I had seen her pictures when she first became a National Fitness Champion. She was projected by people in the know to make an immediate impact on the IFBB Pro Division. Last summer had been one of the best in her life. Virtually all of her dreams had come true. Her name was big and her pictures were everywhere. Everyone looked up to her and wanted to be just like her.
We’d been on the phone for over an hour. She was scared and frustrated and feeling completely alone. It was the middle of summer and she told me that she was wearing sweat pants and a sweatshirt because that’s all she had that would still fit, and that she couldn’t stand to look at herself in regular clothes. She now trained at a gym that was a half hour further away than her normal one because she didn’t want anyone to recognize her. She said that she was miserable and feeling completely hopeless, that she’d read my articles and felt like I understood what she was going through. She had talked to a number of doctors and trainers who had dismissed her as basically lying. No way she could be working out and eating that well and looking like this, they’d said. She contacted me hoping that I had some answers for her. She said she didn’t know where else to go.
The story she told me I’ve heard more times than I can count. It underlines just how fragile the body can be and how, if pushed too hard for too long, all the things we work for can go away very quickly. This particular story had a happy ending, but all too many of them don’t. I’ve written an article about a very misunderstood yet very real condition that has more names than it does understanding. In the past, I’ve often written about and have even created a multi-media info course on a condition I refer to as Metabolic Burnout. In it, I fully explain what it is, talk about how to prevent ever getting to that point and what to do if you have it.
Yesterday, I posted an article on Adrenal Fatigue. “Adrenal Fatigue” is at best a nickname and conditional description of a set of physical problems that are much easier to prevent than to correct. This article is to create awareness and better understanding as to how a very fit and dedicated person can wind up having so many problems. Awareness and prevention are the best “cures” for this and other metabolic related fitness problems.
Before you wind up wearing sweats in the heat of summer and desperately calling strangers on the phone for advice and support, please take the time to try and keep yourself healthy by giving this a read. Check out the links to the Adrenal Fatigue article as well as the free Metabolic Burnout Course below.
Stay Healthy (Photo – Terry Goodlad)
Kevin
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