MAKING CHANGES TO REACH HEALTH & FITNESS GOALS

By Margot Rutigliano, Pn2

Are you tired of the same old negative story you tell yourself — the story that you can’t reach your goals or the one where you’ve tried everything and nothing works? Done getting winded when you walk up a flight of stairs? Are you fed up with not living the happy, active, self fulfilling life that you truly want to live? Frightened that your doctor might be right and you need serious change? Struggling to make those important health changes?

The stories that you’ll read below are from our retreat clients as well as nutrition & health coaching clients. They have faced many of the same challenges described above. Most of our guests at our fitness retreat and in our health coaching face the same challenges as well. The common denominator for success? Things turned around for their health and wellness goals with the help of coaching and motivation. This is why people come to us for an active vacation and this is why people get coaching. Sometimes it’s hard to go it alone and your coach is not only an expert — but part of your support system.

10 LESSONS LEARNED FROM REACHING HEALTH & FITNESS GOALS

YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT YOU DON’T KNOW

Gregg wasn’t well versed in the fitness and health world.

Coming to a retreat and getting private attention not only taught me how to move but how to eat better for myself and my lifestyle. Plus, it taught me how to implement some really healthy habits back at home.

To be honest, I’ve never been a fitness person. I don’t google every calorie. I didn’t know a lot about this whole health world. I needed knowledge and I definitely got it. Now, I know how to balance meals. I know which workouts make me feel my best and I even meal prep — a success in my book.

WE GET ONE BODY — AND ONE LIFE

Lisa was overweight, overly-stressed, and using muscle relaxants everyday to deal with physical pain. She was hurting, and unhappy.

At 39, she realized that she would never get a “second chance” at the life she really wanted. She found the urgency to finally prioritize her own self-care.

Now, 50 pounds lighter, “me first” is a way of life. Because when she’s healthy, energetic, and optimistic, everyone around her benefits too.

YOU’RE NOT LIMITED BY AGE - CHANGE CAN HAPPEN AT ANY TIME

Firmly planted in “middle age”, Daniel was unsure of how much he could change.

“Thanks to the habits instilled in me by my trainer, I lost weight and gained the confidence to try a new fitness adventure.”

“I didn’t think I would have the confidence to take up a martial art at 46 years old. Now I’m a one-stripe white belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.”

SUPPORT IS INCREDIBLY HELPFUL

At 34, chronic depression and undiagnosed health problems had robbed Chrystalene of agency and energy.

She wasn’t happy with her weight. Movement was often painful. And sometimes, she could barely bring herself to finish the simplest tasks, like sweeping the floor, doing the dishes, or flossing her teeth. Even going out for a coffee could seem overwhelming.

She called herself “lazy.” She told herself she just needed to exercise and eat better and be more positive. If she failed, she blamed herself. She even hid from potential sources of support.

Eventually, Chrystalene realized that if she wanted to change, she needed help. She joined nutrition and health coaching with the hope that she might find it there.

And a funny thing happened when Chrystalene became willing to receive support: Things got easier.

With the help of a flexible program and an empathetic coach, Chrystalene found the momentum she needed.

DON’T WAIT FOR THE PERFECT TIME TO START

Alicia was overstressed and overeating, and she just wanted “off the diet-mobile.” she says.

No matter what she tried, the weight loss never lasted. What was the use?

But when a friend who she respects lost 44 pounds, Alicia decided it was worth a try.

Nothing was perfect — from the start of the program she was injured, and she didn’t have the money for a trainer or a gym membership — but Alicia just kept her successful friend in mind and trusted the coaching process.

It took six months for Alicia to realize that not only was she making progress, she was thriving.

IT TOOK ME GOING TO A FITNESS RETREAT TO REACH MY GOALS

Joanna need to get out of her environment to make the changes she needed to make.

There’s definitely something to the idea of getting out of your environment and into something where you’re surrounded by health and wellness. It helped break the vicious cycle of bad eating and inactivity for me. Your fitness retreat definitely did that for me.

I have worked out more than I ever thought I could. I realized I’ve been holding myself back and have made a promise not to do that anymore.

This was the jumpstart I needed — And now I’m getting ready to run a 10k! Yes!

TREAT YOURSELF WITH RESPECT — LIKE YOU’D TREAT A BEST FRIEND

Michelle forgot how to care for herself. She ended up overweight, tired, stressed…a mess that made it tough to drag herself to the gym.

But after some encouragement from her husband, she started working with us and relearned how to prioritize herself, losing 35 pounds along the way.

Michelle’s advice: Treat yourself with the patience and kindness that you’d give to a close friend. First, because it will help you sustain your purpose in life. And second, because you deserve it.

BE OPEN TO GROWTH AND LEARNING

Josh decided to open up to being coached, learning and re-learning information that could benefit him. One thing that held me back was that I thought I knew everything. I just thought I had some accountability or will power issues.

The truth is that I wasn’t practicing what I knew and my 55 year old body wasn’t reacting to my old ways of eating. So I had to learn and allow myself to open up to the coaching process to finally reach my goals.

DON’T SIT ON THE FENCE — JUST GO FOR IT

“If it’s your time, and you’re sitting on the fence — you want to do it, you’re thinking of doing it, you’re not sure if you should do it — jump off that fence,” says Patrick, 35, who shed over 100 pounds with nutrition coaching. “And give it everything you’ve got. Why sit on the fence when you can be a part of life?”

THE RETREAT WAS LIFE CHANGING

Jennifer needed to get out of her old routine to see which changes she needed to make. Coming to a retreat with Vita Vie was literally life changing. I feel like a brand new person.

I’m energized, ready to go and excited about health and wellness. I realized I needed to to break free from my routine at home to fully see what I was missing and where I could make adjustments. I wasn’t working hard enough. I wasn’t mixing up my workouts. I got lazy and needed a different set of eyes to point out where I needed change. You guys did that for me.

SUMMING IT UP

Everyone is coming from a different place and has a journey. There is no cookie cutter program for health, weight loss and fitness. We all have different lifestyles and varied challenges. What’s most important is to recognize your strengths and your weaknesses and build from there. Draw on the positives and fill in the gaps where necessary. Getting the help of a professional can change your whole journey — and it doesn’t make you weak. Even the best coaches in the world have coaches. We all need motivation, inspiration, guidance and accountability here and there.

Ready to make a change and finally reach your health & fitness goals once and for all? Join us for a fitness retreat or get coaching with our online personal training or nutrition coaching to make the changes necessary for you.

Health & Nutrition Coaching: GET NUTRITION COACHING
Online Personal Training: BOOK ONLINE PERSONAL TRAINING

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