I remember a time back in grade school when I was devastated because when the school nurse weighed everyone I was the only person in my class who did not weigh at least 100 pounds. I never dreamed that someday I would be so frustrated because I had become so overweight that I needed to lose more than 100 pounds. I look at pictures of me prior to having children and realize how healthy I was then. Then I look at pictures

Carolyn After First Session K2

over the childrearing days and I see how much I allowed my weight to become out of control. And now as a grandmother I so regret I don’t have the energy or ability to play with my grandchildren but only sit and watch as they play. Many times over the years I did lose 20-30 pounds only to regain it all back plus more, along with more frustration, self doubt and fear of failure each time. And even after total knee replacement surgery I still could not find my way to finally take control of my health. It wasn’t until my sister was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer that I finally found my motivation. I watched her courageously stare cancer in the face with the attitude that “it can stop me but it will have to catch me first”. She lived the last 17 months of her life making each day the best she could with passion and a feisty attitude that she was not going to give in without giving it her best, even knowing that no matter how hard she tried she could not change the end result. Finally one day I asked her how she managed to do that. She simply said that when she didn’t feel like doing what she needed to do she looked in the mirror and said “and just why not”. Those words rang over and over in my mind for months.

My middle son is an entrepreneur and I had asked him many times to recommend something or someone to help me lose weight. He sent me several books over time and I had also bought others I thought would be helpful, but none had spoken to me beyond reading them and storing the information. Then he sent me Dustin’s book “Fit Moms for Life ”.  I read the first 3 chapters and called my son saying how much I liked what I had read. He relayed my words to Dustin who in return told my son to have me go to his website and start receiving his free newsletter, which I did (my first step to taking action). It was in Dustin’s newsletter that I was introduced to the initial Killer Kurves (K2) program on-line. But it took me several months (procrastinating and I still had not read past the first three chapters of Dustin’s book) before I showed the offer to my son and asked him if he thought I could do it. He said he would relay my concerns to Dustin. I told him to be sure and tell Dustin that I was 66 years old, needed to lose at least 100 pounds, had full knee replacement surgery on my right knee about 1 year ago and recently injured my left knee (more procrastination and self-doubt).  A few minutes later my son said he had an answer from Dustin. I was expecting all kinds of answers in reply but not the one I got. Dustin answered with only one word–absolutely!

So there it was. I had backed myself into a corner. How could I not at least try? My son had recommended his friend and my sister’s words were echoing in my head. If I failed I not only failed myself but I would be letting Dustin down (you can’t be more reassuring than “absolutely”) and in turn letting my son down who recommended his friend. And if my sister could live life with pancreatic cancer and have such a positive attitude I could at least give losing weight my best effort and commit to the K2 program. I had long lived my life with no compelling force that moved me to find a path to change, but  change was about to happen. I am normally a rather private person so posting personal thoughts on our secure Facebook page was a big hurdle for me. For the first 3 weeks I read every post and felt a common connection to other participant’s posts and began to apply them to myself. Then with the shield of cyberspace and a trust in those who would read what I wrote, I made my first post.

Carolyn Before K2

I had finally found that path. K2 helped me find the tools that created the mindset for transition, and led me to let go and live the life I deserved instead of feeling unhappy, defeated, unfocused and so stuck that all I could do was brace myself for the next crisis. I found the reason why I wanted to lose weight and became committed to do it successfully instead of just wanting and hoping to lose weight. I also realized I didn’t just want to lose weight but I wanted to become generally healthier. I recognized that this program is something I can do as a lifestyle and not just until I reach my weight goal. While Dustin had preferences/suggestions about foods, he also encouraged eating what is right for me. Dustin’s attitude concerning food and the flexibility of the exercises to match my capabilities allowed me to keep trying and not quit even when it was hard or when things weren’t going well. He only expects that we do our best at all times. I found the path that allowed me to see what I could do to accomplish the changes I so desired but up until then could only wish for.

