, and been offered a job as a nutrition/fitness trainer on the Obesity Team of our local council – a job that 95 other people applied for. I got it because I understand the clients, I don’t judge them, which doesn’t mean that I don’t think they need to change, but I want to help them get there.

And if you watched me standing in front of one of those classes, I do hope that you wouldn’t think “That makes me sick.”

Please, take a look at that “Fitness Instructor” with fresh eyes. They were interested and cared enough to get qualified, they have the guts (do you think they don’t know they don’t look the part, in the gym and out of it) to stand up there and help those people move towards their fitness goals. And if they’re fit enough to lead the class, cut them some slack!”
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Holding steady and salad for breakfast

Well, the weight held up, as did my knees. Feeling good today although still a bit sore from my weights workouts earlier this week. Will have an easy day today – just planned to try out a new yoga DVD that I bought, but I seemed to have yanked my shoulder at work, doing what I have no idea! Will try some tiger balm and see how I get on.

I also discovered a great breakfast salad – well, it was just a salad, but I’ve been looking for tempting and delicious ways to include more veg in my breakfasts, or any veg in my breakfasts for that matter. Saw this Tropical Salad and thought I might be able to stomach it first thing. And it’s easy to make too: just throw it all into a bowl and you’re good to go. I am going to put it up on my Recipes page too. It is a bit low in protein, so if you need your lean protein at every meal, add some cottage cheese or other protein of choice.

Tropical Salad

• Large handful watercress, hard stems removed
• Half a ripe, but firm avocado, thinly sliced
• Half a ripe papaya, seeded, cubed

Dressing

• Mix juice of one lime, about half the zest, 1 tsp of olive (or other oil), dash salt and a good few grounds of fresh black pepper. Shake well. Pour over and serve immediately.