![\"Moving](\"https:\/\/sduptownnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/web-IMGP0024-300x225.jpg\" "\\"web")
\u201cMy highest [weight] that I know of was 260 pounds, but at some point you stop weighing yourself,\u201d said Rapien, who\u2019s now 100 pounds lighter, exercises regularly, and teaches others how to achieve their own health and fitness goals.<\/p>\n
Rapien didn\u2019t stride toward success, however, so much as sidle up to it. And the process of turning her liabilities into her livelihood evolved one step at a time.<\/p>\n
Growing up in the Midwest, \u201cI wasn\u2019t encouraged to be active,\u201d she said, explaining how her weight problem began. She was, however, encouraged to clean her plate \u2013 that is, until her girth grew \u2013 and then those Midwestern mores mingled with mixed messages. She began attending weekly weight-loss meetings with her mother, and said she remembers her father saying once, out of the blue, \u201cHey Karen, let me see you run up to the mailbox.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Her parents were trying to help, but Rapien felt confused, hurt and humiliated.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe driveways in the Midwest are kind of long,\u201d she said, her voice trailing off. \u201cThat is such a big memory for me as a child, to have my dad say that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then came the dieting: the soup diet, the cabbage diet and the salad-only diet.<\/p>\n
\u201c[It was] really unhealthy eating, that no human being could stick to. The worst part was that I would lose the weight but \u2026 gain it back,\u201d she said. \u201cI would lose 40 and gain back 70.\u201d<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t until she was in her early 30s that Rapien stopped chasing a fast fix and faced facts. Her \u201caha\u201d moment came shortly after her fianc\u00e9 proposed to her, coincidentally perhaps, as she was once again en route to the mailbox.<\/p>\n
\u201cI realized how big I was, and how lucky I was \u2013 that I didn\u2019t have diabetes, or high blood pressure, or high cholesterol \u2013 and [then I] realized that it was just a matter of time,\u201d she said. \u201cIt was not going to be long before I would have any one of those, if not all of them.\u201d<\/p>\n
This time however, instead of feeling humiliated Rapien felt fearful \u2013 \u201cterrified,\u201d she said \u2013 that, because she\u2019d lost weight so many times and gained it back, she\u2019d balloon to more than 300 pounds. That\u2019s when she realized a sustainable solution would require scrapping the scale.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt has to be mi<\/em> way,\u201d she recalled thinking. \u201cI have to do it in a way that\u2019s livable for me.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n The self-described \u201cfat outcast\u201d who\u2019d grown up feeling she didn\u2019t measure up, now decided to take her own measure: to factor her emotions into the equation and focus on health rather than appearance. So she started swimming at the local pool, cut her pizza consumption in half and hired a personal trainer for support.<\/p>\n \u201cShe really listened,\u201d Rapien said, recalling how the trainer\u2019s respect for her fears as much as her physical prowess was a crucial component of their relationship.<\/p>\n \u201cEspecially in the beginning, I didn\u2019t want to lose so much to have it be so devastating if I went back. It\u2019s humiliating,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n So each time the scale got scary, she\u2019d tell her trainer she wanted to stop for a while. It was a slow, steady slog, but it was sure and sound, and it enabled Rapien to pick her own pace as the pounds disappeared.<\/p>\n A year and a half later, she\u2019d lost 100 of them. But being slimmer could not spare her from life\u2019s curve balls. Two years into her marriage, her husband died. Six months after that, she lost her job of 13 years. Both were setbacks that could have stopped her in her tracks. Yet, instead of running to the fridge, she laced up her trainers.<\/p>\n \u201c[E]xercise \u2026 saved my life. It gave me an out,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen I would feel like my head was going to explode with all the things I was dealing with, I would go for a run, or go for a walk or lift some weights: something to spend that energy.\u201d<\/p>\n Rapien didn\u2019t know where she was headed, but she had the gumption to keep going. And fortune, as they say, favors the brave.<\/p>\n \u201c[My trainer had often] joked about me getting into the health and fitness industry, because I was her big success story,\u201d she said. Since it was now clear her star student was a winner, not only at weight loss but in life too, the trainer issued an official invitation for her to join her team.<\/p>\n Rapien was ready.<\/p>\n \u201cI <\/em>wanted to motivate people, because I was like, \u2018I get it. I\u2019ve been there, done that.\u2019 And I know how hard it is. I know the struggles,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t forget that stuff. And I understand that life doesn\u2019t stop.\u201d<\/p>\n So Rapien started shadowing her trainer, learning the ropes while simultaneously earning her certification, both as a nutrition specialist via The American Academy of Sports Dieticians and Nutritionists and as a personal trainer from the American Council of Exercise.<\/p>\n \u201c[Now] I can\u2019t imagine doing anything else. It\u2019s just such a part of my life,\u201d she said, remarking that the rewards of her work reach beyond helping clients develop healthy habits. Rapien takes detailed notes to remind clients of how far they\u2019ve come.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll even write down a specific quote \u2026 or a fear that they might have,\u201d she said. \u201cA month or two months down the road, we can look back and I can say, \u2018Oh do you remember?\u2019 Because we forget that. When something becomes really comfortable and easy to you, you forget how hard it was when you first started.\u201d<\/p>\n Business Name:<\/strong> Karen Rapien Fitness Training \u2014A Whim and a Prayer profiles the trials and triumphs of entrepreneurs intrepid enough to put their fanciful ideas and unique talents to the test in today\u2019s volatile marketplace. If you are a local business owner and you would like to be featured in this column, contact Celene Adams at writeyourbusinessstory@gmail.com or visit writeyourbusinessstory.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Fitness trainer helps clients progress at personal pace By Celene Adams | A Whim & A Prayer Success, some say, isn\u2019t about how far or fast we go; it\u2019s about the distance we progress from where we started, and North Park weight-loss and nutrition specialist Karen Rapien has come a long way from the obese, […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":726,"featured_media":245881,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11555","_seopress_titles_title":"Moving in the right direction","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11547,11551,11555],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-245880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-news","category-uptown-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245880","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/726"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=245880"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/245880\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/245881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=245880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=245880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=245880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nBusiness owner:<\/strong> Karen Rapien
\nBusiness type:<\/strong> Weight-loss and nutrition coaching
\nYears in business:<\/strong> Two (has been a trainer for eight years)
\nServices:<\/strong> In-home fitness and health training; group, solo, and couples sessions; online training; mommy-and-me; indoor\/outdoor workouts; grocery-shopping expeditions; body composition testing; balance\/flexibility training
\nMarket niche:<\/strong> Men and women over 40; seniors; people with balance\/flexibility\/weight-loss issues
\nBusiness philosophy:<\/strong> Fitness and weight-loss programs need to be individualized and focus on health, not dieting
\nWebsite:<\/strong> karenrapienfitness.com<\/p>\n