I feel very fortunate to have been introduced to the participants in session 1. They were honest, encouraging, positive thinking and helpful in so many ways. I found comfort, strength and confidence in their comments, posts, motivational pics, stories, worries and successes. There was always positive energy found there, and as I reflect back I realize the changes that happened within me. Barriers were broken, community was built, a positive mindset had been transformed, goals were set and my confidence began increasing. During the first 12 week program of K2 I lost 20 pounds. I am joining the second K2 program because I know I can do better than I have done so far, and I plan to prove that to myself in session 2 and continue my journey to reach my goal of: “HALF OF ME I WILL BE”.

I really like the story you are about to read about Fit Fun Bootcamper Kaitlin because it goes to show that despite growing up in a family of poor eating habits, it doesn’t have to be a death sentence.  Change is possible and results will be achieved.  Losing the weight has not only transformed her body, but has given her extra drive and confidence to build her growing massage business.

Here is her story…

“I’m 22 years old. I grew up in a less than healthy family; McDonald’s and other fast food choices were a regular meal. This unfortunately, continued on as a habit into adulthood. I developed a regular diet of processed food and Drive-Thru, in addition was not exercising at all, and as you can imagine this did not equate for a pants size that I was pleased with. I tried “dieting” a few times, but my idea of dieting at the time

Kaitlin Before

was getting grilled chicken instead of crispy chicken in the Drive-Thru.

My idea of exercise was doing 10 minutes on the elliptical and 20 sit ups twice a week. So obviously I wasn’t seeing many results. Well they always say opportunity knocks, in my case, it rang; my best friend called me at about 11 pm on a Monday night telling me about this boot camp class she found on Groupon, and she wanted me to do it with her. I said “whatever” and agreed, although I was not as excited as she was. I signed up for it, and then after the fact I realized I would be waking up at 5 am, so my initial reaction was “you better be lucky I love you!”. On the first day, I enjoyed a tough workout, definitely more intense than I was expecting but a lot of fun at the same time. The rest of that entire week I was so sore I couldn’t even sit down on the toilet my legs burned so bad. By the second week, the classes were still challenging enough to keep me motivated, and the instructors would give us modifications if we needed them. I started noticing changes in how my clothes fit. And I was suddenly able to pump out 10 push-ups no problem, when before I would struggle with 2. My favorite thing about the classes is after you force yourself to get out of bed at an ungodly hour, THAT’S IT the hard part is over. Once you get there, the trainers keep you moving, motivated and telling you what to do so it’s not like being at home trying to mentally convince yourself to do one more sit up, everyone pushes you and motivates you.

After about 6 weeks I had lost about 5 pounds and one pants size. I decided to take it up a notch and start taking some of the trainer’s advice about eating. So I slowly started changing my diet, first by choosing healthy snacks for while I’m on the go, and committing to one healthy home-cooked meal a day. These things became habit and now a typical 3 Days of meals for me may look like this.

Kaitlin After

Day 1:  Oatmeal with walnuts and berries for breakfast.  I make my own version of ants on a log for snack which is celery, almond butter, and raisins. For lunch a Spinach salad with pistachios, pear and vinaigrette dressing. I snack on organic apples and snap peas.  One of my favorite dinners is Ground Turkey Meatloaf with a side of mixed veggies, and mashed sweet potatoes for dessert!

Day 2: Scrambled eggs with spinach and grape tomatoes for breakfast. Natural Raw Almonds make great snacks throughout the day. I love having Veggie burgers patties with some organic ketchup, and sliced pineapple on the side. More snacks later will be baby carrots and a banana. For dinner; Stuffed Chicken Breast made with onions, mushrooms, broccoli and low fat mozzarella cheese.

Day 3: I’ll have a fruit smoothie and a few slices of turkey bacon for breakfast. I’ll eat Greek yogurt with granola for a snack, Sushi for lunch, more snacks like grapes and sliced peppers. For Dinner I make Chicken Breast in a skillet with coconut oil and sweet potato fries.

