Golden Nugget Podcast Review is a review series where I break down the top podcasters’ shows and present their top wisdom in an organized format so you can get the best of the best in 5 mins or less.
Podcast Review #2: Jordan Syatt, Getting Over Gym Anxiety at 313lbs (A True Story)
This show is an interview with Jordan’s client, Robin. Robin covers how she overcame her fear of the gym and how YOU can too.
If you’re not familiar with Jordan, please check him out here. He’s the owner, head coach, and lead author at Syatt Fitness. He’s a 5x world record powerlifter and a Precision Nutrition& Westside Barbell certified coach.
Jordan is different from a lot of trainers/coaches and I like him because he encourages us all to be on a journey, our own personal journey and not get hung up on numbers, scales etc. He also encourages long-term life efforts versus a sprint to a finish line, balance, and non-craziness around food.
Without further ado, here’s your summary and golden nuggets:
In summary – Robin, Jordan’s client is interviewed by Jordan in this podcast. Robin is afraid of the gym mainly because of her looks/physique.
She’s 45 years old and claims to be overweight her whole life. She’s spent much of her life, time, energy and thoughts focused on what she looks like in the mirror. She’s thought a lot about what people think of her, what she thinks of herself…and of course…she’s tried every diet known to man.
She made a shift in her journey by making the conscious choice to be comfortable in her own body no matter her size because she finally figured out this is what would keep her going to the gym, and taking care of herself rather than focusing on what the mirror and or scale told her.
She decided to focus on how she felt. This is such a critical nugget. If you focus on what you look like, what the scale says — you’re sure to stay on the diet rollercoaster.
Robin’s main story is she videoed herself for the first time doing a deadlift and when she watched the video she fell to pieces because she hated the way she looked. She was embarrassed and mortified.
Robin pulled herself out of this self-deprecating thought process and made the choice that she was going to keep going and not worry about what she looked like because she felt strong and proud of herself. She chose to focus on her positive feelings and not the negative ones — huge takeaway!
Robin Wisdom Nugget
“I could berate myself and shame myself for the fact I’ve gone through this journey over and over again (talking about trying and “failing” at diets). Failure is the word I’ve used so much and I’m tired of it. Instead, I’ve reframed it and now think, I’ve learned a lot of ways that don’t work for me”
How many times have you said the same thing? You failed a diet…you’re a failure because you can’t stick to a diet.
As Robin says, you can continue to berate yourself and shame yourself, or you can choose to think, I now have data points on what doesn’t work for me.
Robin Wisdom Nugget
(Talking about the scale) “I’ve learned there are things I will control and things I won’t”
Giving up on the idea you’re going to magically control everything is a significant step in healing from a past of diet binge cycling. So much can change on any given day – fluid intake, sodium intake, your hormones, your period, stress, sickness etc.
Jordan Wisdom Nugget
“I don’t prefer setting weight goals because you have so little control over that. It literally doesn’t mean anything because it can be manipulated with water, sodium etc. A lot of people quit their journey because they have a goal weight….when it goes up, they quit.
And I bet you’ve quit when it doesn’t go down enough, or fast enough. Or worse yet – remains the same! Think about that, people are quitting on their health and wellness journey because of a dictating scale.
Goals should be focused on the process, not the “end goal”…because there’s not an end….
Focus on the process and not the outcome and celebrate the process…the getting stronger, the feeling better.”
Robin Wisdom Nugget
“That mentality of you should keep turning to the scale to know “all is well” stopped working for me. And I finally sat down and was like, I’m tired of this and I’m so done with this power the scale has over me. I decided the scale had no power over me.
I also asked myself, if the scale never moves, will I keep doing this? And the answer is Yes.
I’m not going to find affirmation in the scale. I’m going to find joy and contentment and satisfaction in doing what I’m supposed to do….FOR ME!”
I don’t think I could possibly emphasize enough how unimportant the scale is and if you make it important in your health and wellness journey it will have a control over you like no other and will push you to quit every time. Throw it out the door and instead, focus on how you feel. Even set goals if you need them – “my goal is to feel good 5 out of the 7 days of the week (define what good feels like to you.) Keep track of it in a journal or notes so you can look back and see your progress.
Most importantly, do what makes you happy. If the scale makes you miserable, ditch it!
Robin Wisdom Nugget:
“The weight section of a gym is scary because first, there’s not a lot of women…so it’s scary and intimidating…second there is a lot of large muscle forward men….”
Robin goes on explaining how self-conscious she was going to the gym at first and then says..
“I’ve stopped caring what the world thinks because this is my moment…and on our journey, we can choose to be who we are. We have to push past the fear – that’s when we begin the growth process. If we shrivel away with the fear, then we can’t move forward
Robin also explains what keeps her focused on herself…
Robin Wisdom Nugget
“I’ve got to find people who inspire me…and that’s what I chose to do. It’s a hard choice. It’s a hard choice to get out of your own comfort zone. It’s a hard choice to walk into the weight room…But who cares! If it’s a hard choice to make, make the hard choice! Because the hard choice is the one that will bring you the most joy!”
Robin’s story is likely to be a familiar one:
- Crippling fear of what others will think
- Feeling like a failure
- Worried about her own physique when she’s at the gym
- Trying every diet only to be let down and feel like she’d failed so she’d lose, gain, lose, gain and was on a rollercoaster
- Thoughts of being overweight “her whole life”
If you’ve experienced anything like Robin you’re not alone.
It’s important to know what you can control is how you treat yourself – you can control your choice that you’re going to make you a priority which means making movement a priority and you’re going to choose you by choosing foods that make you feel well and nurture your body.
But the scale is uncontrollable and an overemphasis on what you look like or weigh will encourage quitting yourself.
If you’d like more information on how to make a shift from obsessing about the diet, the scale, the weight loss, and want to instead learn to live free of the all-consuming crazy around diets and food, please let me know how I can help by emailing me at info@melissacoloton.com Or visit my website for more free info around this topic – www.melissacoloton.com