The end, or just the beginning...

Just wanted to share a quick story about one of my clients, Chris McGrath. Today, he hit another milestone in his fitness journey. He accomplished his goal. Dosn't sound like a big deal does it? Maybe I should explain what has happened...


We all talk about goals. We make them, write them down, stick them on the fridge, tell our friends, and promise ourselves that we will try our best to get them accomplished. Fitness is finnicky..and goals seem to fall apart when our lives get busy and stressfull. Tonight, on May 6, 2009, Chris achieved his goal that he set out one year ago.

As a professional trainer, it's moments like these that make it all worth it for me. This is my bread and butter, the creme de la creme. The Super Bowl of client achievement. Please take a moment and read the summary of Chris' last year of fitness. Enjoy :)

Very proud of you Chris, keep up the amazing work! You rock, plain and simple.

Yours in Health,

Sebastien

So, it didn't happen last week. But it happened tonight.I set a goal for September 18, and when Sebastien weighed me for the first time tonight , I hit it right on the nose.Talk about precision. How very 'Virgo' of me!He then had me step on the scale for a second time, so that I could get a copy of the printout for myself. And on the second weigh in, I passed the goal by almost another pound.I'll take either one.So how do I feel?Fan-freakin'-tastic!!!And so I should. I worked my ass off to get to this place. And even though I've arrived at this amazing milestone -- I haven't weight this much since my second year of university (1993... that's 15 years ago) -- I've got so much more ahead of me. But I'm not going to worry too much about that right now. I'm going to bask in the glow of my accomplishment. I'm going to savour the feelings of pride, satisfaction, and elation. Almost a year to the day that I first met Sebastien for my consultation, I've shattered my own expectations. I'm pretty sure I blew his out of the water too.
So here's the progress I've made.
I've lost 137 pounds since I weighed my heaviest (January 07-ish)
I've lost 125 pounds since I made the choice to take control and get healthy (December 07)
Since the time that I started letting Sebastien weigh and measure me for progress, I've lost:
100 pounds of fat (since June 08)
51 inches of fat from my body (since October 08)
The feeling that I don't have control of my own life.

Since that same time, I've gained:
An unmeasured amount of muscle.
The admiration of my friends and people around me.
The ability to look at myself in the mirror and like what I see.
A renewed sense of pride and love for who I am in this crazy crazy world.And to celebrate all I've accomplished, I'm gonna have a beer. And I want you to have one, too. One of the best things about all this hard work, is that I've never completely deprived myself of anything. One night a week (normally the night I train with Sebastien), I indulge. I eat pizza. Or, I have a burger (from Square Boy on Danforth... they deep fry the bacon!!! Grrrr....) I always give myself the opportunity and the permission to indulge, and enjoy the things I crave. Ironically, giving in for that one night a week makes me crave those bad things less and less. So, tonight, I'm having a beer.And it has never tasted sweeter.And that's pretty much all I have to say right now. Words cannot describe how I feel. Actually, they can. Two words do it. Plain and simple:Kia kaha.These words have never meant more to me than they do right now. Love and gratitude to my sister for giving me the gift of the knowledge and power of these two words.Love and props to the folks at Riverdale Fitness who make me feel incredible and supported every time I walk through the door for my workouts 6 days a week.Love and admiration to friends, family, co-workers, and random blog readers for support and encouragement.Love and respect to Sebastien for helping me to find the immeasurable strength and determination to conquer my greatest challenge, face my biggest fear, and be my best possible self.That said, I'm gonna go enjoy my beer.Stay strong, dear friends. Stay strong.