Today we’d like to introduce you to Charlene Bazarian.
Charlene, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I went to a spa for a day of beauty and was mortified when I had to return to the desk and ask the receptionist if they had a larger robe, as the one size fits all robe, was lying. The woman at the desk embarrassed me and I took that awful experience to spark my “aha moment.” I have lost close to 100 lbs., kept it off, and use created a social media platform and a blog to inspire and encourage thousands of others to find their own fitness and weight loss success. My weight loss story has been featured internationally in magazine like Good Housekeeping, Oxygen Magazine, First For Women Magazine and Woman Magazine, as well as The Sun, The Daily Mail, Pop Sugar Fitness and many other popular health and beauty sites.
It means a lot to me that now I’m in a position to help other people, as it’s like I achieved my goal twice. I deliver advice in a funny & firm way. I get messages from people all over the world & it’s my labor of love. I know my journey has encouraged a lot of people, so I try to live up to it by the choices I make. I think having been on both sides of the spectrum gives me an appreciation for the struggles of trying to lose weight, and the work and effort put into a fit person. I think everyone has a vision of where they want to be, but getting there can be complicated. Without any sort of judgment & by using nurturing but firm advice, I try to help others set a strategic plan for achieving their goals. I use this persona to be a champion for living out loud. My awful fat shaming moment changed not only the trajectory of my life, but has helped encourage and inspire thousands of others. The world won’t always be kind and, while you can’t control a mean-spirited comment being hurled in your direction, you can control what you do with it. I speak from experience that it is remarkably satisfying to have channeled my spa receptionist encounter into finally and successfully taking my hundredth first step to losing half of myself.
Has it been a smooth road?
In terms of losing weight myself, I tell people that I feel like I took a hundred first steps before I found what worked for me. I think one of the surprising challenges was that not everyone was as supportive as you think they’d be. When I first started to lose weight, people were very encouraging, but when my choices meant time that was devoted to working out or what meals I ate or how I spent my time impacted those around me, it took a while for people to accept the new normal. Saboteurs are everywhere and you’ll drive yourself crazy trying to figure out why not everyone is happy for you or more encouraging when you’re trying to take positive steps.
It takes a lot of time and effort to review products, try workouts, and write content that encourages and inspires. Helping anyone out there who is struggling with trying to lose weight and get healthy is so important to me. As far as being a fitness blogger/writer, one of the biggest challenges is that everyone wants free content so it’s a challenge to choose the opportunities that work best in terms of exposure versus making a living.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
As a fitness blogger and writer I try to use my experiences to encourage and inspire others as I know how hard it is to struggle with weight loss and how frustrating and challenging it can be. I bring a genuine and real approach to my tips, recommendations and what I write about. If I say I love a product, I LOVE it and my readers have come to value my opinions on things and I take that responsibility very seriously. I also am most proud of the fact that I have kept the weight off for years as I have seen many people have some success with weight loss only to regain the weight. I’m not out there suggesting magic bullets to people, but instead presenting real steps to take that you can live with to not only lose weight and get in shape, but to keep it off. It is always incredible for me when I hear from people around the world who say they saw my story or read something I wrote and that I encouraged them to start their own journeys. I try to bring humor and honestly to what I write about while reminding people to nix the excuses. “You’re no busier a fit person!” is my go to answer when people try to tell me they’re too busy to workout.
Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Boston and the surrounding suburbs is an amazing place full of all kinds of health and wellness opportunities. The wonderful thing about being a blogger is you can literally do it from anywhere, but Boston offers some fabulous opportunities to partner and collaborate with local brands. I try to support local businesses whenever I can and reach out to the companies whose products are made here that are in line with my health and food choices. It’s a great way to network and collaborate!
Contact Info:
- Address: Reading, MA
- Website: http://fbjfit.com
- Email: fbjfit@gmail.com
- Instagram: @fbjfit
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FBJ-Fit-111399848940511/
- Twitter: @FBJFit
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMyzNRcbXfQD5_OO0jSL_sA
Image Credit:
Dana Lane Photography
Four Three Collective
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