WOMANITION MAGAZINE Womanition2017_Magazine_ForWEB (old) | Page 68

Karla Loeppky Certified Personal Trainer I’m Possible I grew up being called ‘Skinny Minnie’ and after high-school I continued to not worry about food thinking that I’d stay the same. Man was I ever wrong! I soon found myself around 200 pounds. I fell in love with running and was organizing teams of beginners to run in long distance relays. I started taking courses and became a Certified Personal Trainer. I entered a bikini competition, thinking it would be easy since I was already in ‘fitness,’ but two months following competition day, I weighed 198 lbs. and lost my menstruation for over a year and a half. Since I was in the early stages of my personal training, I was mortified thinking that somehow I was a fraud. How could I be in great shape and two months later be overweight? Who would take me seriously? It took two years to stabilize my weight and get back to proper health. From that moment on, I wanted to help people live a healthy lifestyle, with the importance on daily living versus the esthetic appeal of restricted food, constant dieting, and hours at the gym. Life is about being healthy enough to play with your kids, walk up a flight of stairs, and live in your retirement. There are many challenges to achieving success in my business. Three things in particular are challenges to face – the economy, fad diets, and perceived value. The economy is a challenge because fitness and training is still considered a luxury item and is usually the first to go. Yet it provides so many benefits of stress relief and overall mental health that it should be the top priority. Fad diets are a challenge because these programs give you the quick fix of weight loss. Our society likes the quick easy fix. But fad diets are not healthy weight loss and are not sustainable. In personal training the focus is on health and sustainability and people get frustrated when it takes longer than a month to see weight loss results. Perceived value is wanting something now, and not thinking about how today’s decision will affect you in five years’ time. Personal fitness is a long-term commitment and worth the value. I participated in the Ironman Canada and attained four fitness certifications while working in a 9-5 corporate job. Inspired by those personal achievements and by the book “The Miracle Morning” by Hal Elrod, I left my job two years ago to open my studio. I’m in this for the long term. I bring my commitment and personal values to my business and my clients – Passion, Integrity, Relationship, Recognition, and Trust. Certified Personal Trainer KARLA LOEPPKY You Are a Badass Entrepreneur Rollercoaster Your Body Your Weigh Fitness Studio 780-737-0200 [email protected] www.YourBodyYourWeigh.ca 66