We recently connected with Carmen Whisenhunt and have shared our conversation below.

Carmen, appreciate you joining us today. Can you share an important lesson you learned in a prior job that’s helped you in your career afterwards?

I think one of the biggest lessons and experiences I’ve had, that has helped me in my professional career is that I’ve been there.
I grew up as a heavy kid. I was heavy my entire life. The summer before my senior year of high school, I joined a gym and lost a lot of weight and went into my last year of school feeling like a new person. After high school, I picked up bad lifestyle habits and by the time my grandfather passed away, I experienced depression, and all of the weight came back. I carried it for a long time. It wasn’t until 2012 that I started to workout regularly after finding myself divorced and unhappy.
I started working out regularly and it took me until 2018 to hit a new low weight. I was really proud of myself.
Then in 2019, I had very heavy deaths back to back and it sent my body into sadness I’ve never experienced before. It created havoc on my metabolic state and I found myself in poor health. Then covid hit and that didn’t help anything!! I gained most of the weight back and although I had weighed more at one time, I was back up to being over 250 pounds.
I finally got connected with a great medical team and started to work out again.
It took another 4 years for me to lose the weight again and this time I vow to embrace every aspect of my heath, working along side my providers to ensure my cellular health is as healthy as my body and mind are. I try and meditate now, I get massages, I take the time for me on bigger levels now.
So, when I coach people and I tell them I know how they feel, I really do. I know how hard weight changes are. I know how hard marriage is. I know how hard it is to lose people you love so much that it literally breaks you.
I try and advocate for people to take care of themselves and make time to be happy. Working out and eating right isn’t always fun but the benefits pay off. Leaving your kids for a night out is hard but you’ll be ok and probably happy you did.
So, when I text people I am helping and I am at their side thru some hard times, I totally get what they’re going thru and I know we’ll all make it in the end.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I have worked in health care for over 20 years and started working out with Beachbody, now known as BODi, back in 2012. In 2016, I became a coach within that organization. I am no longer an active coach but I do tend to attract people who are looking for support and I become their friend and mentor and help them where I can. I share my wisdom and my contacts to joining BODi with me, if that suits them. I am proud that I can still make an impact in people’s lives without it being a business like it once was. It feels good.
I still work in Healthcare and I really enjoy helping people be proactive and preventative with their health so that they can live long happy lives.

If you could go back in time, do you think you would have chosen a different profession or specialty?

I would not change a thing in my life. My past, good or bad, has made me the amazing person I am today. I know times have been hard and some are nothing I’d wish on an enemy but they have given me the compassion I know others need.
I love helping people and inspiring people to do better!!

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

I personally think having the experience helps. It’s a tad annoying when you’re working out with a trainer who has never been 80 pounds overweight. They can tell you how deep your squats should be but they can’t resignate with how hard it really is to workout. They don’t understand the physical or mental struggles, like someone who has been there. Like someone who has walked in their shoes.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Yourfavoritecheerleaderatoz
• Facebook: Carmen Peterson Whisenhunt
• Other: IG : Carmendoubleu
  Email : [email protected]

Image Credits

My friends Shaw, Kim, Kassandra