Editor’s Note: Please enjoy this guest post.

I want to start this article by introducing myself. My name is Danielle.

I have been a gym rat for maybe about 10 years off and on. When I say off and on, it has been interrupted by some working out at home/dancing around in my basement phases of my life. When it comes to fitness, I can honestly say I have tried it all. Tons of cardio, light lifting, and, as Paul and I like to call it, “Dances with Weights“, where I would do an hour of jumping around punching air in my basement.  I can not even tell you how many sets of DVDs I have purchased. I would download workouts online, buy books, all in hopes of achieving a body in my mind that looked like a cover model I would see on a fitness magazine.

So, when I say I have tried it all, I did. All of it. The diets, the shakes, the pills, the cleanses.

All of it. And they all had one thing in common… they didn’t work. I have restricted, binged, cut out foods entirely… all to end up the same. Disappointed and confused. Most likely because they had another thing in common…. they were not sustainable. Or the workouts were not ever going to work because I never learned to eat properly to fuel those workouts. Anyone can workout or do endless amounts of cardio to lose weight. Hardly eat and live on the elliptical… poof, you will drop a few. And I also guarantee you will fall off, and fall off hard. You can not sustain hardly eating. Even if you do… you will get to your goal… have the moment you hit your goal weight, start being more lax on your diet. And, all of a sudden you are back where you started because you murdered your metabolism by starving yourself and losing a lot of muscle. I can go on and on here.

Many women come to me or comment about losing weight or exercising.

I hear countless conversations about new diets, new workouts, blah blah blah. Part of me feels sad or angry inside because most of these women are being sold something or being taken into a group of women on some FaceBook scam that they will all do it together! Yay! Wrong. I want to shake them and tell them NO!! Motivation Mary who started her own page, or blog, and posts her workouts every day, her piles of deli meat roll ups for dinner… is most likely struggling with her diet just like you.

She has no real experience with nutrition to even be telling anyone what to do, and is not qualified to help you. But still, people give her their money. Or even better, you go down to your local gym and hire a trainer that went online and got a certification, went on YouTube and looked up some workouts… and there you are. Giving your money to someone yet again with no business giving advice. Qualified trainers and coaches are far and few between. Do your own research.

I finally got to a point where I decided to hire a coach.

Someone to provide me with a diet and nutrition plan and workouts to achieve my goals. Even though I hired someone, I needed to be responsible for teaching myself how to count macros, log food,  and be accountable for myself. I checked in once a week with photos and weigh-ins… and I have to say that is what started a fire in me. If I applied what I learned and listened to my coach…I saw results. But the drive was in me. I made the effort. People ask me things and want my opinion, but do not want to do any work themselves. “I can’t log my food it is too confusing”, “I don’t want to not enjoy my life by not eating out.”… the excuses go on and on. Do you think I do? I taught myself these things. I choose restaurants that I can stay on track. I have a glass of red wine with dinner instead of a huge sugar bomb. I do not miss out on life. Yes, if I am going into a competition, I miss out on things. But, most people are not doing that, they want to look good in their clothes, or go shopping and not cry… lol. Realistic goals.

Back to coaching,

I got to a point with all the tracking and the workouts, that I needed something more. I was stuck. Something was said to me that always stuck in my head. What gets you from A to B….will not get you from B to C. Meaning, what got me out of my basement and into the gym, knowing what I am doing, tracking my nutrition…. will not get me out of my rut I am stuck in on my squat and improve my deadlift. Most people when they plateau… either quit, or keep doing the same thing expecting a change. Not me…. I did some research and tried to find a trainer. I did a lot of asking around. The same name kept popping up. Paul Newt. My reaction was typical. I was nervous he was too intense for me.   This guy would not want to train me… I can hardly squat. The more and more I looked around, the more I realized no one even came close to the level of experience he had. So, if I was going to spend money on a training session… why not with him?  I conquered my fear and went to him. Shocker… I learned something. And I continued to learn something every time I saw him. Hours of picking his brain, asking questions, switching up exercises with guidance. I learned. The thing about Paul is he wants you to learn. He wants you to eventually make choices for yourself. So, when I meet people who ask me questions… I immediately talk to them about how extremely important it is to find the right guidance. Stop looking for a quick fix, invest in yourself. Invest your time into learning what works for you. You will not regret it. There is no price you can put on having a healthy relationship with food, and training. Paul has taught me that. Enjoy your life… learn how to accomplish goals and live. It is not impossible. We promise you… you can have both.
Find Danielle on Instagram – @deezshears