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“In days of old, when knights were bold,
And journeyed from their castles,
Trusty men were left behind;
Knights needed not the hassles.
They helped themselves to pig and peach,
And drank from King’s own chalice;
Oh, it was a stirring sight,
These gypsies in the palace.”
– Jimmy Buffett
My life is kind of strange. I’m a poor man living in a rich man’s world. When I say poor, I don’t mean living in a box under the freeway or even lower-income poor. According to the amount of money I make per year, I guess you can say I’m middle class, even though economists will tell you that doesn’t exist anymore. Maybe I’m the last one. The people I work with are not middle class. They are at the upper end of the wealth scale. They can afford cars that cost more than any house I could afford. Some of them even have private jets. Many of them have second and third homes around the country and the world. It would stand to reason that every summer these people would take off and go live in one of their other homes. Some of my clients do quite well with keeping up their workout by checking in with me on a daily or weekly basis. Others hire trainers and dietitians to keep them honest where ever they are. I applaud this. But others take vacation in the literal sense, and they vacate physically and mentally. I told you that to tell you this. There is one particular client who I love dearly. She has an eating disorder. This type of psychological warfare is far beyond anything I do. Unlike the Jillian Michaels types of the world, I understand that you can’t just yell at a fat person to get into shape. It just doesn’t work that way. After all, these people know they are fat. They have eyes and mirrors. They know. After working with them for all of these years, I don’t know a one of them that wants to be that way. They struggle every day. You know what? I struggle with them. If they fail, I feel like I fail. Not just as a trainer or a professional, but as a human being. I’ve often said I’d do this job for free if I could afford to. I can’t, and I don’t. But I digress. One of the problems this client has, beside an eating disorder, is that she loves the “magic bullet” approach. She’s gone through every diet you can possibly think of. You know the ones. Eat cabbage soup broth on Monday only, eggs Tuesday and drink the piss of a pregnant rabbit Wednesday. Yes, she goes on these diets regularly. Like most people, she loses a few pounds, but gains it back in spades. I had one question for her over coffee this morning, “When did it happen?” She knew what I was talking about. When she left in May, she was in great shape. She said it happened around her birthday. She was in a hotel. She was upset about something and went for the mini bar. She said she ate everything in there, and that was the beginning of a three-month rampage while vacationing. My friend and client said something to me that I had never heard before. She had joined O.A. (Overeaters Anonymous). I was happy for my friend. I think for the first time in her life, she is on the right track with her eating. If you feel like you are one of these people, or know someone who could use help, here is a link to O.A.