After participating in the classes and changing my eating I’ve been able to lose a total of 30 pounds and went from a size 14 to a size 8. All of my friends tell me how great I look and I recommend to anyone who asks me how I did it, to take the classes because without the incredible support around me I would not have been able to do it.”

-Kaitlin

Great job Kaitlin!  If you are interested in checking out Fit Fun Bootcamps click here to sign up for a free week trial.  If you don’t live in the Madison, WI area, you can get very similar workouts and eating plans using my Fit Moms For Life monthly DVD program.  Click here to learn more.

I am going to be sharing with you a 7 part series on the best presentation I have ever seen on why our society is becoming so obese and unhealthy.  Bring your family together to watch this 12 minutes.

Here are some of my takeaways from this:

-The past 4 decades we have seen an almost triple increase in obesity

-This is a societal problem, not just an individual problem

-Calories aren’t created equal (finally this is coming out)

-If we don’t change our policies and the environment we are creating, we are in for severe problems

-There are likely dozens of things contributing to the epidemic

-Reducing fat doesn’t make you skinny

-Carbs and sugars are the major nutritional problem

-Obesity is a marker for the diseases under metabolic disorder, but aren’t the cause

-75% of health care expenditures are going towards the 8 metabolic diseases

-Non communicable disease is killing more people in the developing world than infectious disease

I did a 75 minute live webinar that received so much positive feedback from the viewers that I have decided to share it with everyone.  Please note that the first 15 minutes or so the slides weren’t being recorded properly, so please bear with it, the content in the audio is great, it just doesn’t like up with the slides.  It gets straightened out later in the video.

At the end of the presentation I give an offer for anyone to join our FM4L coaching program which consists of a monthly workout and nutritional DVD, along with a private online support group, and eating plans, just to name a few.

This is a cute video to remind us of a VERY serious and not cute problem, more like an epidemic the world is experiencing.  Below is from a recent excerpt I wrote in my newsletter.

Today I wanted to share with you two different stories from the past couple days that tie into one another.

I had a MamaToner come up to me after class and ask me why I don’t talk about cigarettes like I talk about alcohol.

Then yesterday one of my best friends and I went out to lunch and he has such a high disgust level with soda and diet soda. I do too, but he is even more passionate about the subject than me.

How do these two stories tie together?

I told my client the reason I don’t talk about cigarettes is because it is now socially accepted that smoking is not only stupid, it is offensive in many cases to those around.

Getting back to my convo with my best friend….

He was saying that soda and diet soda are where cigarettes were in the 60′s, 70′s, and 80′s. It was socially acceptable and even seen as cool back then to smoke.

There just hadn’t been enough time and research to prove just how toxic and damaging smoking was.

My friend predicts that in the future soda and diet soda, will become like smoking and be looked upon as so stupid that we won’t even need to be having this conversation.

Now the obvious difference here is that you drinking a soda doesn’t directly cause me harm.

But in a way it does…

Excess soda is possibly the greatest culprit of diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and so on. Which jacks up all our insurances, which DOES affect us.

So I don’t know if my friend will be right or not. I hope he is, but until that day comes, I will do my best to help soda addicts stop their addiction which is controlling their lives.

I have been fortunate enough to at least have contributed in hundreds of people stopping their addiction once and for all.

I would say 90% of those I talk to after 6 months or more of not drinking say that they don’t miss it, and they feel SO much better because of it.

This is seriously the easiest way to lose weight; don’t drink your calories and don’t substitute fake sugars. That includes in your coffee, tea, or juice.

So my challenge for you this week is to either stop cold turkey, or to cut your consumption by half. Not only will you feel better, you will be doing your body and your teeth good.

I thought it would be cool to read about some women who have made amazing transformations through Fit Moms For Life.  As many set resolutions,I hope these stories will inspire you to make 2013 YOUR year.

