WBF Blog

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.
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