FitActive for the community

Sometimes things actually go the right way.

It surprises you when they do, but you're so used to bad luck being just around the corner that you hold back from celebrating too much.

Niccolò’s years in primary and middle school were a nightmare, an endless downward spiral. Complaints, expulsions, newspaper articles. The whole family suffered, from us as a couple to his siblings. It was a disaster. I had to leave my job because the constant calls from teachers made it impossible to work regular hours in the office.

When high school began, as the saying goes, I had almost given up. As a reaction to all the pain he had endured, Nicco had also gained a great deal of weight.

I saw an advertisement for a new gym that had opened in my town: 24/7 access, unlimited drinks, a massage chair and a number of other nice services included for free. Nicco had been kicked out of every team sport, so why not try it—perhaps together with me? Worst case, at least I might finally get a firmer backside.

We joined and asked for a Personal Trainer. I explained my son’s situation and they told me there was a trainer experienced with eating disorders who was also friendly with the PE teachers at my son’s school, a hospitality institute.

Even better, since PE is a difficult subject for him.

I explain everything to the Personal Trainer too. His immediate and only goal is to help Nicco build confidence in himself, not to make him lift huge weights.

But Nicco doesn't want to go without me, so I end up going to the gym too—weight training, specifically—three times a week, fitting it in as best I can between clients and everything else.

Nicco starts enjoying it because at school he can tell his PE teacher how sadistic his Personal Trainer is, and at the gym he can tell his Personal Trainer all the crazy things that happen during PE class.

The Personal Trainer suggests taking another step: seeing a nutritionist. We present him as a friend, and Nicco agrees. Before this, he had NEVER been willing to follow any controlled diet.

Two weeks have passed since the diet began. He has lost 4 kilos, for now he has stopped eating in secret, he comes to the gym willingly and has signed up for the school cross-country race. As for me... no, I still don't have a firm backside, but I do have a little more physical strength.

The trainer spoils him with diplomas and certificates of achievement and introduces him to athletes as his best student.

Is everything perfect? No. At school, Nicco sometimes doesn't feel like doing anything. He still displays his ODD and OCD behaviors, although they are a little less frequent and less intense.

He is gaining confidence, but if I skip a session he doesn't go either and stays at home shut away in bed.

One step at a time, in short.

Until last year we were in the darkest waters; now we can see the surface.

There is always hope. That is what I wanted to share with you.