Message From Lisa Dougherty, Owner of Whole Body Fitness

Inspired by…Conversations with My Father

My father tells me that as we get older the years fly by faster. He often reminisces about his youth when he would ask his mom (my grandmother): “When will summer be here?”, “When will Christmas be here?” It seemed like the time crawled by when he was young. As adults, it seems before we know it, the holidays are here and gone and another new year begins. It’s at this time that we make resolutions. We want to lose weight, get in better shape, and be healthier. What we resolve to do is: make the changes necessary to live a better, quality of life, and live longer. It’s just a matter of dedication and for some, creating balance in their day in order to accomplish these goals. As “they” say, “All the money in the world doesn’t mean anything if we don’t have our health”.

I came across this quote: “Making personal changes takes courage, planning, persistence and will.” I have coached/trained many remarkable people, with various challenges, who took ownership of their health and the quality of their lives. Today they are stronger, healthier, and more confident, doing things that they didn’t think were possible before. They all arrived at a point in their lives where they were ready to make the commitment to be healthier. They just never gave up.

I talk with my father every Sunday – it’s our “fireside chat” – although he does not have a fireplace. We’ve been doing this for years. He has survived cancer three times. He’ll tell you he’s one of my biggest fans. Really, I am one of his biggest fans. He is a great mentor to me and one of my best friends. He inspires me do my best, be healthy, and take care of ME first. He is one of the reasons that I started Whole Body Fitness after leaving my job in corporate America . I wanted to make a difference and change people’s lives so they could live healthier, longer, more fulfilling lives.

He always says in closing each week, “Have a good day, a good week and a great life”. I once asked him, why he always tells me to “have a great life”?, his reply was, “There are no guarantees about tomorrow or next week, so just in case I want you to know I want you to have a great life”.

We should all heed this advice and take responsibility for our health and the quality of our lives. Having the support of family, friends and co-workers will enhance the chance for success. My team is also here to serve and support you in reaching your health related goals. We look forward to hearing from you this year! Don’t let another year fly by…

My business continues to grow through your referrals.
Many thanks for your continued trust and confidence.

It’s New Year’s! Time for Resolutions…and a Second Grade Math Lesson? By Dr. Laura Triplett

It’s New Year’s!  Time for Resolutions…and a Second Grade Math Lesson?

By Dr. Laura Triplett

 

Mrs. Mackowen was my second grade teacher.  Now, she’s little more than a blurry memory, but some of the things I learned in her class continue to find use and purpose some 23 years later.  For instance, simple division.  Learning how to divide four by two or twenty by five has come in handy innumerable times, but never is simple division more relevant than during New Year’s. 

 

Right now, we’re surrounded by three types of people:  First, there are those who are casually tossing around lofty resolutions that we all know are totally bogus, albeit well-intentioned (you just gotta love someone who honestly believes and wholeheartedly pledges to become fluent in Chinese, become a professional Irish high-stepper and join Michael Flatley’s dance troupe, take a summer tour of America’s national parks (becoming a professional conservationist along the way), and forgo cheese…and trust me, I do believe I’ll be able to accomplish all of this).  Second, we have those who make resolutions with such seriousness that if you even dare to question the feasibility of said resolutions, the resolver will, quite literally, burst into flames (not surprisingly, I do become irritable when someone questions my potential capability for high-stepping).  And finally, there are the realists (or you might consider them the party poopers) who refuse to even acknowledge that we’ve entered into a new year, let alone resolve to do or become something different (Greg, are you reading this?  In all fairness, there’s no need to change when you’re already perfect).

