Sami Spalter

I don't try to do anything in life.

Like if I'm saying yes, I'm saying yes.

And like, I'm not gonna try to work out.

I'm working out five times a week and like I'm gonna be super disciplined in that.

Day one, I join a CrossFit gym

And it was really intense.

But what I loved about it was the community.

And when you're early on, like y'all, I didn't even own a pair of walking shoes at this point.

I maybe had one pair of leggings and then went to Target and bought the same workout top in three colors.

It was basically a tight bra that then like popped out and was like loose around my stomach.

Yeah, like a peplum.

Because God forbid, I felt like a stuffed sausage in every single workout outfit.

And I'm wearing like extra, extra larges.

Like I didn't even have any association with my size at the time.

But I asked them, I'm like, what sneakers do I need?

What equipment do I need?

They're like, you need these No Bull sneakers.

You know that brand?

They're like the flattest shoes ever.

So I was wearing these all black No Bull sneakers.

I had three tops and got a few more pair of extra, extra large leggings.

And I was in there five times a week.

And... That's cool.

That community was something.

Well, they like hype you up.

They really hype you up.

And like they push you.

I mean, it's like it felt almost like military.

Yes.

Not that I could compete with any of these people.

I mean, truly on the days where it was like run a mile, do 10 handstand pushups, the modifications that my coaches would do for me was amazing.

At first, yes.

My brother would actually come with me.

Frankie was super freaking fit at the time.

Frankie, like, also goes through phases, but, like...

Frankie was jacked at the time.

Really?

Yeah.

And he was such a great accountability partner for me because all of my friends at the time were like my party friends.

I wasn't in a relationship and Frankie like was holding me accountable.

So that was really great.

And then I got to the point where I could hold myself accountable.

And like I had partners in that community that like knew my name, knew what I was up to, knew about like what I wanted to accomplish.

And I have always been someone who wanted to surround myself with people who were doing more and doing better.

And it's really motivating.

Like I always say in business, I never want to be the smartest person at the table.

And when I was signing up for CrossFit, I definitely wasn't walking in there wanting to be the fittest person in the room.

So it was really cool to see these like literal athletes doing the same shit that like I wanted to do.

And I would crush myself in those workouts.

I was going for it, like really, really going for it.

And then after that year, I... Question.

No, I never thought 85 pounds was possible.

I had been overweight my whole life.

I was the heaviest kid in my first grade class.

I don't know why and what happened in first grade.

We were all put on a scale in front of each other.

And yeah, I'm literally 23 years later still remembering this moment of being the heaviest kid when I was in sixth grade.

I won't forget little moments of like my doctors growing up saying like, Sammy, like you're only 13.

You shouldn't be carrying this much body fat.

just across the board, so many moments that were so telling.

So no, I never thought that who you are seeing here today was a possibility for what I could look and feel like.

I think a lot of people move their body to look a certain way.

At this point in my journey, I was addicted to movement because it made me feel a certain way, because it was fulfilling a promise that I was making to myself.

Because it was allowing me to get to know myself to a deeper level than I had ever learned before.

And it wasn't about how hard the workout was.

It was about walking away and feeling like my cup was full, not empty.

And I think a lot of workouts can kind of empty your cup.

Discipline is self-love.

You'll hear me say that all the time.

When you learn self-discipline, that is the number one form of self-love because if you can't show up for yourself, how are you going to do great things for yourself?

In anything in life.

This is not weight loss.

This is life.

You know what I really want everyone to hear?

If you have the privilege to move your body, you are doing your entire life such a disservice by not embracing movement.

And if you haven't found the movement for you, keep looking because it exists.

It is such a privilege.

It is the best form of therapy.

What happened for me after class passed was COVID.

We were in a pandemic.

There were no more classes.

I became obsessed with walking.

Walking is a gift.

You get to go outside.

You get to get sunshine in or just fresh air in.

You get to have it stack so many other things you love.

You get to invite your friend or call the person who makes you happy.

Listen to a podcast like Pursuit of Wellness that betters you.

Like whatever you want to do, you can do while walking.

And

If you have legs that move, walk.

It is a gift.

Oh my God, I'm obsessed with walking.

I still walk 10 to 20K steps a day.

I'm obsessed.

My team knows like if I want to be like as mentally active as possible, I should be moving.

Which is also a crazy level of discipline if you think about that.

Insane.

When do you feel like you found that first oomph of confidence?

I'm just picturing you like deep in your toilet being like, this is for me.

This is for the greater good.

No, but like.

My future self is so grateful.

You've got to try.

You don't know until you try.

Right.