I spent years letting life happen to me. I didn’t create it, I didn’t choose it, I let it happen. And I didn’t know the difference, and I didn’t think it was all that bad. I thought I had a great life, with loving friends, family and support. I smiled, I laughed, If you know me, you know that I’ve always communicated with others through humor. What I didn’t often show was how I felt though. I had a complete lack of energy, little motivation, and continual feelings of fatigue, exhaustion and an underlying sense of misery. But I hid it well. Like every person that has ever lived life in the obese category, you can relate that there is a secret want to just be “normal”. To have daily life come easier. To tie your shoes, to not feel anxiety about traveling on an airplane. To blend in and stand out all at the same time. There comes a time when you are so comfortable with your discomfort, it becomes hard to see the difference between “normal” and where you have gotten yourself. Where I ended up was my new normal. If you have ever experienced massive weight loss, there is a reason why you started. We all have had that ah-ha moment where we realize that everything is a choice, and we can begin to choose differently. I remember coming home from a long vacation, looking at the the pictures, and realizing how big I had gotten. Sometimes it takes looking at a photo to see yourself for what you really look like, this ah-ha moment hit me straight in the gut, and I had to make a new choice.
I needed help. I was pushing 340 pounds and living an extremely unhealthy lifestyle. I was drinking and partying a lot and obviously eating a shit-ton of bad food. I think the only thing that was keeping me alive physically and mentally was even at 340 pounds I was still quite active; I still snow boarded, dirt biked, and worked out (well, what I thought was working out). I was ready to get serious, with the image of that photograph burned in my mind, I showed up at the gym. Shortly after starting back with a training routine, I ran into a friend that recommended a personal trainer that he had been using. He introduced me to Alan Dyck. I met up with Alan, and knew he was the guy to help me. I trusted him and we could communicate, which is key to succeeding with a coach. Shortly after, I began training with him 5 days a week. Within a couple weeks the weight was falling off me, and I had drastically changed my life to accommodate the new food and workout plan. Feeling that small twinge of change is powerful, it becomes more addicting than any bad habit ever was. The feeling of control, of power, of change hit me like a secret wave that only I could see. Hiding these changes only lasts a short while; the weight began to disappear, the pain began to diminish, the fatigue, the moodiness, the storm cloud lifted. It was a choice, everything is simply a choice. Transformation is infectious. It crept into every vein of my life, of my attitude, of my relationships, and became so empowering.
From one choice, everything began transforming for me. I met my beautiful wife, purchased a condo, and started feeling much better about myself. 14 months after that, I had lost a total of 140 pounds. I cannot explain to you how much this transformed my core person, my physical person and my place in the world. All the activities I had enjoyed became so much easier. My quality of life had gotten so much better. Since I had always been a heavy person, I didn’t realize how much I had been missing. It was eye opening. I discovered self-worth, and this transcended into work, relationships, all physical activities and my general outlook on life. I realized at 340 pounds I wasn’t living, I was actually killing myself, and those around me. As cliche as it sounds, I understood what the saying “mind, body, and spirit” actually meant. Choice, accountability and action are the most empowering steps to developing self worth. None of which are easy.
Let’s be real, the days don’t pass without daily struggles, but these are mine to work through. As the years have passed, I have struggled to continually keep the weight off, to control my diet, to stay accountable to myself and my loved ones.
However, one thing I have never struggled with, was maintaining my passion for fitness and the gym. This is the anchor to my success, and has opened up relationships and a career that I never imagined for myself. A couple of years ago, I decided that I would like others to reach their goals and help them discover that the freedom they are looking for is in them. I’m now a certified personal trainer, and helping and teaching others to choose this better path in life.
Throughout the years of training, Alan and I became friends. The best of friends. Helping others and his motivation, was what led me to become a trainer. Being surrounded in an environment with positive, like-minded people is an incredible motivator. It allows you to push yourself beyond what you ever thought was possible. Anyone can achieve. All it takes is a step in the right direction. Naturally after getting certified, I began to work alongside him at Next Level Performance…. And the rest is history.
All in all, what I’m getting at, is no matter how down you are, no matter how out of shape you are, all it takes is getting started, pushing yourself, making the smallest choice to well, CHOOSE. And for me, it changed my whole life. From being married, focusing on health, and finding an amazing career. Fitness brought a domino effect of positivity to my life. No matter what happens in any aspect of my life, I will always have the gym and fitness. I will always be able to look to this stable anchor and remind myself of the capacity I have to change, and the power of my choices. If you find yourself at a low point in your life, fitness and the gym is such a positive place to start rebuilding. I am proof.
Authored by Nic Foxon | Foxon is a certified personal trainer and coach at NXTLVL PerformanceSubscribe to our newsletter and always be the first to hear about what is happening.
© 2024 Next Level Performance Fitness.