 

But, let’s get back to Mrs. Mackowen’s simple division and what role it plays in kicking-off 2009.  Most of us go overboard with our resolutions.  The majority of New Year’s resolutions are about eating less, exercising more, getting in shape or looking better.  These resolutions typically come in the form of, “I resolve to lose 100 pounds!” or “I will exercise for two hours every day!” or “I’ll never order dessert again!” or “I resolve to be back to the same size I wore in high school by summer!”  No doubt, these are winning resolutions, but they are not realistic.  By mid-January – and that’s giving the benefit of the doubt – these resolutions have done nothing other than give a swift kick to our self-esteem.  Not only did we jump ship when it came to working toward our goals, but worse than that, we beat ourselves up for resolving to do things we knew we could not possibly do.  Too bad we didn’t resolve to set ourselves up for failure.  That’s one resolution at which we all could succeed!

 

But, hang on.  Hope is far from lost.  It’s still early January and if you are holding out hope to make your resolutions a reality employ simple division.  That’s right, divide each resolution by half (or more, if necessary).  If you said you would lose 100, turn it into 50.  If you said you would exercise two hours every day, go with one hour three times a week.  If you said you would become fluent in Chinese, enroll in Berlitz and pick up enough of the language to sound as though you’ve just returned from some totally glamorous humanitarian mission.  Learn to high-step to the point that your Dad will say, next time he’s watching the Irish dance PBS special, that “you should really be up on that stage!” 

 

Resolutions are mostly fun, but they can also be meaningful and achievable.  This year, resolve to set yourself up for success, instead of failure.  Think of Mrs. Mackowen and her simple division.  And then, when you surpass the low-bar you’ve set for yourself, just think about how good you’re going to feel when you “casually” (i.e., forcefully) mention to everyone you know (and strangers, too) that you resolved to “lose a few,” but you obviously didn’t recognize your own potential and motivation because you are already well past that meager resolution you set back at the start of the year.  “I’ve learned my lesson about expecting too little from myself,” you’ll say in an oh-so-casual tone, “Next year, I’m going to make my resolutions more reflective of my strong willpower and endless capabilities.”

About Dr. Laura Triplett

Dr. Laura Triplett (Ph.D., University of Arizona) is an Assistant Professor of Communications at California State University, Fullerton. Her research focuses on the social implications of physical appearance, the effects of mass media’s depiction of women, stereotyping, and stigma. She enjoys skiing, traveling (her current dream trip is a storm-chasing tour during tornado season), and playing with her dog. She is passionate about equal rights, animal rights, and shoes. Dr. Triplett resides in Orange County.

People-Watchers Beware: Don’t Let Lookism be the Lenses in Your Binoculars — By Dr. Laura Triplett

Do you ever stop to wonder how we have allowed society to reach this point? That point being the moment in time when it became acceptable to comment or question a woman’s physical appearance, and in particular, her weight? If you have turned on the television, listened to the radio, logged onto the Internet, opened a magazine or even had a casual conversation with a friend, you are likely to have either been exposed to or participated in a discussion about another woman’s weight. And the sense of entitlement – perhaps you have noticed that society seems to feel it’s literally owed an explanation for why a woman looks the way she does – that accompanies our doing this brings up a very important question, “Why the heck are we doing this?”

What we are doing is known as Lookism and it is one of the most common, albeit harmful, forms of stereotyping. And unfortunately, women are subjected to it to a far greater degree than their male counterparts. It is a simple process that, in part, involves using a person’s physical appearance to make assumptions and judgments about who that person is. Recall the last time you met someone new; before you even interacted with her you used physical characteristics to draw conclusions about who she is. For example, you might have interpreted her blonde hair to mean that she lacks intelligence or thought her black sweater was evidence that she suffers from depression. For a woman, weight is the most defining characteristic others use to make judgments about who she is; weight cues perception about everything: From how likeable she is to whether she can be trusted.

And as bogus as we all know this is, Lookism endures. We were not born to be Lookists, rather we have been socially schooled to find certain physical characteristics more desirable than others. Worse, we have allowed the media to set unrealistic standards for female aesthetics that are so ridiculous, women should be amassing right now…gathering for a mammoth uprising against outrageous beauty expectations. We should march on…well…on the offices of Vogue and the headquarters of Cover Girl to tell them that we will no longer let them decide what women should look like!

