Do you want to have more energy? Increase your activity level? Eat better? Margie Geiser – Fitness Coach shares “how-to” in this intervie. She also discusses how she chose coaching and the process of building her practice. I hope you enjoy her story as much as I did. You can learn more about Margie from her website at http://www.megfit.com.
Businesses
How did you first learn about the field of coaching?
I kept reading about it in one of my fitness trade magazines. I was very involved in the National Strength & Conditioning Association (NSCA) at the time (I believe it was 2003), and there was a lot written about ‘training by phone’. Then one day I read an article in a Costco newsletter. So, I emailed my committee colleagues at NSCA and asked if anyone knew anything ‘about this coaching stuff’. That’s when I learned about WellCoaches. However, as I was also a registered dietitian, I was aware of licensure laws and wasn’t clear how I could see clients across state lines with this limitation. So, I called WellCoaches and they sent me the names of five RD’s who had gone through their program. I then called each one. The first one gave me an ‘ah ha’ moment; She said, ‘coaching isn’t counseling, it’s coaching’, and she proceeded to explain the difference to me. The last one gave me one of those ‘duh’ moments; she said, ‘do a google search on coaching’. This is how I learned about Coachville, (who had INCREDIBLE resources at one time), and ICF.
How did you get started in coaching? Was it a conscious decision or was it a “next step” process?
My next step was to do a lot of research. I learned about teleclasses and started signing up for every class I could get my hands on! I was already in business for myself, so I could clear out pieces of time to work on this. I believe I attended a good 2 classes a week. My big question was what school did I want to go to and what would be my specialty? I knew I wanted to incorporate coaching into my business, because the opportunities to work while traveling intrigued me a great deal. In fact, I also bought my first laptop with that goal in mind!
I started looking into coaching because my personal training business was extremely busy, and I had to figure out a way to see more clients and ALSO be able to still earn an income while away.
What were your first steps in establishing your coaching practice?
I started MEG Fitness in 1996 to provide in-home personal training and nutrition counseling services to previously unfit adults. My focus with nutrition, besides weight loss, was sports nutrition. I am a registered dietitian, graduated from Loma Linda University. I
incorporated coaching into my practice in 2003. Today I offer wellness coaching to people who want to decipher the overwhelming health information into something ‘doable’ for them as well as business startup coaching for health and fitness professionals who have allowed fears, doubts and uncertainty to hold them back.
Do you have a VA? If so, at what point in your practice did you hire her/him?
Yes, I have had a VA since the start of 2005. I knew I needed someone to do more of the business stuff so I could do more of the service stuff. She’s my second right arm!
What have you discovered to be great time savers? Time wasters?
Time savers. My VA. Writing lists for what I want to accomplish each day. It’s great to mark things off my daily list! Also, filtering listserv email.
Time wasters. I try hard to stay on top of the various lists I’m on, but I also do feel a lot of time is wasted doing so.
On your website you discuss that everyone knows what to do to obtain health….so true! But, we just can’t do it – what are examples of previous failures and successes using your program?
My program is for people who are really ready to make changes, but just need someone to run ideas off of or be accountable to. Plus, now I offer, through Skype, live video feeds so people who have either let their exercise program drop or want to see if they’re on track can use the Coaching Gym as a sort of virtual personal trainer service!
So, for people who have emotional issues around eating and weight loss, the best option for them is to find a nutrition professional who specializes in disordered eating. Many times people don’t want to accept that this is the issue. However, many coaches who have a background in therapy are now an excellent second choice.
You also discuss customization – in what ways does your program address this issue?
This particularly has to do with the training feature of the Coaching Gym! I never put clients into a ‘canned’ program. We all like/dislike different things and everyone has different moves that fit or are uncomfortable or that they particularly like. So, for that reason, the live video option in the Gym is now a GREAT feature! And, what clients have told me is they can tell the difference when they work with a coach who has a background in nutrition, because instead of me telling them what worked for ME, I’m able to explain to them why certain things may not have worked for them and help them discover easy, ‘do-able’ things to incorporate into their daily habits.
