Okay gang, I know we missed last week entirely, and I deeply apologize. There have been some small changes going on, and here’s the vid that talks about it.

Hey everyone sorry for the delay. Unfortunately I was not able to finish the video up and just wanted to get my feedback out asap, so I will be back next week on video. It seems as it may be easier for Lara to go ahead and post her weekly feedback and then for me to follow up after that instead of doing it all in one post. It really hard to coordinate with both of our hectic schedules. So…..how does that affect you? It shouldn’t just keep an eye out for 2 posts (Part One from Lara and Part two from me)

My Feedback For The Week:

Last week during our coaching session I gave Lara her assignment for the week.  The focus was balance. I gave Lara 8 Specific areas to start focusing on. I had her rate each one of these on a scale of 1-10, keep it close to her while she is at work and to start Identifying areas where she can get better, how and to start keeping a journal. This a process of a coaching method that I use with my clients call “Cooperative Coaching”.

Here are the 8 areas Lara is working to balance:

1. Unhealthy Habits
2. Stress Management
3. Fun and Recreation
4. Nutritional Supplementation
5. Exercise
6. Diet
7. Weight Management
8. Hydration

See, this journey for Lara is not just about losing weight. It’s about becoming a different person with more balance and understanding as to why you should lose weight, be healthier or achieve any of your goals that you are setting out to accomplish. Focusing on all these other areas will allow you to reach and maintain a healthier lifestyle much easier. I did say “easier”! There is a lot of work involved, pain, and challenges associated with making big changes in your life.

So, how did Lara do? I am just going to give you some bullet points of my thoughts. That will keep me from rambling on too much and help us get right to the point!

Let’s start with the positive!

• Lara mentioned that she had been keeping a journal so that great!
• She also mentioned something about finding things to do that she enjoyed which was one of our 8 balance items, so that’s great!
• She has been exercising everyday, even if she had to use the treadmill at home. Awesome job Lara!

Areas we need a little more focus:

• Lara, you need to get me your food journals on a daily basis. I am not getting these everyday. I can’t emphasize the importance of getting these in every day.  Let’s work on that!
• I prefer that Lara gets out to the gym at least 3 times per week. It’s extremely important to get out of the house and in to an environment where you are around others who are working on their health and fitness goals.
• “Feeling too restricted” is what I keep hearing. Lara, it’s not the intention to be too restrictive in your diet at first. The only 2 restrictions that  I put on you were no fast food and no refined sugar. Now, I understand that you have this craving for chocolate. It’s not going to kill you to have a little chocolate every so often as a reward to yourself for doing a good job. Keep in mind that we are on a cooperative coaching program and that it’s up to you to hold yourself accountable, be honest with yourself and be able to identify when you should and should not be having certain foods. If you are going to have chocolate, I’d prefer it be a good chocolate made of at least 60% real cocoa. They key here is moderation. Focus on your calories, smaller more frequent meals and getting the exercise that you need daily.
• Eating Out - Let me be very clear about this. Lara, I am not asking you to never go out with your friends. I am asking you to make better choices when you do though. If there are absolutely ZERO healthy alternatives where you are, then I would suggest eating before you go. Nobody says you have to eat when you go to a restaurant with your friends. Furthermore, if they are truly your friends they will support you in this venture and understand when you tell them that you already ate because you are on a diet, there are no healthy alternatives here, that you are 100% committed to this and how much it means to you. There’s always an option and there’s always a way to do the right thing. All you have to do is be willing to do whatever it takes.

Okay, that’s my feedback for the week. Lara’s goal for the next week is to continue to work these areas of focus along with the other action items that we have already discussed. Next week will be a VERY interesting week. Moving in to the 3rd week here we are really getting down to business. It’s time to move past excuses and in to commitment for transformation!

Remember “It’s not about doing anything, It’s truly about becoming who you want to be”!

See you next week!

Hey gang, it’s Lara here… Pat and I apologize for the delay in getting episode two up, but he’s just got a new computer and is moving things over to it, and I had a crazy weekend (as you’ll hear a little about in the video).

Here’s part one (my half), and Pat will be uploading his response video sometime today:

Check back later for Pat’s update!

First let’s here from Lara and see how she has done over the past week. I will follow with my feedback to her, my expectations of her over the past week, how well she has stood up to the challenge and any progress. Enjoy!

Pat

Okay, so here it is! The first video as part of my new life!

I admit, I’m a little sketchy on editing for time (YouTube gives a 10 minute time limit until you post so many videos) and it’s a little choppy in places. But I’ll practice, I promise!

