Ask a Trainer: How I dropped my pants

Standing in front of my bathroom mirror in my Gainesville apartment, I pulled my pants up to my waist only to watch them fall back to my ankles when I let go. Before you stop reading: this isn’t the beginning of a Nora Roberts romance novel!

I’ve been asked about how I lost 75 pounds in college and in February’s “Ask a Trainer” article I wrote about what motivated me to start living a healthier lifestyle and lose the weight. But isn’t getting started really the easier part? Getting to the gym, eating healthier or getting more active a handful of times are really where we build a sense of false confidence that we’ve made a lasting lifestyle change. What keeps you going when life hands you challenges or you’re presented with “more fun” alternatives?

There were two key things that kept me going during the early stages of my lifestyle change: An accountability partner and dropping my pants. I should point out that these two things are independent of each other.

My college roommate, Wes, and I graduated high school together and played on the same lacrosse team. While most of the sports I played growing up were centered on running and endurance, he also played football, which came with a weightlifting routine, something with which I was not familiar.

After my altercation in the college parking lot, when a “gentleman” told me to, “Keep walking, Fatty,” I told Wes that I needed his help with learning how to lift weights and get in shape. We joined a small local gym in downtown Gainesville and we went every day, including the days I didn’t want to go. And most of the days were the days I didn’t want to go. You see, once you get over the emotional catalyst that gets you moving in the direction toward change, it’s the people you surround yourself with that keeps you moving toward your goal.

We ate clean at home and shared the cost of some of the common grocery items. I was embarrassed at the weight I was able to lift in comparison to him, which was sometimes demoralizing, but he pushed me through it and kept me moving past it. I quickly learned that my competition was with myself and not him. By having an accountability partner, who also had the goal of getting more fit, there was no way I could lose!

If you don’t have an accountability partner now and want to live a healthier lifestyle, come see us at Anytime Fitness in Winter Park! We will be that accountability partner who pushes and encourages you. Bring a friend with you to workout. This is a game changer!

As Wes and I continued to work out and eat healthy, losing weight became secondary to seeing my progress at the gym. I was lifting more, in a short period of time, and performing better at school and work. This is where the second key comes in.

About five weeks after I started working out and eating healthier, I wondered if I’d lost any weight. I had one of those leather woven belts that didn’t have individual holes, so if I had lost any weight it wasn’t as obvious as simply moving to a new belt hole. Standing in my bathroom, facing the mirror, I put my pants on without a belt, pulled them up to my waist and let them go. They immediately fell back down to my ankles!

That was the first time I’d really paid attention to my results. That, then, became my driving force. Wes had pushed me to the point where I would see results and now seeing the results pushed me further. I’d lost 25 pounds in those first five weeks and now I wanted more! I didn’t have to be coaxed into going to the gym anymore; I was intrinsically driven by my results to see more results.

The journey toward a healthier lifestyle is much easier with the buddy system: when one of you is having an off day, the other can help push you through it. That creates consistency, consistency forms habits and habits lead to results. Once you see results, they become your driving force.

So buddy up and drop your pants. Independent of each other, of course!

Patrick McGaha Jr., member experience manager at Anytime Fitness, Winter Park, is dedicated to building a welcoming environment in the club, conducive to helping members and clients reach their health fitness goals. To get your fitness and nutrition related questions answered by a certified personal trainer, or for a free personal training session, call us at 321-972-5833 or email [email protected].