All of us have daily conversations with members for so many reasons. For some, it is all about listening to complaints, both big and small. For others like me, I hear people talk about their health problems, both physical and nutritional because they want me to help solve them.
So here’s my pet peeve, and I know we have all experienced this! A member wants to lose weight and look slimmer. That is presumably a change from the way they are now, right? But they don’t want to actually CHANGE! So if I make a suggestion that requires them to change a habit, then the change is too “this” or too “that.” So in other words, they want to look and feel different without actually doing anything different.
Can someone tell me how to change without changing anything?
Now, I’m not trying to be snarky here, but it does defy logic to me. And, when I am dealing with a client who has had health issues as a result of their habits and lifestyle choices, it is difficult to understand their reluctance to change the very things that are limiting their longevity.
Research shows that 70 percent of how we age results from lifestyle choices and only 30 percent is genetic. And, according to IHRSA, a million baby boomers (the country’s largest generation) have joined health and fitness clubs between 2007 and 2010. What they are doing is trying to counteract the effects of getting older.
On the plus side, there are those people who really get it. They are the ones who are part of this boomer generation and the first generation where large numbers have exercised and taken care of their bodies from their early years forward.
I get really excited when boomers start my weight-loss program, whether it is for a health, fitness or aesthetic reason that drives them — even if they seem a little lost in the beginning. They don’t always understand why they can’t eat some things, but gradually they adjust and at some point they have what Oprah calls the “Aha!” moment, and they finally “get it.”
Not only did they figure out how it all comes together, but they also make the change to what I can call “the other side.” They realize they had to change. All I did was show them the way.
No, “change” is not a four-letter word that shouldn’t be spoken in polite company. It is a really great thing that we can do for ourselves if we want to live a full and happy life. Hopefully, it’s happening every day in your club.
Judith Samuels, M.A. is a certified nutrition and wellness consultant and master personal trainer at Sport&Health Clubs in the Washington D.C. Metro Area. She can be reached via e-mail at judi@judisamuels.com.