Keep moving,

Wendy before at over 200 lbs

Here is her story…

“I am 31 years old and a mother of 4 beautiful kiddos (ages, 10, 10, 5, and 3).  For as long as I remember I have considered myself “big boned” and seriously believed that I was just built bigger than other women.  I had come to terms with that and found a way to be happy with my body at the time.  Exercise and healthy eating was a foreign language to me too.  I never really understood how it worked and I never gave 100 percent to finding out either.  I have pretty much struggled with my weight since middle school.

My oldest 2 girls started to participate in a program called Girls on The Run last year (2011).  They were learning about positive thinking, healthy food, and finding inner strength to overcome obstacles.  Watching them finish their very first 5K last November was very emotional for me.  I was proud of them but, mad at myself for not being able to (or wanting to) complete that first 5k with them. I stepped on the scale at the beginning of this year (2012) and was 221 pounds.  I was mad that I let this happen.  How did this happen?  I didn’t even notice that I had put on that much weight.  I still feel embarrassed at times even now after losing the weight!  This year (2012) was going to be my year and I was going to take back my body and not let the chaos of my life to be my excuse.  My mom was also diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time which was pretty hard for me to deal with emotionally.  I wanted to make sure that I was doing everything I possibly could to be healthy and to be able to fight off anything that I could possibly have to deal with one day.

Click the book to buy it

I started to do a little research on eating better and basically the first 2 months of weight loss for me was trying to figure it out.  I started to add some cardio but, after a month I was not seeing any results on the scale or in the way my clothing felt.  I got an e-mail from Groupon with an offer on Dustin’s bootcamps and decided to read a little more about Fit Moms For Life.  I ordered the FMFL book and the Got Core video and started to put what I was reading in to action.  I had to schedule myself to be at the gym 3 days per week after work just to make sure I went.  My husband works nights so this was not always easy to do with all of my kids and then with my oldest 3 being active in sports and extracurricular activities after school.  I decided that I was not going to give up my gym time though.  I had spent the last few years worried about getting everyone else where they needed to be and never worried about how I was feeling or if I was taking care of myself.  My 3 gym visits (Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday) each week consist of weight lifting and burst training.  I spent the other days doing the Got Core video, playing Zumba on our Xbox Kinect with my children, and running.  Sundays are usually my rest/cleaning days.

Wendy Before and After Losing 67 Pounds

I used the My Fitness Pal application on my phone.  Everything I ate, every time I worked out, every pound I lost I entered in to my daily journal there.  I also spent a lot of time journaling in a notebook about how I was feeling or if there was anything particularly hard for me that day.  I wrote personal goals for myself outside of just the obvious weight loss goal.  Sometimes it would be something as small as: read a book with the kids every night this week or to get one room cleaned each night during the week.  Other times there would be goals like: be able to do 50 pushups continuously in the next 90 days.  These types of goals helped me to motivate myself and they also taught me that I can achieve almost anything if I put my mind to it.

I also started to run with my daughters this year (2012) when they started the  Girls on The Run program again.  This was to be their 3^rd time running a 5K in this program and there was no way that I was going to let them do it again and just stand by as a spectator.  I wanted to share that moment after crossing the finish line with them.  I also wanted to be able to encourage and motivate them as we all ran together.  I completed my second 5K to support Girls on the Run on November 10^th with both of my daughters.

To date I have lost 67 pounds however, I am still hoping to lost another 10 to 15 pounds and am still working hard to tone my stomach.  Now that I have lost most of the weight I do have a harder time staying motivated at times.  I have found that by talking to others about my goals and challenges I face that I have been able to do a pretty good job still making it to the gym and eating healthy.  There are people that tell me “you better not lose any more weight” or “you are too skinny”.  I  just have to remember that this is my journey to be a healthier me and what other people think does not matter.  I can’t tell you how much losing this weight has changed my outlook on life.  I have energy after work now!  I don’t just sit on the couch and watch television any longer.  I am able to control my emotions at home and work a lot better too.  All of the extra energy I have now allows me to keep up with my energetic kids!”

