It's a Love Story, Baby!

As cheesy (and beautiful, if I may add) as it is, your fitness journey is a love story, with you as the main character; the star, the author, and the narrator! We are such HUGE fans of you that we have asked for multiple signatures.😉

Though you may not feel like a star, you’ve already written an amazing story and have so much left to write with power behind each word. Let’s dig deeper into why it’s a love story, the superpowers you have, and your next chapter. 

Chapter 1: Speaking of Stories…

The stories below are based on real people who have kindly let me share their story. I hope their stories help to inspire you as they have inspired me.

Danny, a 38 year old male, is a father of two young kids and is a hard working lawyer working 10 or more hours a day. He reached out to me for help last year saying, “It was like one day I opened my eyes and I was all of a sudden 330 pounds… I’ve been too busy to notice how far I’ve fallen.” The deeper we dug into his life, he shared he was recently recovering from drug and alcohol abuse. “I know I am going to die young if I continue this way. I want to be around for my family and set an example.” Six months into his fitness journey, he was 35 pounds down, prioritizing his health and self-care, improving his sleep, reducing stress, and eating cleaner. His chapter is about learning to put his health first. 

Christina, a 54 year old female, is a stay-at-home mom with her two kids who manages the family schedule while her pilot husband is away. For the past 15 years, she has struggled with her weight, gaining an extra 30 pounds since the pandemic. She felt that everytime she attempted to work out consistently and eat healthy in order to lose weight, she would fail after a few days and would give up and instantly go back to old habits. She tried multiple fitness programs and nutrition plans, but couldn’t seem to stick to them. October 2023, she reached out stating how she really wants to lose the weight and keep it off this time. As we dug deeper, we found that rephrasing her thoughts to embrace failure and achieving small habits would help her succeed. February 2024, she is 25 pounds down even through some setbacks! Her chapter is normalizing set-backs and instantly jumping back on track with her new identity as a fit individual. 

Diana, a 76 year old female, is a mother and grandmother, and owner of her late husband’s paint store. She was training three times a week and making amazing progress in her strength and balance the past 6 years. One night, she was involved in a head-to-head car collision due to a drunk driver being on the wrong side of the road. She was in the hospital for a few days with major head injuries. Once cleared by doctors 2 months later, she wanted to come back to the gym - her body felt weaker, but she felt better after each session. A couple months later on a winter day, she slipped on ice going down stairs and hit the back of her head on the stairs. After many doctors and neurologist appointments, she was cleared again to return to activity, but her body and mind did not feel the same to her. Despite it all, she kept coming in and working with her doctors to reach recovery. Her chapter is continuously working out within proper limits and trusting her doctors, physical therapists, and personal trainer to work together for her recovery. 

Each of these people have unique stories - but they all have two things in common. They chose to place their fitness and well-being towards the top of their priority list and to find the positive in their situations. In other words, they decided to give themselves a little more love and attention and embrace the power they have despite their circumstances. Your story can have that too.

Chapter 2: “With Great Power, Comes Great Responsibility”

Did you know that you have superpowers in your story? It may not be invisibility, web-shooting, unbelievable strength, flight, or telekinesis… BUT it is the power of the mind - your mind specifically.

According to a study done at Queen's University, we have an average of 6,000 thoughts a day. That’s more than the amount of daily breaths we take! Though we may not be conscious of every single one of them, I’m sure there are a few repetitive phrases you could consciously identify. 

Think of your thoughts like butterflies - they fly freely and come in all shapes, colors and sizes - AND they’re catchable. The question is, which butterflies are you catching? Are you catching the thoughts that serve you (positive) or hurt you (negative)? How do these butterflies affect your everyday confidence and perspective?

Our thoughts create who we are. What we think dictates our feelings, which then dictates our actions. Our thoughts literally change the chemistry in our brain. When I was 14, my dad would often tell me that it would take three positive thoughts to override one negative one. Why? ‘Cause negativity is heavy. It can weigh on us emotionally and mentally.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Model

According to the National Science Foundation, 80% of our thoughts are negative. Yikes! But it doesn’t have to be that way because of our superpower of neuroplasticity: the ability of the brain to form and reorganize synaptic connections. YOU can recreate your brain. It all starts with what you write.

Chapter 3: Writing the Now with the Future in Mind

You are where you are in your story. In other words, we can’t skip the current chapter of our fitness love story, whether we're in an exciting, thrilling, scary, happy, or battle-filled chapter. But we can decide what we write within the chapter. Let’s use the stories from before:

Danny could have thought:	Instead he thought:
“330lbs!? I’m already too far gone and I’m way too busy to fit in any workouts.”	“I want to live a long life with my family and set an example. I must and will prioritize my health, even if it means being judged at work for working less.”

Christina could have thought:	Instead she thought:
“Another fitness and nutrition program failed. No use in trying again if I’m going to keep failing. I’m so fat and out of shape.”	“I’m not where I want to be, but I’m going to keep trying. Setbacks are normal. What matters is that I jump right back on the program like I didn’t miss a day. I’m going to succeed this time! I deserve this!”

Diana could have thought:	Instead she thought:
“I just want to stay in bed with how my body is feeling. I’m too injured and too old to return to training.”	“What I went through was unfortunate, but I know I can come out stronger from this! I have a good team behind me.”

Now it's your turn.

Grab a pen and paper.

Write down three of those butterfly thoughts that could use some rewriting. It could be as simple as, “I’m so out of shape,” or, “I’m not a fitness person / I hate working out,” or, “I'm unhappy with my weight,” or, “I don’t have time,” or, “I have too many injuries,” etc.

Is that thought serving you, or is it hurting you? If it’s hurting you, how can you rewrite that narrative to make it a more helpful and loving one? Use your neuroplasticity superpower and change that pathway. You may be surprised with the feelings and behaviors that follow. 

Lastly, it’s good to remember that with every page, chapter, plot twist, hero, villain -- even if it is yourself at times -- keep in mind that there is always another chapter. ”This too shall pass,” as my mother would say.

Keep loving yourself each day through your thoughts and your movement. And remember, exercising or training is not just what you do, it’s who you are. You deserve to feel happy, healthy, and fit! ♥️ It’s your love story, baby. Just say “YES”! (credit: Taylor Swift, of course).