When Enrique started 1-1 personal training with me, he was certain that he wanted to lose weight. I’m a big, big believer in meeting a client where they are already at with respect to how they already eat. Enrique knew that he was on a fast food diet. McDonalds, frozen meals, donuts, sausage biscuits, you name it. Eating out and drive through meals were status quo, so he was skeptical that I would be able to pull together a nutrition plan that allowed him to eat how he already ate.
But, to paraphrase a client that joked with him: “You’ll like training with Sumi, she’ll kick your butt and give you an occasional donut.”
And if I had to sum it up as far as my approach, I’d say that was it. Enrique’s lifestyle (think single bachelor with minimal cooking skills) meant that a lot of his food was highly processed, and based on drive-through and fast food meals, and very little fruits and vegetables. I didn’t want him to overhaul his entire way of eating, but I did see room for improvement.
Sumi: Tell me why you opted for strength training and diet coaching. Why now? What motivated you to change your ways?
Me: I got tired of being fat. Exercising on my own wasn’t working. I needed a change. I would go to the gym and workout for an entire hour every single day. But any muscle gains I made would be ruined by my poor choice of diet. I wasn’t seeing any results. So, I decided to get some professional fitness help.
Sumi: I still incorporated meals from McDonalds and fast food. How important was it to have these in your regular meal plan?
Me: It was a huge relief. When I started, I thought I was going to have to go on some type of strict seaweed diet. And there’s a reason people eat so much fast food anyway; it’s cheap, fast, and delicious.
For someone like me who never learned to eat healthy, without it I would have been completely frustrated and would have probably given up.
Sumi: What was the most challenging part about your nutrition program?
Me: Have you ever herd the phrase, “Always trust your first gut instinct. It’s always right.”? It turns out that my gut instinct was completely unreliable. It lead me to over eat at every meal. My portion control was awful. What I wanted to eat was way more than what I actually needed to eat.
Enrique before
Enrique, After
Sumi: What was your most favorite part about your training program? Talk to me a little bit about the strength training, and the cardio.
Me: The most interesting aspect was learning the different variations of your favorite exercise, the squat. I was amazed at all the ways you could torture (I mean workout) with just one movement. Beside the regular basic squat, other types include the overhead squat, the squat and press, the Bulgarian split squat, and of course your very own Pink Chair Squat. I’m sure everyone knows what I’m talking about.
Sumi: What’s next for you, fitness/health/wellness-wise?
Me: My next three month goal is to lose an additional 15 lbs. I also plan on running the 3M Half Marathon in January and the Austin Marathon in February. But the very first thing I’m going to do is celebrate my recent weight lose goal with a trip to Whataburger.
Sumi: Do you have any tips for single guys with basic cooking skills?
Me: Steak. Can’t go wrong steak.
Sumi: Anything else you’d like to offer your fans? Tips for their own success?
Me: It’s important to celebrate all of your achievements no matter how small they may appear to be. Just keep moving in the right direction and before you know it you will reach your goal.
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