-Wendy

Example Meals:

Day 1

Breakfast: yogurt, granola, berries (strawberries/blackberries/raspberries)

Snack: Banana

Lunch: Turkey Sandwich on whole wheat (onion, spinach, avocado or laughing cow cheese), Apple

Snack: Popcorn (plain)

Dinner: Grilled Chicken, Broccoli, half of a Sweet Potato

Day 2

Breakfast: Oatmeal, Banana

Snack: Orange

Lunch: Salad (Spinach, Onion, Turkey, Walnuts, String Cheese, Vinagerette)

Snack: Apples and Peanut Butter

Dinner: Grilled or Baked Fish (Halibut, Cod), Asparagus, half of a baked Potato

~Wendy

Mary is someone I have yet to meet but hope one day to.  She has been a faithful follower of the Fit Moms For Life workouts and eating plans for a couple years and the results are very dramatic.  I really like the part about her story where she shares about being overweight her entire life.  Many people believe that when you are overweight at a young age, you are doomed to a life of obesity, it just doesn’t have to be that way!  Enjoy her story, and write any comments or questions below.

Here is Mary’s story…

“I have been overweight for the entirety of my life.  I have no memories of ever having a flat stomach, not even as a child.  My childhood friends commented often on how my body looked different; one little friend in particular loved to make it a point that I understood that she was so much smaller than I was.

Along with being overweight as a child, I have no memories of a time when I was not following some diet.  My parents would encourage me to exercise and eat healthy.  I read magazines full of fad quick fix diets and I would make real effortful attempts to follow the various diets that I read about.  But despite those efforts and my parent’s encouragement to eat healthy, the kitchen always had Twinkies, ice cream, potato chips, crackers, and sodas on hand… you name it the kitchen had it.  As a kid, and even as an adult, it’s hard to not eat foods that you crave and love if they are so easy to get to.  So despite whichever diet I tried to follow, I was not successful at keeping away from the junk food drawer…yes, my parents had a designated junk food drawer.

I was pretty active as a kid.  I rode my bike a lot, got into inline skating, and walked with my mom.  Billy Blanks came out with Tae Bo when I was in middle school, but despite the exercise that I did, I was still always pretty chubby.

When I was in High School, my parents took me to a weight loss specialist.  I followed the plan that the doctor had put me on religiously.  I was only allowed to eat 900 calories a day, I was taking oral medications that sped up my metabolism and suppressed my appetite, and was even given weekly injections that would boost my energy levels.  While in this program, I lost about 45 pounds and I lost it very quickly.  When I went off to college I was thinner than I had ever been, and I was very happy about it.  However, leaving the doctor’s program with no more appetite suppressors, no more medications that would speed up my metabolism, and no longer eating only 900 calories a day, I quickly gained back the 45 pounds that I had lost, and… by the time I graduated from college I had gained another 40 pounds on top of that.  And, I gained that weight back plus some even while exercising.  I was walking and running consistently through my college years.

I am not a tall girl, I’m somewhere between 5’2”-5’3”, and by the age of 23, I weighed in at 215 pounds.  And I was so ashamed of myself.  I was disappointed that I was unsuccessful at keeping the weight off that I had lost, and was so sad that I was still the fat girl.  For a couple of years I kind of just gave up and resolved that I was just the fat girl and always would be.  But again, I was so ashamed of what I looked like.  I did everything I could to hide myself and disappear.  I wore a sweatshirt and jeans everyday, even in the summer!  I never did anything with my hair, I actually wore baseball caps most of the time.  I NEVER wore makeup. 

I spent the next 2 years living very isolated.  Eventually I got to the end myself in this area; and when you get to the end of yourself, you either choose to fight, or you give up all hope.  I knew that I couldn’t live life the way that I had been living it, and I wanted to live my life as fully as I possibly could.  So when I turned 25, I became flat out DETERMINED that I was going to take some of my excess weight off.  I decided that enough was enough, and I was done living in such unhealth.  I wanted to be able to ride a bike, to be able to hike in the mountains without stopping every 50ft to rest.  I wanted to be able to play and run and have fun.  I wanted to be able to live a physically active and physically playful life.  I decided that I was done isolating, done moping and hiding and wishing that things were different.  I decided in a moment that I was going to combat my unhealthy lifestyle and beat it no matter what it took (never underestimate the power of a choice).

