Jacob - 101

I had been trying to lose weight for a while before Jacob and I crossed paths. I thought I'd been pretty successful actually, (losing 60 pounds on my own) until I had hit a plateau and the scale didn't budge for months. I honestly had thought I'd lost as much as my body could physically lose. I'd been very good about diligent exercise and healthy eating. Yet for months my body seemed to have settled into wanting to stay where it was at. 

My friend Tammy had been meeting with Jacob for a few months and asked if I'd be interested in meeting with him. Nope, not at all was pretty much my response from what I remember. There was no way I wanted to meet with a trainer. Part of it was that the fat that was left was my body and a part of who I was. I had done what I was capable of doing so why waste the money on something that wouldn't do me any good, and the other part of things was just the fear that came over me just thinking about it. Could I do what he'd want me to do? Does he even work with fat people? I mean Tammy was working with him and she's totally in shape. Maybe he's a skinny people trainer.  Has he even been heavy himself?  Does he know what it's like to move and try to workout with all this extra weight? Would he be nice about it? All these things haunted me for quite some time until FINALLY I agreed to sit down and meet with him. This was I day I never want to forget. Jacob contracts privately as a trainer so often times I would find myself meeting him at one of several gym locations depending on the day. This particular day was a Thursday afternoon and I met him at a gym in Meridian. We sat down and started to visit a little bit, and he asked me about my past, lifestyle, eating habits, and current exercise regimen. I had no problems sharing any of this information with him. He then asked me what my goals were. Goals? I just threw out ..."to be a size 10 and weigh 145 pounds." He just shook his head and said, "Okay, very doable." I was thinking at that moment "Yeah, right?" Then he said he wanted to do a little experiment on me. He got up, turned out the lights, sat back down and asked me to be very focused -  to close my eyes and join him in the moment. He told me to pretend I was on vacation with my husband somewhere on a sunny beach. I was at my goal weight and wandering around this beach in my bathing suit! Honestly, I burst out laughing when he said this, but he didn't think it was all that funny. He wanted me to really focus on what I saw and describe it to him. "What did your body look like?" he said. I responded with, "I don't know." "What about your arms? Are they toned? How about your legs? And what about your back?" I had such a hard time answering his questions and I felt myself getting quieter and quieter in the moment. "What do you see Paige?" "I don't know.  Maybe a smaller me." And it wasn't long after that that the tears began to fall. Jacob turned the lights back on and sat back down. He explained that he likes to do that type of a mental picture/test on his clients as it gives him a good idea of where they are mentally as far starting a program. I'll never forget what he said. "I see a girl who has been struggling with her weight for a long time. A girl that has almost given up hope that she can take any more weight off. A girl that is doubting herself and her ability to accomplish what she wants." He was exactly right, but how did he know this? For a minute I thought he was a total genius. I knew from that moment on that I could trust him. He proceeded to tell me that if I did EXACTLY what he said, that we together could accomplish my dreams. Those words stuck with me and I've found myself repeating them over and over as the months went on. "If you do EXACTLY what I say, I promise we will accomplish your dreams together." I also learned very quickly that Jacob was more than just a person who was going to help me get my body into tip top shape.  I knew from day one that he was a counselor too. I felt from that first moment in that room that he was passionate about his job and helping people change their lives. (He even got teary with me a time or two.)

I think it was within the very next day or so that I drug Steve along to meet Jacob and get the stamp of approval. He really liked him and was willing to jump on board and support me in whatever way he could to help me succeed.

Tammy was ever so thrilled when I told her that he had won me over and that I was going to begin working with him. She was so excited for me as this was someone she trusted and knowing how leery I was about letting people into my personal space to help, she was looking forward to sharing some of our workouts together with him. Speaking of which, I'll never forget that first workout with Jacob. We did it together. Tammy and I. It was a Saturday in March and we met Jacob at the gym. He had us in the spinning room doing a few warm-ups and it wasn't long before I was feeling the urge to throw-up. Yes, for real, just like the people on the Biggest Loser. It wasn't too much longer before Jacob pointed at the back door and said: "There's a bush!" I was thinking, "Seriously?!" Well, me and the bush became friends that day and I knew from that point on that if I wanted this bad enough it was going to take hard work, dedication, and perseverance. I was excited yet scared about the days and months ahead.

Jacob has become such a huge part of who I am, how I want to live my life and stay healthy. Best of all, he's also become my friend - someone I can talk to. He's someone I can share my highs and lows of this journey with, never doubting that he always believed in me 100%.

I don't care if you're struggling to make a lifestyle change and lose weight or are already in shape, everyone needs a Jacob Wilson!