Dishing out the skinny

I was so excited to job shadow Pamela Hernandez of Thrive Personal Fitness Thursday night. Since I started on this path toward personal trainer, she’s been there to offer me guidance, advice and inspiration. So when she asked if I’d like to drop by to shadow her with a couple of clients, I jumped at the chance.

It was fun to see the difference in types of clients. It was encouraging to see first-hand that my coaching style is similar to Pamela’s, which means it works. And it was fantastic to be able to ask questions and bounce ideas off of somebody who is so good at what she does.

While there, I had Pamela test my body fat percentage. I have yet to buy a fat caliper simply because I’ve been all over town and have had no luck finding one. She had an electronic caliper, so it was quick and painless and involved no math, which is always good. I’ve always been curious to know my body fat percentage, and it’s easy to figure out how to eat to lose fat when you have that number.

My body fat percentage is right around 25%. That’s at the low end of the “normal” level, which I’m sure most people would be happy with. But when have I ever been happy with being “normal”? The answer is NEVER.

So my goal is this: to lose 10 pounds of body fat. Keep in mind, losing 10 pounds of body fat is not the same as losing 10 pounds. I’m at a healthy weight for my height, I simply want to be leaner so that my body fat percentage is that of an athlete. But I now can develop a workout program and menu that will help me achieve these results with a little hard work and dedication—and with a plan. (A plan? How did this word enter my vocabulary?)

The cool thing is that just today, as I was studying for my nutritionist test, I saw the following:

The book just saved me a whole lot of work. It’s like they knew this is what I wanted. So I have to plug in the proper types of proteins, fats and carbs, and—voilà! I’m off and running.

By the way, when you sign up to be a personal trainer, one of the things you commit to is making sure you teach by example. I’m not trying to be Skeletor. But what I am trying to be is fit and well. I’m already feeling stronger, healthier and happier than I’ve felt in a long, long time.

With that said, I read this quote this week and I thought it was beautiful, so I wanted to share it.

Release anything and anyone that doesn’t support your happiness.

Life is too short to be stuck in toxic situations. So let go of it. You’ll be so much better off in the end. I promise.