I joined a gym, an all women’s gym because I did not want men to see me.  My parents very generously paid for my membership and also bought me an elliptical machine so that I would be able to exercise on the days that I couldn’t make it to the gym.  I went, yet again, on another diet where I ate things that were low-fat, sugar-free, frozen Smart Ones and Healthy Choice meals, diet sodas, etc… the whole works (right?).  I ate this way, and exercised consistently at the gym and on my elliptical for 6 MONTHS… and I didn’t lose a single pound.

One afternoon, I had just pulled into my driveway after returning from the gym, and I melted down crying in my car.  I was DESPERATE for some breakthrough, for some results for all of the time and effort that I was putting into this.  I believe in God, I love Jesus (I met Jesus when I was 23 years old and got to give my heart to Him), and I was begging Him to help me, to give me something anything that would help me to lose some of the excess weight and get my body physically healthy.  After I was able to get myself out of my car and into my house, I went to my computer and decided to log on to Facebook (which I RARELY do, I have yet to get on board with this whole social media revolution.  I can barely use my cell phone and it’s just a basic flip phone dumb phone device).  But on Facebook, an old friend of mine had tagged me in a notice (or whatever you call it) about Dustin Maher’s fitness program.  What she wrote about Dustin’s program captivated me, so I went to the website.

Click image to learn more about this program and to sign up

I couldn’t believe what I found there.  As I navigated my way through the website, I read about how doing cardio for exercise was ineffective for weight loss.  I absolutely believed that because it had proved to be so true in my life!  He explained how strength training and building muscle was effective for weight loss, because the more muscle you have on your body the more fat you burn.  Everything I read seemed to be true, so I started to get a little excited, I got my hopes up, and checked out what DVDs he had to offer.  Dustin was running a deal on one of his DVD series called Fit Moms for Life, where if I paid for shipping, I would receive the first DVD free.  Now, I am not a mom, but I figured if busy moms could do this, than absolutely I could do this.  So, of course I ordered it.  When it arrived, I saw that I needed a set of dumbbell weights and a yoga ball, so I went to the Wal-Mart and purchased 5lb, 8lb, and 15lb weights to start.  And after the first month, I had actually experienced some weight loss!  I was dying for the 2^nd DVD, I couldn’t afford to buy them, but my parents really do love me and support me however they possibly can, so they paid for all 12 of my DVDs.

Mary now, 74 lbs lighter!

Each DVD also contains a nutrition lesson.  These nutrition lessons are solid gold to me!  I discovered that I knew nothing about nutrition!  After watching a few of them, I realized that the low-fat, sugar-free, Healthy Choice frozen dinner eating plan was ALL WRONG.  Nothing that I knew about food was true.  So, over the past 2 ½ years, I have been on a journey where I’ve had to unlearn everything thing that I’d ever learned about food, and relearn it all from scratch.  I needed to change the ways that I thought about food, so I did just that. I took Dustin’s nutrition guidance very seriously and did some research of my own.  With Dustin’s help I taught myself nutrition, stopped eating frozen meals, and taught myself to cook.  I experienced many MANY kitchen fails, but today I can say that I’m a pretty decent cook.

I paid attention to myself and learned what my food traps were.  For example, from September-May, the Reese’s Company infiltrates the grocery stores.  In September out come the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup pumpkins.  And the day after Halloween, the pumpkins go on sale, and the Reese’s Christmas trees come out.  Then, the day after Christmas, out come the Valentines hearts, followed by the Easter eggs… and the grocery store sells them individually right by the checkout line so that you can grab one (or 5) to have to eat on the drive home.  I know ahead of time, before I even go into the store that these are going to be there, so they don’t catch me off guard and I can avoid caving in.  I decide in advance before I go into the store that I’m not going to buy them, and if I know that I’m experiencing weakness in my food choices, I make it a point to shop at a different store that I know does not sell them so readily.

