As I did with last week’s post about Hugh, I wanted to continue kicking off the year with another client highlight article. Tatsyana has seen a huge transformation in her physique in her time with me. It has rarely been an easy road but she has shown that when she’s focused, there’s little that stands in her way.
JASON: Can you paint a picture of what was happening in your life at the time we met? For those who don’t know, you had won some sessions to train with me at a special needs raffle. You had been sitting on the certificate for a while before we met in person through some mutual friends.
TATSYANA: A year before we met, I had won your sessions. I was at least 85 lbs overweight and felt ashamed of myself. I never thought a gym setting would be a good fit for me because I would be too embarrassed within that atmosphere.
JASON: Before you started training here and after you had committed to getting started, you got serious about your weight loss and had already dropped significant weight before training began. What changes did you make that weren’t already in place?
TATSYANA: When I met you, the personalities clicked. You have a son with autism and I was able to see you interact with him, which was fantastic. I had been fostering children with developmental disabilities for 24 years at that point. I remember we were trying to set up our initial consultation and session time and you mentioned the book you wrote. I bought it and decided to jump in 100%. I got aggressive with my diet so I wouldn’t look “as bad” once I walked into your gym. That worked for about the first 25 lbs before I hit a plateau.
JASON: Many people don’t know this (because you don’t let on about it) that you had some pre-existing injuries that affected your ability to train to full capacity. Can you talk about those injuries and how they affect your daily life?
TATSYANA: I have five brothers and five sons so that has caused me to be pretty tough! Besides, do people really want to hear you are in pain? I’ve learned to live with my chronic pain. I have degenerative discs in my spine and my neck and back are a mess. You have helped me immensely in building those muscles around those problem areas. In doing so, the surgeon hasn’t had to cut me open again. Thank God!
JASON: You dropped a lot of weight in a fairly short amount of time once you got on a consistent routine with us. What kept you so focused?
TATSYANA: You have helped me stay focused. I am a “pleaser”, so it’s important to me to put the time into myself when I see what you put into all of us clients! In your gym, people are incredibly happy and supportive. I need people like that to motivate me and help me feel worthy. I get this between the four walls at RevFit.
JASON: One thing I’ve always admired about you is your ability to take on a great deal of responsibility in caring for others. It’s easy to see how the attention you give to others forces you to put your own health on the backburner. What have you learned about yourself throughout this process?
TATSYANA: I believe we are on this earth to serve each other. I’m learning from you and others in the gym that it’s okay to serve myself from time to time. Ask me that same question five years from now and the answer may be different. I still see a lot of dysfunction in myself!
JASON: You’re back on a consistent routine and focused again on your weight loss and getting to your ultimate goal weight. More often than not, life gets in the way of our well-designed plans and keeps us from getting where we want to be within a reasonable time frame. For a while you were basically holding steady and floating within the same handful of pounds. What shifted your mindset to get things rolling in the right direction again?
TATSYANA: At one point recently I was up 20 lbs from my previous low. It’s important to realize I am not a failure and that I need to be patient and forgiving of myself. You certainly are. I feel with my own self worth comes a level of accountability. If I can get all of that working in harmony, I would be happier and leaner.
JASON: Tatsyana, I wanted to thank you for not only the time and effort you’ve put into yourself but for how supportive you have remained of not only me but the other clients here as well. Thank you for continuing to be an inspiration.
TATSYANA: It’s a mutual feeling! Thank you for building me up and having the understanding and patience to work with me. Being at RevFit is worth a million bucks and I am learning that I am worth the time and money I invest in being there.
(As of this picture, Tatsyana is down 56lbs.)
“We Make Great People Greater”
