It must be inherently human to desire things that you yourself do not posses. Case in point, for as long as I have known myself I always possessed a slim physique. At five feet seven inches I weighed 115 lbs. At some point however, I fell in love with wine and foods that were orgasmic to my taste buds but suicidal for my “slender” frame. Anyone that knows me can attest to the fact that I am not a fan of moderation, and so I indulged abundantly in my newfound loves. Soon I began to gain weight, and it was not in all the right places. Albeit, I would not have cared as much if my legs, arms and butt began to fill out…but no, it was my face and core section that was being punished for my new found love of wine and fattening foods. Somehow I gained close to 25 pounds and not only was I unhappy with the image staring back at me in the mirror, I was uncomfortable in my clothes, the latter could be easily fixed with a trip to the mall, but worst than that I was physically uncomfortable and mentally unhappy in my skin.
I knew that I needed to do something and so similar to other females who are exploring relationships with themselves and improving parts of themselves, I too began to look for a way to fix this uncomfortable situation I had put myself in. Fueled by the Medias barrage of almost impossibly toned and fit celebrities I began to think how fabulous it would be to have a body similar to a Jessica, Jessica Biel or Alba maybe? That was it, I made up my mind, I wanted a sculpted and toned body… or in the worst-case scenario, I would settle for my old “slender” body back.
So I began to diet, I cut back on the fattening foods, stopped eating out at fast food restaurants, and cut back on the amount of useless calories I was in-taking in the form or wine and spirits. After about a month of that I looked down at my kangaroo pouch and love handles and realized that not only had they not begun to dissipate but rather they may have even increased. During my month of “diet” I had received an invitation to my cousins wedding and I knew that there was no way I was going to show up to that wedding looking the way that I did.
This was probably the nudge that I needed; after all it provided me with a real and definite time fame to work; 2 months! I already knew that diet was not enough to get me to my goal; I needed to add a constant routine; the gym and motivation, to the formula if I was going to lose the weight. I turned to my friend, Jay Will, who over the years has used an array of diet and exercises to mold his body into his definition of perfection. I remember his transformation from a lanky young man to a MMA fan and student whose body was still skinny but lean, cut and toned, to a well built and more muscular body as his mental image of perfection changed. I knew that he was successful with his own body and thus trusted him with sculpting mine.
We sat down to discuss what my vision and goals were. I think that this was essential because not only did it give me a mental image of my outcome (that later proved to be some of my most effective mental motivation in the gym when I felt like I had nothing more to give) but it also allowed him to plan a workout routine and diet plan to allow me to get to the body that I needed and desperately wanted.
Jay wasted no time and went to work immediately, to say the least his enthusiasm was contagious. He had me keep a journal of my daily meals, snacks and drinks. I am sure that this was his way of keeping an eye on me when he was not actually around and strangely enough it helped to dissuade me from many a meal I should not have been having, as it would have been difficult to convince him I was as serious as he was with getting me my body, if I was eating things that were counteractive to my plan. He was able to use my journal to form a diet plan, and was able to dispense advice as to what I should add and take away from my diet. This method also allowed him to ensure that I was eating not only a nutritious and healthy diet but that the foods I was in-taking would also provide fuel for the gym workouts. I must admit though, it was not as bad as it sounds, as he did allow me “cheat” meals, which albeit, was few and far in-between but nonetheless extremely satisfying.
Our workouts on the other hand, were a bit more difficult to get into routine. Suffice it to say, slender and skinny does not equate to any sort of fit and gym capable. I think that this is another characteristic, which I admired about Jay’s training abilities. He saw this from the beginning and was supportive of me and provided the type of feedback to let me know that I was doing well and that it was possible to achieve my goal.
We started out small, he picked a route and we ran/jogged/power walked, for about 2 miles 3 times a week. This was usually followed by a bit of core, leg and arm exercise. Soon the number of reps and intensity of the jogs increased and he kept pushing me and kept me motivated with his “yes you can” attitude. Soon I graduated from this work out routine and we started going to the gym 4 times a week. This was a huge boost to my ego, as I thought to myself, “I must be getting good, if he thinks I am ready for the gym”. Looking back however, I think that this was done intentionally as another way to boost my mental picture of the situation and my determination.
Our gym sessions were high intensity filled joy rides! I really enjoyed our workout sessions, mainly because I knew that Jay would push me to my brink in the exercise. This is not to say that he just pushed me blindly, he was there with me, monitoring me and working out with me to push me when I wanted to give up, not push me to the point of physically injuring myself. Soon the gym became a part of my life, I found myself calling Jay to go the gym, instead of the other way around.
I would recommend Jay to anyone. First of all he is knowledgeable and skilled and I think that at times he wanted my goal for me more than I wanted it, and needless to say, this was pure motivation for me. He is able to deliver results while being compassionate, caring and providing motivation and that extra push that you need when you think you can’t do any more crunches. He is by far the best trainer that anyone can ever possibly hope for. It has been a year since I have embarked on this goal, and I am proud to say that I hit my goal and then some, I lost 20 lbs, was fit, lean and never felt better in my life. I have made a lifestyle change when it comes to the food, the gym and my body, and I owe a huge part of this to Jay Will.
-Deann W