But, alas, we don’t assemble…we never gather…and we certainly haven’t risen up against the absurd expectations that women should look like Barbie (even if looking like Barbie means that women are forced to walk on all fours because the unrealistic proportions of the teeny-tiny plastic standard to which we are endlessly compared, would make it impossible to stand erect). Instead, we idly stand by while Jennifer Love Hewitt, a size two, is chastised for looking too heavy on her Hawaiian vacation, and while Eva Longoria Parker has to deny pregnancy rumors because, apparently, she dared to eat, and while one of the female contestants on Bravo’s “Make Me a Supermodel” was told her legs were too “jiggly” and could never be put “on a runway” (as if they were autonomous from their owner and had the option of walking on their own) because it would be too “horrifying” for the fashionistas and glitterati lining the catwalk.

So, why the heck are we doing this? And why are we letting it be done to us? Women should want to be healthy. And happy. And most importantly, real. I can’t speak for you, but I would much rather walk erect than join my dog on all fours even if this means I’ll never look like Barbie. How a woman looks should not be anyone’s business, but her own. No woman should care more about how a woman looks than herself. And when a woman cares most about how she looks – and forgoes letting Lookism be her guide – she will be healthier, happier, and more real than ever before.

Why the “Me” in “I’m doing this for me” is Key — By Dr. Laura Triplett

Him.  Her.  Them.  Us.   Most people are motivated to change who they are for someone else.  And that’s just not right.  Ever decreasingly, the phrase “I’m doing this for me” is uttered and when it is, it is often said with guilt, insincerity, and irritation.  Guilt for daring to be “selfish” enough to take the time to do something for yourself; insincerity because you know that this urge to change came from an external rather than an internal need; and irritation from being put in a situation where change is a requirement to fulfill someone or something’s expectations.

So, what’s wrong with saying what you mean and meaning what you say when it comes to proclaiming, “I’m doing this for me?”  Absolutely nothing.  In fact, when we actually do something for ourselves we become better people.  Any effort that is made under the auspices of bettering yourself because you genuinely want to be better is like a gift to humankind.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful if our society was one comprised of people who better themselves — becoming the people they truly want to be — because it is their desire to do so and not just a response to what others think they should do?

When you talk about personal change, any endeavor that you want to be successful has to begin with the phrase, “I’m doing this for me.”  Because if you’re doing it for any other person or worse, because you think it’s what society expects of you, then the journey becomes a fight and success, an infinite burden.  But when you really want to do something — and you do it because the very thought of it makes you desperate with anticipation and excitement — then you know you’re truly doing it for yourself.

Physical change doesn’t come easy, but the difficulty of it is made ever so sweeter when you remember “I’m doing this for me.”

Read About Robin’s Weight Loss Journey:

My weight loss journey started in September of 2003 as a Whole Body Fitness client. I hired Lisa to help train me so that I could lose weight before my wedding in September of 2004. I loved my personal training with Lisa and I was successful in losing weight. But after the wedding I started thinking that I was done and I could just go back to my old habits. So, I took a year off from training and enjoyed being a newlywed…which translated into me “letting myself go” once again.

I tried to tell myself that I was just stressed out by my job, when in fact I really had just stopped taking care of myself…I wasn’t making my health and fitness needs a priority anymore. And even though my clothing size was steadily increasing, the strange thing was that I didn’t really think I looked that bad when I looked in the mirror. But all it took was seeing some vacation photos of myself in the summer of 2005 and that was pretty much the last straw. I found that I had gained back all the weight that I had lost and gained even more! I was asking myself …How did this happen? Was that really me in the photos? Even though I knew the answers, it was extremely hard to own up to the fact that when it came right down to it…I was the only one to blame for my weigh gain and it was time to do something about it.