Also along these lines, I would to go to a party or a get together with friends where lots of salty snacks and baked goods were available.  I would spend all of my energy and thoughts trying to eat as many cookies or chocolates that I could possibly eat without people noticing that I was eating so many.  I wasn’t able to invest in my friendships because I was only thinking about the food.  So I adopted a motto for myself of “enjoy the one”.  I taught myself how to eat only one cookie and one piece of chocolate.  It took a while to learn how to do this, but I can now go to these parties and get togethers, enjoy my friends and invest in my relationships, and I can eat that single cookie that I love, enjoy it, and not be left longing for 12 more of them.

A helpful tip Dustin encourages for your healthy lifestyle is to follow an 80% 20% eating plan.  Eat healthy and wisely 80% of the time, and the not so healthy foods 20% of the time.  This 80/20 gage is so helpful and SO DOABLE.  I spend my 20% primarily on dark chocolate with sea salt and kettle corn.

Over Thanksgiving last year I gained a few pounds, so after that holiday, I journaled about it.  I went over all of the places that I went, what I ate, the food I consumed while I was cooking (you know what I mean; those harmless little bites and taste tests…uh huh).  I learned myself though journaling these things out.  I saw what my traps were, the places where I tripped up.  And after seeing those things and pinpointing where I went wrong, I made a game plan for the Christmas Holiday.   And… I actually lost weight over Christmas last year!  My game plan actually worked.  I ate all of the seasonal foods that I enjoy (I’m one of those weird people that loves fruit cake), but because I had this game plan, I didn’t overdo it.  I know how to handle the holidays without packing on weight and without missing out on the holiday goodies.

I have been doing Dustin’s Fit Moms for Life  program for 2 ½ years now.  I get to use heavier weights now than the 5lb-15lb weights that I started out with.  I now use up to 45lb dumbbells.  With the workouts that Dustin takes you through, his guidance, the encouraging stories of the women featured on his DVDs, and the nutrition and knowledge of food that I have learned… over the last 2 ½ years I have lost between 70-75 pounds, and have kept it off!  I am smaller now than I was during my first few years of college.  My friends and family can’t believe how different I look and encourage me all the time.  I can’t believe the energy that I have and how different my body feels.  My knees don’t hurt nearly as much now THANKFULLY.

I know how to eat.  Without following a diet, I know how to eat healthily and successfully.  I know how to fit a workout into a busy day.  I know what my food traps are and I have a game plan to overcome each one of them.  The way that I think about food has flipped a complete 180 degrees and I don’t see food the same way that I used to.  I don’t worry about gaining back the weight that I have lost.  And I’m actually not finished dropping weight yet, I have about 15-20 pounds left to lose but I know that I am going to lose those remaining pounds.  I feel set up for the rest of my life to live as a healthy woman.  I hope to be a wife and mother someday and I feel set up to be a successful mother in the area of healthy nutrition and exercise (I WON’T have a designated junk food drawer for them).

I am so thankful for what I have learned through the Fit Moms for Life program.  I don’t feel like or worry that I will fail in this area again ever.  Of course, I will have my days where I don’t eat as well as I could have, especially on those days right before my period…yep.  I don’t believe in perfection but I do believe in excellence, so I don’t expect myself to be perfect at this, but I do know how to be successful.  I know how to be successful in the day to day, and in the long run.  I would absolutely recommend this Fit Moms for Life program to everyone; to moms, single women, and I would even recommend it for men.  It’s possible, it’s doable, and it’s sustainable.”

-Mary

I would like to share with you a story that is a few years in the making, but well worth the wait.  As you will read below, Jill and I have spent a lot of time together, going through an entire pregnancy and seeing her kids grow up.  What impresses me most about Jill is her intensity in her workouts, and her consistency at showing up.  I think one of the biggest takeaways you will discover through her story is the same one I say all the time, it is what you put in your mouth that matters most when looking to lose weight.

