The Life of an Instructor

Have you ever wondered about fitness instructors?  How they ended up sweating for a living?  If they're all food/fitness nazis? 

I'm lucky enough to be pals with two delightful instructors and one of them wrote a blog... to give all us fitness hopefuls a view in their life. 

You may remember Allison from when I went Spinning or tried Body Combat ... Here's her story.
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“Wow, you must be able to eat whatever you want!!!”

This is a sentence that I hear at least 4-5 times a week. It couldn’t be farther from the truth and it drives me bonkers! Absolutely, you'd think I should be able to eat anything and everything, but alas... life ain’t that sweet kids.


Let me back up, my name is Allison and I am a fitness instructor at a local gym. I teach anywhere from 12-16 classes a week (each about an hour long)... so yes, I burn insane amounts of calories, anywhere from 5,000-7,000 extra a week.

When I first started working out I had that same idea... I thought I was burning lots of calories so what was an extra cupcake here or there? I would burn it off, right? Well, right, but... still, wrong. Losing weight is all about balance.

There are a ton of theories out there but I can tell you from my experience that calories in vs. calories out isn’t all there is to it. When I first started my journey absolutely that ideal worked perfectly. But as I've made working out into a career, its gotten harder and harder to lose any extra weight that might creep onto my body-I refuse to believe its my addiction to peanut m&m's!!!!

A brief history about my weight loss adventure: I started at my heaviest weight ever, 210 lbs about 6-7 months after having my final child. I went on Weight Watchers and lost about 40 lbs. After that I started regularly exercising at least 3-4 times a week. Another about 10-15 came off and I landed at my “comfortable” weight of 155 lbs. About 2 years after my big loss I started teaching the fitness classes I was taking!! How awesome to get paid for working out?!?!?! I've been at it for about 2 ½ years now. I've come to think that our bodies get used to what we do to them... acclimated if you will and then its not as responsive any longer.

Just recently I put on 10 lbs. Big deal you say... right? But after having been at the weight I was, and working so hard to lose it, I don’t want 10 to become 20 and so on... so I've been busting ass to get it back off.

Son of a you know what it has been tough. I've had to step up my workouts, but more importantly, I've had to keep really really close track of everything that I put into my mouth. I have to keep to a 1,200 calorie or less diet to see any change in my weight. SUCKAGE. So, that's meant giving up my m&m's addiction... except for a night or two a week, and getting back to those food principals that I learned losing that first 40 lbs.

So, I guess its safe to say that even those of us who “do” fitness for our jobs have to be careful too. Eat clean, work hard and KEEP TRACK!! Thats my best advice.

Now I suppose I gotta follow it :D