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Writer's pictureChristian Elliot

Confessions of a 13-Year Personal Trainer

Most people approach losing weight completely backwards.


There’s one blind spot that causes people to throw cash down the “weight-loss money pit.”


Failures pile up, frustration mounts, and many believe the lie that their body is the problem.



My friend, you don’t have to stay on the weight-loss rollercoaster.


But to get off, you have to think differently.


QUICK BACKSTORY


I got certified as a personal trainer back in 2007, this was pre-iPhone--a long time ago.


I absolutely love exercise. Through it, I had found something that allowed me to step into an identity I always wanted for myself.


I was scrawny 140-pound kid in high school. Exercise had allowed me to reshape my body into a trim, capable 175 – 190-pound, confident man.


It made sense to me to make fitness a profession. What a great gift to be able to give people the chance to reshape their bodies and become who they’re meant to be as well.


THE IRONY OF MY PROFESSION


People come to me (and spend good money) to help them lose weight.


Yet, never once have I tried to lose weight.


I’ve was always the guy who was trying to gain weight, or keep from losing it.


To this day (I’m 43 now), my body will still shrink without much effort. If I catch a cold, or miss my workouts for a couple weeks, I lose weight.


Now before you roll your eyes, and say “must be nice” or write me off as having no ability to relate to you…give me a second.


It’s not like I can’t relate to your desire to reshape your body.


The emotions and beliefs that your body doesn’t represent you well, are all the same, just from the other end of the spectrum.


SO HOW DID I BECOME A TRUSTED WEIGHT-LOSS EXPERT?


Turns out, when you go into personal training as a profession, the (by far) number one reason people hire a trainer, is to lose weight.


Guess what I had to learn quickly if I was going to make it as a trainer—yeah… how to help people lose weight.


Yet, exercise alone it pretty limited in its ability to help. My 1-hour of influence is far out weighted by the other 23 hours of choices that may or may not have been helpful to that end.


So, I had to think bigger.


HOW BEING SICK BECAME GOOD FOR BUSINESS


I didn’t become a “health nut” because I wanted to help people lose weight.


I became a health nut because in my 20’s my joints were falling apart, and my immune system regularly got its butt kicked by a common cold.


Because I was both sick and scrawny, I had to figure out how to build health, not just muscle.


I couldn’t just drink the weight-gainer shakes and pump weights all day to “bulk up.”


My desire to reshape my body, eventually had to take a backseat to getting healthy.


MY COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE


As it turns out, building health makes gaining muscle much easier. It also keeps you from getting sick.


Here’s the cool part--building better health is also how you lose weight…for good.


In retrospect, it’s obvious to me why my health was poor, but at the time it was a mystery.


MOST PEOPLE MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE WITH WEIGHT LOSS


Most people think losing weight will make them healthy.


That’s backwards.


Weight loss (sustainable weight loss) is a side-effect of being healthy.


When you shift your focus, there’s still a lot to learn, but you stop falling for short cuts, and you start making real progress.


SUMMARY


Focus on weight loss, and you’ll stay on the weight-loss rollercoaster forever.


Build health, and you can finally lose weight.


What if getting healthy didn't have to feel overwhelming?


When you’re ready for a totally different, step-by-step approach, check this out.


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