Here is her story…

“I was always one of those girls that was “athletic,” but never “skinny.” Even while playing high school sports, I could gain the muscle, but always had that extra layer on to keep me from feeling thin and confident. I look back at pictures from that time and think that I was crazy to ever feel dissatisfied with myself. I would give anything to be that small again.

A lot of negative self-image thoughts along with a demanding college work load led me to gain a few pounds my freshman year. Sophomore year was a few more. By senior year I had put on about 20 pounds, even with working out regularly. It was the emotional eating that did me in.

I went through a lot of self-esteem issues the next several years. Lost a few pounds here and there, but then always put it back on again when I couldn’t handle things emotionally. The story of my life.

Jill Before

I was around 160 pounds when I got pregnant with my first child and gained the average 30-35 pounds. I was pretty happy that I was considered “average”  and hadn’t gained more than that because I was actually trying to eat well. But when you step on the scale, pregnant or not, and see it hit the 190s, that is scary. After having my baby in January of 2008, most of the pregnancy weight actually came off fairly well just from delivery, but I still wanted to lose those last 10 pounds and then some.

I had been a member at Supreme for a few years and heard about Dustin’s new MamaTone class. Yes, I’ve been doing this for almost 5 years now! (Can you tell I like the class?) Dustin and I exchanged a few emails, and I started my first class in May of 2008. The first class was humbling to say the least. I was out of breath easily, could feel things jiggling that just shouldn’t be, and I think I peed myself doing ladders. One would think that this would send me screaming for the door, but actually it did just the opposite. It made me want to try; to do this for myself and my daughter, even though I felt guilty knowing my baby was away from me and crying. I knew the other mothers in the class were there for a reason too and that we could all support each other in achieving our goals.

As months passed, I gained muscle, confidence, athleticism, and more weight. What!? How could that be!? Yes, as an emotional, nursing mother I continued to eat like one too. I was eating better so to speak, but I now know that what I thought was “healthy,” just wasn’t really. I spoke with Dustin about it, and he suggested I start food journaling. It was the best thing I ever did, and it worked amazingly. I finally started losing the weight and muscle started showing through. Once I saw what I was eating and how much of it, I could see where I needed to make adjustments and what was working for me.

I continued on with the class because I enjoyed it so much, and by 2010 I was down to 150 pounds. Still not where I wanted to be in the long term, but a stronger, leaner, happier me. I continued to challenge myself during class by lifting heavier weights, boosting the treadmill up, and began more positive thinking. The combination worked wonders.

Jill After

And then my husband and I decided to have another baby. Here we go again. That time around was a different experience. I ate much healthier, and I still gained 30 pounds, but I did MamaTone up until the day before my second baby was born. The pregnancy weight came off quicker, but those last looming pounds stuck with me through the year. And then there was the holidays.

January 2012 I was back up to 163 pounds and feeling like I’d been stuck in this rut for far too long. With no more excuses and a new year to motivate me, I did the programs Dustin put in place: 30 Days of Awesomeness, did another 30 days on my own, Little Black Dress Project. In 6 months I lost over 30 pounds, 22 inches, and am down to a size 4.

I have learned so much over these past several years through these classes and food challenges: don’t judge yourself or others, think positive thoughts and surround yourself with positive people, never give up hope, challenge yourself with realistic goals, be supportive and others with support you, write down what you eat and you will be amazed at what is going into your body, be a role model for your children, find time for yourself. By sharing what I’ve learned about myself and this process, I hope that someone else out there can relate in some way and to bring them encouragement to turn their life around.

Thank you so much Dustin (and your trainers) for believing in me and giving me the tools to help me help myself. I’m feeling like the real me again. A more confident woman who now knows that being labeled “skinny” isn’t what’s important. To me, it’s about a healthy physical and emotional lifestyle: being strong, fit, eating well, feeling like a good person. The person I always imagined I could be, but just didn’t know how.”

-Jill