personal trainer vs own entertainer

This post stems form some recent experiences I've had when telling people I have a personal trainer.

Generally speaking - when people ask how i have lost my weight and kept it off and i say a personal trainer - well in a sense... i did an on-line thing for about 6 months then moved on to something a bit more 'real' - by this i mean someone I can chat to over the phone. Any way, be it on-line (which is good if you're rural or can't afford a personal trainer in a gym), face to face, over the phone it doesn't matter, you're still getting the advice off people who are in the industry and have experince with helping people lose weight and feel great. Anyway, i often get a raised eyebrow - some of my 'skinny' friends - they think i'ts obsessive - and other people just seem to have the idea that only famous people have personal trainers.

My question to you is: "Would you try fixing your car if you had no idea how, or had such conflicting information you were just blatantly confused by it all and didn't know where to start or what was right for you?" I'm sure the majority of you will answer 'no'. So why then does such a huge amount of the general population feel that they should be able to lose weight on their own? For most they are venturing down the road with nothing more than a diet out of a magazine or the latest publication - maybe a diet that they got with their latest bottle of pills. It is SO simple, so SIMPLE that most of us overlook it as we by now have found the whole idea of being fit and healthy/losing weight etc retc so bloody complicated, i have news for you ITS NOT. Now i didn't say it was easy, anything worth achieving is rarely 'easy' i said it's simple. By joining up with a personal trainer you get to learn about ways your body responds to certain activities - different ways to work out - different foods that are right for you etc etc, they take the guess work out of it for you.

It is so easy to see why weight loss is such a massive industry. Everyone is so overwhelmed by all the conflicting information - the latest fad diets etc that they end up leading thewm self round in round in circles spending more time, more money on supplements, gym memberships that go unused etc etc because they don't know what's right for them and get fed up by not getting results.

In my opinion, if you invest the money in a personal trainer... upfront... you save yourself the heartache and frustration of jumping from one diet to the next, losing then regaining weight etc etc. By having a personal trainer you have someone to help you get and stay focused as well as someone that has a wealth of knowledge! You can ask them q's and get answers... you cant do that with a book! YES, they may require you to spend more money upfront, but if it's life long changes you want to make - as far as i'm concerned the only way to do that is through education & experience!

In my experience when most people begin their weight loss jouneys they want to have something 'real' something they can stick to, a plan for life.... the empty promises from diet to diet doesn't give you that. Admittadley some people are fine designing their own programs and get great results through doing the research, but they are a small minority. In no way do i mean that you stop researching or reading, because this is a part of personal growth and will help you make the right decisions, yes you will have trial and error regardless, but if you want to get serious what is wrong with taking a bit of a short cut and getting someone to help and educate you?

If you decide to go down this road "shop around" for your trainer, find someone that you feel comfortable with, someone who respects your values and is willing to help and educate you, ask them lots of questions. Figure out what it is you want, be realistic, if you're not sure what 'realistic is, ask them! that's what you're paying them for! Be ready with a list of foods you enjoy and a list of foods you hate so they have something to work off, it will probably require compromise on both sides but getting what you want often requires you to make sacrafices!

At the end of the day, personal trainer or not there is only one person that is responsible for taking care of the awesome machine we have (ok, it may not be in top condition yet, but the best thing is it will be eventually... now there's something to look forward to!) I AM, YOU ARE..! We still have to drag our butts out of bed to train or find extra motivation to stay out of the fridge somedays, the most important thing to remember is, that although it feels as if you've become you overnight, it's actually taken your whole life to get how you are! Changes aren't going to be made overnight... they will take time, patience and consistancy, providing you practicee it you will reach you goals!

Good luck

love kat