Last week I was interviewed by a high school boy who wants to be a personal trainer. On my way to the interview I was thinking about the best advice I can give him so he can succeed in this career.
I know how important it is to have questions prepared before interviewing someone. so that no one’s time is wasted. I didn’t think this young man would be ready with questions.
But to my surprise he asked several very good questions. So my plan to give him good advice didn’t work the way I expected. It happened organically, and I answered his questions with my story.
We talked about how I got into this career, what is difficult about the business, how I passed my test, and food. He was especially interested in food. He wanted to know what to eat and how do I eat, so I told him my basic rules and my diet.
First, I told him that I get all my nutrients from food...
I don’t take any supplements, I eat a high percentage of veggies for lunch and dinner, I eat my fruit as snacks, I eat on schedule, and I avoid processed foods, fast foods, sugar, added sugar drinks and alcohol. I also do my best to eat whole foods.
After giving him an idea of my basic food rules he asked me a very good question that many of us ignore: “How can I avoid temptation?” I replied that I am not a machine, I am a human being just like him, and I do understand how that feels. I know how it feels to be tempted by things that we’re not supposed eat.
So the first thing I do as a Personal Trainer is what a rehabbed alcoholic does:
I don’t go where I’ll be tempted. A rehabbed alcoholic must avoid bars, and I avoid fast food restaurants or any other place that sells processed foods that I like.
Then I make use of my best tool: I think about my goals and the end results. If I want a healthy life and a nice body, eating the wrong foods won’t help me. So I always take into consideration the end results of the action I am about to take. Having in mind the goal and the purpose of the goal helps me walk away from temptation.
I think besides wanting to become a great personal trainer, my interviewer also wants to practice what he’s going to teach.
He seems to have some struggles with eating...
like most of us. It reminds me of a guy who told me that he is doing his best to lose 10 pounds and he has not been able to. He could stand to lose 20 pounds for sure. I told him that it is very easy.
All he has to do is eat healthily, and he will lose that 10 pounds in a month or two months at the most. Then I showed him a picture of my father, who lost 22 pounds in only 5 weeks, to show him that it is possible.
So to start losing weight all you have to do is pay attention to your eating and eat the best, healthy foods. To complement the process, it is also important to remember the results of the action you are going to take when eating the wrong foods and remembering the goal and purpose of losing weight.
Custom Body Fitness is located in Glenwood Springs CO, Carbondale CO and Basalt - Willits CO