What are some of the most common difficulties in obtaining health and how do you suggest overcoming them?
People have to realize that obtaining optimum health is an ongoing challenge for all of us. No one wakes up one day and makes a conscious choice to gain weight and lose control of their health. Life just happens. However, the harder thing is to make such things a regular part of our life. Sure, I’d much rather sleep in on some mornings, but I have chosen that fitness and health are a high priority in my life and represent who I am and what I am all about. When choosing health, we make a choice of what we will give up in exchange. Then it’s important to take habits into account and to also realize that ANY change is a slow process and not something you can just do, say in the New Year! So, what I do with my clients is have them work on just one small new habit that they want to create. No big change in how they eat. No start running a marathon tomorrow. And people need to dig in and discover why they haven’t done some of these things in the past! If you don’t understand why you are NOT doing certain things, you will fall back into NOT doing them.
Personal
What sustains you?
I practice what I preach! I strive to get 8 hours of sleep most nights of the week. I make a conscious effort to eat 5+ servings of fruits and veggies per day. (Although I’m not a vegetarian, I did graduate with a nutrition degree FROM a vegetarian university, and do believe that the foods we eat play a HUGE role in the health we have at this very moment. Often I will encourage people to ADD certain things to their diet more than eliminate foods.) Although my goal is 5-6 days a week of exercise, because of my two businesses, taking dietetic interns, writing my first book and a current MBA student, I DO realize that sometimes something is going to have to be given up. So, if I get a minimum of three days a week of exercise in each week, I’m ok. I have a home gym and also use the school gym one day a week.
What else sustains me. I LOVE what I do! After every call, I come away with, ‘wow, that was fun!’ I also feel extremely fortunate that my family is always here to spend time with and support me and accepts my support of them. I am grateful that I enjoy the benefits of living in Southern California where it SNOWS! And that I can work from my home!
What drains you?
Negativity and lack of motivation drains me. I have a hard time being around people who only see the limitations and negativity in life. Life is too short to live this way.
You share a bit of your personal story in obtaining and maintaining health and that this is your passion. Do you still struggle? Where do you turn for supports?
When I was in high school, I was a bit overweight and was always trying to find ‘the solution’ (lol; the grapefruit diet, etc). I tried everything! I was active (snow skiing, water skiing, hiking, etc), but nothing really clicked. Then one day, when my daughter was 2 months old, in 1980, a friend called me and invited me to an ‘exercise to music’ class. I LOVED it! After that first class, every single muscle of my body ached, but I went back. And after two years of taking this class, the instructor asked if I’d like to start teaching. Again, I LOVED it! I had found my purpose. From there I became the manager of a small health club and at one period of time was teaching 10-12 aerobic classes per week. By the time I returned to school, in 1985, I was in incredible shape!
Because my degree is in nutrition, I certainly learned a great deal about what a healthy diet is all about, and spelled out the facts and myths. This actually helped me be okay with knowing that ‘all foods fit’ and that if I choose to eat a hot fudge sundae one day, I will NOT die tomorrow (or grow to a bigger pants size). However, I also realized that eating the foods that made me feel and look better were certainly worth the effort!
I still remember reading my school books while walking on the treadmill. Even today, now that I’m back in school, I have it set up where I can again read my school books while on my cross trainer(elliptical trainer). I’m not in that incredible shape, today, but I know I’m doing what I can and certainly am in decent shape.
Many of my friends are either nutrition or fitness professionals. So, that’s certainly a strong motivation to pay attention to my own health and fitness. Plus, because I do have a name for myself, the last thing I want to do is show up at a conference splitting the seams of my clothes. Also, I’m now in my 50′s, and it’s more important than ever to focus on how nutrition and fitness helps keep the skin healthy, the GI tract moving and healthy, energy up and able to sustain my activities and thinking requirements. People often just think of weight or disease when they think of nutrition, but it really does play a role in all of these things.
