Please reach me at Katie@movementreimaginedwp.com with any additional questions.
”If I work with a HAES-informed coach, I will become complacent with my body!”
”Why shouldn’t I work with a weight loss specialist instead?”
First, your concerns are extremely valid. I hear you and I understand your hesitancy to work with a coach who does not buy into the fatphobia and aesthetic fitness hype.
Working with a HAES-informed coach does not mean you will gain weight, lose weight, or even stay at the same weight.
Instead, working with a HAES coach means you will be supported, valued, and appreciated no matter your size/shape/weight. It means the focus is on HEALTH, not SIZE. Again, your size may change as you adopt and maintain new healthy habits, but size is never the focus.
But why?
Focusing on size often elicits shame, which can reduce motivation to engage in healthful habits. And isn’t health the goal? I know it seems counterintuitive: if my goal is to lose weight, won’t that facilitate motivation to engage in healthy habits? Surprisingly, it most likely will instead create a fixation on a number that does not accurately reflect whether you eat in balance and variety, move regularly, have a healthy social support, etc.
Let me provide an scenario to illustrate:
Emma has been eating yummy, varied, balanced meals and snacks, hydrating adequately, running and resistance training 4 times per week, meeting up with friends, and seeing her doctors and healthcare providers regularly for the past month. When she hops on the scale, she sees a number greater than that which she saw last month. She has had a wonderful month of consistency and growth, but can’t help but to feel disappointment in herself for not losing the weight. The joy and pride she felt in her progress evaporates. Her depressed mood causes her to skip out on tonight’s dinner with friends. Instead she skips her workout as well as her dinner. Her guilt over her body is painful, and hunger sets in. She is too unmotivated to cook a meal with all of the food groups. Emma has now broken her healthful, joyful habits that brought her the confidence and pride she felt before the scale discouraged her!
Sound familiar? The scale can quite often have the opposite effect from what is desired by many fitness professionals.
Progress is measured differently for each person based on their goals and individual psychology, physiology, and life! Here are just a few examples of how progress can be measured (this list is by no means exhaustive):
Weight loss is, understandably, a very common goal in today’s personal training sphere. This has led to many fitness professionals making baseless promises that they will shrink the number on your scale (and if they can’t, it’s somehow your fault!). The fact of the matter is that the number on the scale will never make you happier or healthier. True health is NOT a number (it would be nice if it was though, right?) Instead, health is holistic, and it starts with the boring stuff: day-to-day habits.
To put it simply, I can help you to develop and maintain healthful habits. This may result in weight loss, but it may not!
Trust me, I hear you: “but I want to lose the weight!” I understand the fear that you will become healthful, but your body will appear or weigh the same. I felt this same sentiment. For brevity’s sake, I will end on this:
Healthy habits will not necessarily make you thin, but, in most cases, they will support your body to maintain the size and shape at which it was meant to healthily be.
Thin =/= Healthy.
It depends!
You may consider Gold if you already feel relatively comfortable in the gym, are confident in your movement form and technique, or simply like to focus and zone-in to a good podcast or some pump-up music when moving. Gold members may need support outside of the actual training sessions with training and gentle nutrition-related questions and a customized plan but would prefer to go the actual workout solo.
Platinum members benefit from all Gold supports, but may also like a bit of intra-workout support. 1-2 live 1:1 workouts per week are guided virtually, so folks who would like some workouts to be supported and do 1-2 workouts per week from home may choose this plan.
Diamond members may select their membership for a more involved cheerleader at the ready. With 3-4 live 1:1 workouts per week, folks who primarily workout at home or prefer weight-bearing, non-gym workouts may choose this plan.
Still unsure of which membership is for you? Request a consultation in which Katie can help you find which plan suits your needs best.
Please reach me at Katie@movementreimaginedwp.com with any additional questions.
Firstly, I completely understand this fear, and want to validate your concerns. Because of our sociocultural sphere as well as the misinformation that penetrates even our educational systems surrounding health and wellbeing, most personal trainers believe (and are taught to believe) that weight, BMI, and size must be controlled and manipulated to attain health. I do not align with or practice the goal of weight loss. Period. I am not the “no pain, no gain” or “pain is weakness leaving the body” kind of “personal trainer”. I believe movement can and should be joyful!
In working with individuals in recovery from eating disorders and disordered eating, I am aware of the connotation that “personal training” brings, and try to be as mindful as possible of the space which I occupy and the language I use. Having studied the Health At Every Size Approach, as well as the principles of Intuitive Eating, while devoting myself to continued learning and lifelong scholarship, I do my absolute best to ensure my work is empirically-supported and science-backed, AND most importantly, compassionate and person-centered.
What does all this mean? I do not suggest or promote dieting, weight loss, fatphobia, or any behavior that is not recovery-oriented. I am on a lifelong journey to dismantle my own beliefs that arise as a result of diet culture, and am imperfect in my actions but always growing and learning to best serve you.
Yes, yes, yes! Absolutely. I am a firm believer that health comes in all sizes, shapes, and abilities.
To participate in Return-to-Movement Recovery Coaching, I highly encourage individuals to sign releases of information with their treatment team members so that I can collaborate with them.
I take a holistic approach to movement coaching, and collaboration with your team helps us to give you the most comprehensive and informed care possible. You deserve the best care, and teamwork is vital to providing it to you.
Return-to-Movement Recovery Coaching operates on a monthly membership basis. Because each recovery is entirely and wonderfully unique, each member will have a completely customized experience, which will reflect a different monthly rate for each individual.
For a free and no-commitment quote, please request your complimentary consultation, where I can learn about your wants and needs and provide a quote.
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