HUMBOLDT — Do the things that make you feel good and surround yourself with people who help you feel good.
“You deserve it,” says Callee Kaufman, health and wellness coach at Humboldt Fitness Center.
“If that means eating a piece of chocolate, eat the chocolate.”
That may not be the kind of advice you expect to hear from a personal trainer for a New Year’s resolution.
Kaufman elaborates: “We are fed this concept of zero to 100 — all or nothing — and it hurts my heart because I see it every day. People come in here beaten down because they’ve been told they need to be more dedicated. They need to try harder. They need to do this. They can’t do that.”
What’s more effective, Kaufman said, “Is to give ourselves grace.”
“It’s about having the mentality to improve yourself little by little. We are all together on this floating rock in space. We need to be better, kinder, more loving people to others and to ourselves.”
“You sure as heck should not feel like you’re going to spiral because you had a piece of chocolate.”
As a certified fitness and nutrition coach, Kaufman said her first steps with a new client are to ask about their goals.
The most frequent response is to lose weight.
“The first thing I ask is why? What’s the foundation? Because if you don’t have a foundation, it’s going to crumble, right?”
Dig a little deeper and she finds it’s not really about the number on a scale, but how losing weight would make them feel.
“I want to feel better in my clothing.”
“I want to walk up the stairs without feeling winded.”
“I want to move my body in a way that doesn’t hurt.”
“I want to be able to sit on the floor and play with my kids.”
Kaufman said many of her clients joke that working with her is like therapy. That’s because she understands the value of building confidence and self-esteem.
