June 25, 2004
Ya know what?
I seriously need to become a fitness professional so people wont look at me like I'm full of shit when they ask me for advice on getting fit/healthy and I give it to them.
It's not like I'm spouting off unsoliscited advice here... THEY ASKED FOR IT FOR CHRISTSAKE!!! Most of the time I don't even try to spout off specific information... I give them resources, encourage research and reading... and congratulate them on their desire to make changes and let them know that they can do anything they set their minds to and they have to find what works for them and their lifestyle... most people just can't (or arent willing to) do what I do on a daily/weekly basis and that's FINE... perfectly OK... because I wouldn't expect ANYONE to do exactly what I do and get exactly the same results I do because they aren't me... argh!
But maybe that's the problem... maybe what they're looking for (still!) is the magic bullet that everyone seems to think exists (still) in some chemists lab or some shit like that (STILL!)... and when I tell them, no... actually... I cleaned up my diet and started exercising a LOT and lifting heavy things repeatedly they don't want to hear it... suddenly I'm one of "those people" and their eyes go all squinty and skeptical and they turn off their brains, stop even trying to hear what I'm saying and glaze over.
Well Fine... FUCK ME FOR EVEN TRYING! Its not like I walked up to your fat ass and said, "hey! You should eat clean and exercise!" YOU ASKED ME!! I'm not a pentacostal preacher on the street corner screaming and pounding the fitness bible in your face, listing your sins that must be repented for... COME THE FUCK ON!
So maybe if I was a personal-trainer, nutritional-expert, fitness-person they'd actually LISTEN to what I had to say, and go out and READ the websites and resources and books and shit that are out there everyday available to every person whether you find 'em online or in your local library.
Fuckit! Maybe I'll just keep my damned mouth shut when people ask... say somthing like, "Oh, I'm not a personal trainer, but when I get my education and certification I'd LOVE to help you out." bah.
I was FAT!
Now I'm NOT!
That does NOT automatically make me the oracle of all that is/was/willbe in the world of weight loss... so quit expecting me to be and then getting annoyed/pissed/disapointed when I let you down.
Oh... and thanks everyone for the fabulous comments and emails (mojo and lee especailly, you ladies are simply the greatest!)
Posted by Lexy at June 25, 2004 10:28 AM
Comments
You are so freakin' hilarious and you are so right. I can relate.
Thanks for the laugh. Too bad everyone down the hall could probably hear me bustin' a gut and now have proof that I'm certifiable.
Posted by: Rebecca on 06/25/04 @ 11:51 AM
People are boneheads.
Posted by: Laura on 06/25/04 @ 11:56 AM
Jim said what I was going to say. Well, not exactly ... but he hit on the jist of it. And that is:
It won't matter if you're a pro or not. People won't believe what they don't want to believe.
I've had similar things happen to me. People see the dramatic changes and come to me for the "secret". And I've had the same expression come across their face when I tell them everything that they *DO NOT* want to hear. You have to remember that the truth is a very hard pill for most people to swallow.
It's their problem, sweetie, not yours. Keep doing what you're doing and keep preaching the truth. And I'll do the same. It's bound to sink into their thick skulls eventually.
Posted by: Lee on 06/25/04 @ 05:49 PM
One thing you'll have to get accustomed to...even when you're a professional, some of them won't believe you. People are born with an overwhelming need to reject anything which doesn't fit their worldview.
I had a recent...encounter. Someone on Atkins (which I don't agree with, but I understand), who was having trouble with...blockage. So I suggested a series of vegetables, etc, and they told me that I clearly didn't understand Atkins, etc. So I started with a discussion on ketosis, glycogenesis and lipolysis, went into intestinal flora and fauna, the HPTA and thyroid feedback, and was about to start on hepatic function when they said, and I'll quote: "bah". Just wanted their buttered bacon and the world.
The worst part is that there's this undercurrent that we're holding out on them...that we *couldn't* have done it with hard work and the Iron Will and portion control and the treadmill...that there's a secret, and we're not telling them.
Someday, I'm going to take one of these guys who pisses me off, and I'll tell them about the magic pill. It actually exists. I'd never take it, but hey...DNP. Phosphoralytive decoupler. It'll kill you dead, but you can get thin on it. But I still can't quite ethically bring myself to tell anyone about it. (not that they'd ever find it, etc.)...
So, yeah. I'm there, dude. Longwinded, but still. ;) I'd guess that four out of five people who ask my advice take it. The only advantage to being a pro is that you get to collect their money while they ignore you. I should try that, but I don't/won't have the body for it.
Posted by: Jim (a.k.a. the Mighty Slug of Thunder) on 06/25/04 @ 11:20 AM