Fortunately, Lisa and I had kept in touch during my time off from training. I remember her telling me on more than one occasion that I should quit my job and come work for her as a personal trainer. I really thought she was joking! She knew that I had gained all of my weight back and that I was still a stressed out mess who was having trouble making her own fitness a priority. She had known me for 2 years at that point and I thought, “What does she see in me that I can’t see in myself”? I was amazed that she could believe in me enough to think that I could be a successful personal trainer and help motivate others. She told me that because I was struggling with my own weight loss issues, I would have a unique perspective to bring to my personal training career. I would actually be able to empathize with my clients because I would able to share the fact that I lived through my own weight loss journey!

So I decided that the journey needed to begin as soon as possible. I started by taking the American Council on Exercise personal training certification exam….and I passed! Within weeks I gave notice at my job and signed on with Lisa and Whole Body Fitness in July of 2005. The only problem was that the month I signed on with Lisa, I was at my heaviest weight EVER- 211 lbs! Doubt started to immediately creep in and thoughts were swirling in my head…how could I train people looking like that? What were clients and other trainers going to think when they saw me training my own clients? I was truly afraid…the environment that I so longed to be a part of was also one where I felt I would be the most scrutinized. Once again, I turned to Lisa who convinced me that I needed to just “jump in” and get started training clients…she told me that she was not worried about how much I weighed at the moment because she KNEW that I would be able lose the weight. I realized that as my mentor and teacher, it was her opinion that mattered the most to me anyway! If she had that much confidence in me, then there was no way I would let her down!

I started learning everything that I could from Lisa…I was like a sponge! I started learning workouts from her, I started training a few clients, I went to school to educate myself as a Fitness Specialist, and I started working on myself by adopting a weight training program, doing regular cardio sessions and introducing healthy eating habits into my life.

A key ingredient in my weight loss success was running. One of the best gifts that Lisa gave me was her passion for running. My relationship with running had a tumultuous start, however. I definitely did not enjoy moving my body that much at over 200 lbs. Let me tell you, running at that weight was a constant reminder with EVERY STEP just how much fat I had and where exactly I had it on my body! Honestly, running for any length of time made me want to cry. And it had nothing to do with any kind of physical pain, it was the mental and emotional pain of pushing myself through each step…being in tune with my body and constantly reminded of just how far I still had to go in my fitness journey. It also made me angry. Angry that I had done this to my body and angry that I physically couldn’t run any farther or faster. So I decided to channel that anger into determination and that determination turned into the motivation I needed to continue to run. I wanted to be able to run and hold a conversation with someone. I wanted to be able to run with my clients. I wanted to be able to run with Lisa and not have to stop. And you know what? Slowly, but surely…all of those things happened! I decided to start running in races, not to try and run for speed or time but because I wanted to feel fit, like an athlete and be with other crazy people who got up super early to be physically active…I needed the support system. And I wanted a way to commemorate each successful race I did by collecting a small piece of paper called a racing bib that had the date and my number on it. Sometimes I even got a medal! And so it started…I ran a 5K, and then a 10K. Then worked up to running the Disneyland Half Marathon. Then I picked up trail running to mix things up and ran a 9-mile trail race. Now, I regularly run over 10 miles a week just with clients and am currently training for my first marathon! I never thought that my running would have come this far, but I realized that I actually like pushing myself physically because I can!!!

All of the lifestyle changes I adopted resulted in me losing over 50 lbs. And I have still managed to keep the weight off …not that it has been easy. I still fall off the wagon occasionally, but at least now I know what to do so that I jump right back on. At times, I still feel like the 211 lb girl as I struggle to turn down doughnuts, cookies or pies. I do my best to not listen to the old me…the one that wants to skip a workout or eat fast food, because the new me is so much happier and healthier and I want her to be around for a long time so that I can help others live a happier and healthier life!

Robin Rutherford, Whole Body Fitness Personal Trainer

• For more information on Robin, click here.
• For information on Robin’s package specials, click here.
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