Keeping Faith

Keeping Faith

It's got to be incredibly frustrating some days to be starting Body for Life for the first time. Here you are, trying to figure out which way is up and you are surrounded by people telling you, be patient, no don't do that, yes I know it's hard, hang in there. You seem to be battling for every ounce you lose, and you know something is wrong.

Yet around you people keep saying, "have faith".

Faith is always a tricky thing. Faith by its nature requires a high degree of trust. You are being asked to put your trust in the process. It's worked for thousands, and it can work for you. You are asked to not only to put faith into the program, but to work hard. You are constantly challenged by those around you. When things don't go right, you start to question the process, the program, and even your own sanity.

Week 8 rolls around and things still aren't where you want them to be. You are really questioning things now. You feel let down, and start thinking that things won't work out.

Take a look at where you are. Right now. For maybe the first time in your life, you have really dedicated yourself to making you a priority. You are learning what it means to love YOU for the person you are. You are learning to trust yourself. The stumbles you have along the way are part of that learning process.

In the ancient Greek myths, the story of Orpheus tells the tale of a man who goes into the depths of the Underworld to negotiate with Hades for the release of his wife. He plays a beautiful song of loss and pain, and Hades is moved. He agrees to return Orpheus's wife on one condition. He may not look back until they both reach the surface.

As Orpheus makes his trek back to the surface, the doubts begin to surface. He can't hear his love behind him. Each step finds him questioning the word of Hades. As the daylight draws closer, those doubts and fears drown out the quieter voices counseling faith. He looks back- and his love slips backward into the darkness.

You will question. You will stumble. You will falter. This is life. Things aren't perfect, ever. The key is keep faith and do not look back. Always look forward.

Thoughts on the fitness industry-

Thoughts on the fitness industry-

One of the greatest challenges for those of us in the fitness profession is getting folks to actually follow the advice we give. Between years of misinformation, partially accurate information, and the medial tossing out fitness soundbites there is a ton of poor information to cull through.

This is exacerbated because "experts" forget a key point. What we know isn't common knowledge. Sure it's common for us. If you walk into a group of high end fitness folks the odds are good we will be discussing trends in functional fitness, the spiffy new pair of Vibrium Five Finger shoes someone got, and how going vegan is starting to shift into a hot trend. Talking about the basics of nutrition and exercise- why? Everyone knows that. We are so busy talking about the latest and greatest that we forget a couple important things.

People do not know how to get into shape. They don't know how to live healthy lives. They just don't. Over the past 20 years our school systems have eliminated PE and Health classes. If you don't learn at school how to eat right, where do you learn? Your parents? Well if they don't eat right, odds are good you won't. More and more, there are no models who show us what eat right and exercise really means.

So people start looking to experts. They go out and buy books. They research online. They look to the news media. The thing is, they have no background and can't separate the signal from the noise. They don't realize that the study saying working out alone won't help you lose weight isn't new. It's been out for a couple years and is common knowledge for fitness pros. All they see is "exercise doesn't help you lose weight" and they wonder "why am I doing this?" They don't see the article discussing the importance of combining your exercise with a correct diet. They miss out on the very important cardiac health benefits. They also miss out on the value of being able to actually do things. It's a good thing to be able to actually chase your kids around the playground gang.

As fitness leaders, it's vital to help cut through the noise and provide quality information to those who need it. That starts with a return to teaching basics.