Fit with Ruthie

In all my work as a personal trainer the one thing that will lead to success for all my clients is to help them figure out what motivates them. Sometimes I am successful sometimes I am not. Being in the business of true change and not just another "program" means having to watch clients fail and begin again over and over, which of course is something I know about personally and is the only reason I am where I am today. True change doesn't happen overnight unless you have some very strong and impactful motivation that happens in your life. Some change because of a medical test result, or a heart attack, or other diagnoses which seems to "shock" them into action. Others find motivation because they are sick and tired of hurting or being out of breath from a simple walk or they have a big event in their life (wedding or class reunion) and they feel compelled to change. What I have learned is that motivation is a tricky beast. It seems that many find themselves ...

Recently I saw someone who I hadn't seen in a while (I was so excited to see her). She is younger than me. She is a nutritionist. It came up in our brief conversation that I has just turned 50 in September and she said "WOW! You look amazing! Is it because you workout so much?" My reply: "Well working out does have some to do with it... but I feel great and look the way I do, I believe because I am gluten free and vegan".  I have a long and frustrating story when it comes to eating well. My 20s and 30s were filled with a typical SAD diet which included sodas all day and Tylenol PM at night to help me sleep. Most people wouldn't have known but I was hiding the fact that I was struggling with extreme fatigue and oh boy was it depressing. When I restarted my journey in my late 30s I had a history of caloric restriction and working out like crazy to loose weight, only to gain it back. Over the last 10 years I have learned true health has a LOT more to do ...

I am back to blogging after no less than one thousand six hundred and fifty-one days, 4 years 6 months and 9 days to say it a different way.  Back to sharing my journey here instead of other social media. You might be wanting to ask me, "Why after all this time, are you wanting to share here again."? My answer,  because I have grown tired of how Facebook seems to have an ability to steal my joy in some ways, and how it feels like I am constantly having to protect myself from negativity there, and of course the constant advertisements. So, I have decided to get back to the basics, and begin again from where I started. My hope for a good long while been that sharing my struggles and my triumphs in person, on social media, or in the blogging world would help encourage others. But in the very beginning, this journal was all about me. I would come here to be held accountable, to find the courage to put on my shoes and get out the door or to resist the third bow...