Author Archives: cafairman

A hiking adventure gone wrong turned me into an accidental fitness instructor and now coach! Say what!?! Yup, what was supposed to be a short round trip hike on the AT to find a letterbox turned into a 13 mile hike. I thought I was going to die on that hike. We packed a baggie of trail mix, a peanut butter sammy and we each had a 16 oz bottle of water. It was only suppose to be under 5 miles in and out. Being on the trail with not enough water and weighing 250 pounds was a bad combination. I cried so much and was totally embarrassed. ( we will still sorta newlyweds) I was huffing and puffing. I thought my lungs would burst. My headi was pounding from breathing so hard. Didn’t have my inhaler either. After we made it back to the car, I decided then that something had to change. A 13 mile hike shouldn’t have nearly gave me heart attack or exploding lungs.
I started out with Mary Lou Henner’s eating plan and I tried some fusion fitness workouts by Ellen Barrett. I could only get through 5 min. Lots of crying there too. I showed up every day and managed to be able to go a little longer. Eventually I was getting through the entire 50 minutes. The weight was coming off. I was learning how to ‘eat to live’ not ‘live to eat’.
Fast forward a few years. I finally had the nerve to try a group fitness class. Zumba was always something I wanted to try but couldn’t bring myself to sweat in public. What if I couldn’t keep up? I tried one day and fell in love. I attended classes for a year and finally decided, I could teach this at the church I work at and help other people too. I teach 6 classes a week now and work full time. I love dancing and love my students!!
I met my coach Sarah through Zumba. I was struggling to teach my classes.I was exhausted all the time. Back then I was teaching 11 sessions. I couldn’t seem to eat enough to nourish my body. I knew she taught tons of classes and reached out to her and asked her how they heck she was able to teach so many classes. She recommended Shakeology. I saw the price tag and of course, I zipped over to Sprouts and picked up some protein shakes. I’m on a budget and I work for a church. This chick can’t afford all that. Eventually I reached out again and she again suggested Shakeology, again pointing out its value and that is a complete meal. I flat out shared my concern over the cost. I ordered a sample pack and that was all she wrote. I had stamina again! I felt fantastic! And, I didn’t have any more cravings for junk food out of the blue. I was feeling alive again!
Coaching was the last thing on my mind. I’m still too overweight. Who wants to hear from a fat chick? I had an excuse for everything. Dancing was one thing. Coaching others to good health was another.
Sarah was right. Just work the program, drink the shakes and share with others what healthy things work for you. The next thing I knew I was trying the 21 Day Fix and drinking Shakeology. I had my program a week and people started reaching out to me. And now I have a team working with me to help others as we reach our goals together. We stumble. We succeed. But above all, we have each other to lean on.
I’m so thankful for that hiking trip that went bad. I would have missed out on so many blessings. 🙂 I’ve been plowing through the beachbody programs, each one taking me to a new level of health. There was even a program to help me recover after my breast tumor surgery a year ago. (another story for another day)
I’m the accidental fitness instructor-coach that is pushing play, drinking a shakeology and supporting others every day and loving it!