So now you’ve heard Lara’s feedback about the last week. Now, let’s explore some of the things that I laid out for Lara and see how she held up to the challenge! Did she hold up to the challenge? Or did she whine, complain and make excuses all week long? Well, I guess you’ll have to watch to find out huh?

I will also be giving some of my coaching methods and insider tips on how I help people make transformations in their lives! You don’t want to miss a minute of this video series!!!

Here we go…..

Be sure to tune in next week to see Lara’s progress and to get more insider tips on making a transformation in your life! We’re just getting warmed up, there is LOTS of juicy stuff coming!

See you SOON!

Fitness royalty Pat King takes plus-size model Lara Kulpa to the brink of career change!

Yep, that’s right! I am taking on NBC and the Plus Sized Modeling industry! My newest coaching client Lara Kulpa has accepted the Fitness Life Challenge!

Lara has agreed to lay it all on the line! No holding back! She is going to put everything out there for everyone to see! I am talking about pictures, videos and everything! We are going to be posting her weekly to do’s, follow ups, progress and even the criticism that she gets from me will be made public right here! We are going to be getting down and dirty folks!

Just to be clear, I have selected Lara only because of her serious determination! She is focused and ready to take thie challenge and put it all out there for all to see!

So without any further adieu…

I was once a semi-finalist (one of 12 women prior to the final selection of the 6 who would appear on the show) for “The Biggest Loser”. The following year, NBC phoned me up and asked again if I was interested, and since I’d only dropped about 5 pounds, I agreed to meet with them again, to no avail.

You’d have thought that it would’ve made me want it more, wouldn’t you?

Before I get any further, allow me to get a little more into my background with you. I wasn’t a “fat kid” per se, but I did start to “chunk up” around the 4th grade. I distinctly remember a trip to the doctor’s around 7th or 8th grade, when he said that I weighed 140 lbs. and on the way home, my mom said, “If you just don’t gain any more, when you’re full grown, you’ll be at the healthy weight you need to be.” No, it didn’t damage me, and it wasn’t said out of anything but pure love and concern. I don’t have “mommy issues”. But it did stick with me that 140 might be an ideal weight for me. Too bad I spent almost all of my life since then at 240 or so!

About 10 years ago, one of my best friends was really deep into the modeling field, and despite the fact there weren’t that many plus sized models around (Emme was pretty much the only one), she encouraged me to get into it. I took tons of photos, won a magazine model search competition, did some hair modeling for Redken 5th Avenue, and was in two movies since then. Here are a few of my pics:

So yes, I was sort of “before my time” when it came to modeling as a plus size or full-figured woman. Nowadays, with the rage and fury behind eliminating toothpick models, I probably could’ve done a lot better in a career as a model than I did. But anyway…

The bottom line here is that my weight issues really have never been self-esteem related. I really do love <em>who</em I am (for more proof of this, check out my blog) but I’m thinking it’s been more of a protective thing.

I’ve never known what it was like to be looked at as a sex object. I mean sure, I’ve had boyfriends and dated and all that, but not nearly as much as friends of mine. But I’ve seen my friends get drooled over, hit on as if I wasn’t even standing there (One guy once stepped in between my friend and I, with his back to me, as if I truly was invisible! She even introduced me, and I swear, he didn’t see me.) and even groped by strangers. I was GLAD that stuff wasn’t happening to me, you know? I have always wanted a guy who saw through that “shell” of fat, and got to know ME, fell in love with the person, not the body. Of course, that’s brought me to 31 years of age with never having been married and no children… not what I wanted either.

So here’s the bottom line, gang. I just got out of a really difficult relationship, one that emotionally just tore me apart every day. I lost who I was, deep down. And I realized that more than anything, I didn’t want that to ever happen again. I didn’t want to settle for something just because the guy didn’t care that I was overweight. I didn’t want to hide behind this fat shell any longer, and I wanted to do this to prove to myself that I’m worth it. I’m worth a healthy, happy, exciting life full of love and fun and maybe even babies someday! *giggle*

So I came to Pat and asked for his help. I know he’s passionate about what he does, and when we talked about the idea of my putting it all “out there” for the world to see, so you can watch my transformation happen right here online, he and I both kept getting more excited about it. I can’t wait to share this journey with you all both here and on my site.

Right now, what it looks like we’re going to do is a weekly roundup on Monday mornings here on Fitness Life Club. I’ll be posting a video recap of my week in terms of how things went, and Pat will also be analyzing my diet and exercise journals, my videos (yep, it’s about attitude too, and sometimes we all need a little attitude adjustment), and we’ll both take questions from you guys! If you’re not already subscribed to the site, I suggest you do so now, so you don’t miss a minute of the process!