The secret of getting ahead is getting started.
~Mark Twain

Many of you may be wondering: Where does she get off telling us how to eat or get fit? First of all I am NOT promoting a diet just asking you to stop eating enough for two people (even pregnant woman aren't supposed to do that.) And secondly I'm a certified fitness trainer. I titled this chapter "Fit-MESS Trainer" because when I think of the early years of training I was a mess.

After coming off the tail end of my anorexia and bulimia the idea of teaching aerobics for a living really appealed to me. I had to get certified first, and this new company called "Woman's World." They certified trainers if you agreed to work for them for a year. (What I didn't know at the time was they would work us to death for minimal wages! Nine classes a day at minimum wage is like working in a sweat shop. No, it literally IS a sweat shop!)

In order to get this precious certification we had to take this summer course, where we lived, ate and breathed fitness. We learned everything from nutrition to body-building. It fascinated me then; it fascinates me still. At the end of a program we were sent to a gym to try out our skills. In my exuberance, and not having properly warmed up, I injured my right hamstring in one of my very first classes. In the middle of a forward lunge I heard a loud snap! "What was that?" I asked, not realizing that a tearing tendon could make an audible sound. I tried to finish my class but alas was put out of commission for two weeks. (That was all the time I would allow myself to rest and recover.) After that painful incident I warmed up more and was even voted "Instructor of the Month." Woohoo!

There was another job where I got voted "Sales Person of the Month," for which I'm not as proud. It was while working as a demo lady at Costco. You know the ladies and gentlemen who don the hairnets, aprons and plastic gloves in order to hand out yummy food samples? Our obvious goal is to get you to "Take some home today!" For 5 hours I would cook things like mini quiches and give out thousands of them to friendly (or sometimes not so friendly) customers. Whenever I'd read the ingredients I'd shudder. Most of the items given out were heavily laden with fat. Plus if you'd just have a couple of eggs with a piece of whole wheat toast instead, you'd save tons of calories and money. Okay not tons, but a lot. Why are we such suckers? The shameful thing is that I was really good at getting people to buy whatever food I happened to be peddling that day. Now I'm trying to get you to STOP BUYING things you don't need. Ironic isn't it?

Look around you while you're in a supermarket. Things are displayed with great precision--to entice you buy the most expensive, least healthy foods. Usually the produce is out of the way. The whole foods are in cases at the back of the store (such as milk, cheese, and bread, which means you are forced to walk past a wide array of unwholesome goodies, and heaven forbid you enter the store hungry. Why, even as you're putting the items on the belt you'll see quick snacks like cupcakes, chips, candy and even ice cream treats... Just stop it!

My latest fitness job was at a relatively new franchise called, "Planet Fitness." I've really enjoyed working there for several reasons. First of all, there is no pressure there. For about $10 a month you can go there as often as you like, and work out on their many pieces of equipment. They call it "The Judgment Free Zone."(Go to www.planetfitness.com to learn more!) Second, the people who join are not all life-sized Barbie dolls or musclemen--just regular folks who are trying to get fit. (Usually they've waited too long and now the road is long and hard back to fitness, but at least they're trying.)

Third, I like helping people. Realistically every step you take counts. Every bite of the donut you don't eat matters. If you can only walk ten minutes on the treadmill bully for you. Rest and go another ten! You do not have to start with a marathon. Truthfully I'm not the marathon type, but I am the cross country type. I remember these lines from a Christmas classic, "Santa Clause is Coming to Town," Put one foot in front of the other and soon you'll be walking cross the floor. Put one foot in front of the other and soon you'll be walking out the door! Isn't it fascinating how you can forget where you put your car keys ten minutes ago, but you can remember a song from a lifetime ago?

I meet the best people fitness training. One lady named Debbie came down with MS (Multiple Sclerosis) motivated me! While she was bedridden in a nursing home her husband left her for another woman thinking she'd never recover enough to come home. He thought he'd never be found out. Well, several years and grueling hours of physical therapy later she did! Boy was she ever shocked to find out that her husband of twenty-six years had moved out of their home, and was living with his girlfriend! At that point she had quite a lot of rehab to go and had no family. She came to the gym almost five days a week and took two buses each way to get there. She said with the transfers it could take her over two hours to make it to the gym. Now that's dedication. Debbie is the type of woman who proves to me that anything is possible.

On another occasion I met a man who was literally blown up in Iraq. His doctors said he'd never walk again. I was privileged to teach him how to use the equipment, but he has taught me far more than I ever taught him. The human spirit is amazing! Bill is in his fifties, a purple-heart decorated veteran who never complains, and is dedicated to his family and his country. Those are just two of the friends I've met while fitness training.

I love Americans. Like I said, we are the most generous people I know. We're busy though and and somewhat secluded Behind our phones, our laptops etc. That's why I'm begging you to get out of your comfort zone. Go and see and have compassion. You will be a better person for it and you will shed pounds and give them to others who truly need them.

I still love planet fitness. Especially the massage bed. That's worth 20 bucks a month LOL!