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Growing up as the fat kid in her neighborhood on Long Island, Morit Summers, 36, hated who she saw in the mirror.
She weighed over 200 pounds, and doctors pushed fad diets and weight loss surgery on her. It only made her feel worse.
Then, when she was 14, her family hired a personal trainer who worked with her on strength training and movement. She got stronger and her self-esteem improved. But working out didn’t set her on the road to being a skinny gym rat.
Instead, it placed her on a path to helping other people achieve their health and fitness goals without worrying about a number on the scale.
“I have no idea what I weigh. I haven’t been on a scale in three years. It’s a toxic place,” Summers, now a certified trainer, told The Post. The 5-foot-6 powerhouse estimated that she’s somewhere in the 250-pound range. And that’s fine for both her and her clients.
“If your goal is to be shredded, to have no body fat and be crying during your workout session, I am not the trainer for you,” said Summers.
People looking to get strong and healthy — but not obsess over weight loss — are turning to plus size personal trainers, both online and off. In 2017, Summers opened Form Fitness gym in Brooklyn Heights, where she’s coached more than 100 clients, among them curvy supermodel Ashley Graham. A recent TikTok video of Summers doing push-up jumping jacks to a remixed hip-hop track has earned over 561,000 alone, while the hashtag #PlusSizeTrainer is more than 4.6 million strong.
“Everyone’s goal is not to be skinny when they walk into a gym,” said Summers, who charges $150 for a single session. “Most people just want to feel better. They want their bodies to feel healthy and strong.”
Summers has endured flak from cyberbullies who’ve call her “fat” and hatefully question why anyone would want to work out with someone who looks like her, but her larger physique is precisely why some flock to her.
“A lot of my clients come to me because I look like them. I have a belly, too,” she said. “I know what they’re going through.”
Sarah Taylor, a 38-year-old trainer in Toronto, also uses her struggles with weight and self-esteem to connect with clients.
“I know what it’s like to absolutely hate yourself. I know what it’s like to work out three hours a day, six days a week and throw up after every workout because you hate yourself,” said Taylor, who weighs around 250 pounds and is 5-foot-11.
While working out a commercial gym before becoming a trainer in 2018, Taylor recalled being fat shamed by a woman who gave her a dirty look and asked, “‘Do you have medical clearance to exercise here?’”
The incident, though hurtful, inspired her professional fitness journey.
“What I’ve learned and what I tell my clients is that you can’t change yourself if you hate yourself,” Taylor said. “The only way you’re going to see true change is by truly loving yourself.”
She preaches self-appreciation during her weekly, 60-minute group training session which she hosts virtually through her own fitness app for a $55 monthly subscription fee. The workouts include upper body, lower body and core strength training routines. For each exercise she provides modifications for users who are uncomfortable or unable to perform a full movement. Under her tutelage, a person’s weight is never discussed.
“I’m a personal trainer. I just happen to exists in a plus size body,” she said. “My approach is very different than a typical personal trainer’s because my goal isn’t to whip people into losing weight, it’s about empowering women to feel comfortable in their own skin.”
Las Vegas plus size trainer Jessica Goins also never discusses the scale with her clients. She doesn’t make them do much cardio training, nor does she force folks to track their food intake.
Instead, she kicks off each of her virtual exercise courses held via Zoom by putting her clients in a positive mindset through open dialogue about their physical, mental and emotional challenges.
“We start each session talking about how they’re feeling,” said Goins, 33. “We work through any obstacles whether it’s mindset, nutrition or how they feel about themselves. And then after that we get into the workout.”
For Goins, a recovering binge eater, having a renewed mindset aided her in overcoming her disorder.
“My goal as a trainer is to make sure my clients are healthy: body, mind and soul,” she said. “It’s not all about losing weight.”