I notice you are a member of Toastmasters – I’ve attended a few meetings myself, how has this helped you in your business?
I had attended a series of transformational workshops a few years ago and while coming up with the goals for the Leadership course, one was to join Toastmasters. I attended an American Dietetic Association meeting that year and several colleagues felt that another woman and I, who was also a coach, should team up and submit to present at the next conference. Because of the people involved, I suspected this would really happen. So, as soon as I got home from that meeting, I joined Toastmasters! And, sure enough, our presentation at the next national conference was accepted! I learned SO MUCH from Toastmasters, I can’t even begin to list it. It’s not just about public speaking, but also about leadership. So, there I am, a year later, in October, 2005, standing on the stage, with 700+ of my peers watching me. And, the crazy thing is I was NOT nervous! As I spoke, and wandered around the stage for emphasis, all the things I had learned in the past year came back to me and I am very proud that our presentation is still being talked about today!
I can’t recommend it enough to anyone who feels they would like to speak. I had already been giving presentations, but it definitely took me up a notch!
General
Please discuss tips or secrets or motivators that can jump start our readers motivation to get and stay healthy.
So, let’s first talk about exercise.
Well, first of all, if it’s something you REALLY want to do, you’ll make it happen. Just imagine all the wasted pieces of time of 10 minutes here, 30 minutes there! Even reading email can use up 30 minutes in the blink of an eye! Think of the other things you do and what is something that may not really be necessary, but it’s something you WANT to do?
So, a first step is figure out WHAT you want to do. Do you want to go out and take a walk? Where, with who, when? What else? Can you work out at home? WILL you work out at home? Maybe going to a gym would be a great escape. But then you have to decide how to make it fit with kids.
The second step is determine WHEN you will do it. Let’s say you decided you’ll start walking. When CAN you do it? Early in the morning? In the middle of the day, before dinner, in the evening? What fits. If it doesn’t fit, it’s not going to happen.
Then you need to determine how OFTEN you’ll do it. For some people, it has to be consistent, like every single day, M-F. Others, if they can start with just 2 days a week, that’s still an increase.
Then how LONG will this exercise session be? For some people, I will suggest just 5 minutes a day! Sure, it seems like nothing, but again, if they’re already doing nothing, it’s an increase! No matter how long it’s for, if someone is starting with 5 (or 15) minutes a day, I will then suggest they only increase it by 5 minutes a week until they’ve hit the total amount of time they honestly have. This is a good place to talk about the fact that enough research has shown that if you had three, 10-minute slots of time through the day, that would be just as effective as doing one, 30-minute session! Granted, once a person gets into a higher fitness level, this is a different story, but for those who do nothing, it’s still an increase.
So, once you know what you want to do, when and how often you’ll do it, and for how long, then it’s just a matter of putting it on your schedule. Then the best next move is to have someone you’re accountable to. Grin; that’s where I come in, because not only can I help people determine the answers to above questions, but then help them be accountable, PLUS then guide them along the path of learning the importance of warm-ups, cool-downs, stretching, HOW to stretch, when, etc. WHY that’s important, and so forth and so forth.
If you were addressing food, you know, it’s really not too different! Pick a goal; let’s say you want to stop snacking at night. You just look at why (sometimes it’s because of what’s been eaten during the day, even as early as breakfast), and then break down looking at different strategies that may work. With food, I seldom recommend that someone stop eating something. THEY must make that choice. Eating is an extremely personal thing. However, I WILL recommend additions! Some of these additions will help stave off cravings, can help decrease hunger at particular times, and help with such things as low blood sugars, etc. And, of course working with someone who is an RD can also be extremely beneficial for anyone with any health condition.
Kim Woodworth, M.A, is a Parent Coach working specifically with parents and the unique issues they face.   Do you want to have more energy for yourself, your spouse, and your children; and to experience fulfillment in your role as a parent? Contact Kim to discuss the possibilities. www.ourcasa.com
