Finalists / Nicolett O

Nicolett O.

20.4% weight loss*

*Results not typical

wl f nicolett o front

I challenged myself and my thyroid: As I reflect back on my 60-Day Challenge journey, there is a certain quote that comes to my mind. “You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only thing left to be.” Before this challenge started I had a doctor’s visit and received bad news about my health. I have what is called Hashimoto’s disease which is when the immune system attacks the thyroid. One of the symptoms is unexpected weight gain and also difficulty losing weight. It made a lot of sense to me because I had been on a diet before and was not really losing a lot of weight. I was devastated. I was so excited to start to start this Challenge and after hearing such unexpected news I felt very discouraged and unmotivated. Everyone else was going to be losing more weight than me and it was going to be even harder for me to lose weight. On top of everything I had suffered a knee injury a couple weeks prior to this Challenge starting. It healed quickly; however, I still had pain while I ran and lifted weights. Being a full time college student makes things a little more difficult as well but, I knew if I wanted to be successful in this Challenge and finally lose the weight that had held me back from living life for so long, I would need to get serious and really make a change. I had been overweight my whole life and it kept me from doing the things I loved. I had a wakeup call when I stepped on the scale and it read 280 lb. I was shocked. It wasn’t enough for me to realize I needed to lose weight when none of my clothes fit me anymore or when I would go upstairs and be completely out of breath. 280 lb was the biggest I had ever been. I began my weight loss journey but was not losing weight at the rate I wanted to so I scheduled a meeting with my personal trainer. He mentioned the 60-Day Challenge and ever since then I have been participating in them. I lost a lot of weight in the last one I did and knew I wanted to do it again. I like that these Challenges hold me accountable and help me stay on track. Before I ever knew about these Challenges I would find myself taking more rest and cheat days on diets. I decided I was not going to let my negative thoughts over power the reasons I wanted to do this lifestyle change. I told myself that there is a future me who is proud that I was strong enough. I was going to do whatever it took to accomplish this goal. I not only was going to challenge myself but also my thyroid. When fall came around for school to start again I had decided to take online courses so that I would have the flexibility and time to go to the club and meal prep. Not only did I make time to do those important things but I also attended all of the Try-It Tuesdays and I very much enjoyed them. I especially loved Root yoga and Barbell. I loved that in Barbell you focus more on the same move for a longer period of time. While attending the Try-It Tuesdays I discovered that Life Time has many more things to offer then I thought. Life Time has amazing nutritional coaches who are very knowledgeable. I worked with Dillon, Alex and Eric and they taught me a lot of things I didn’t know. They taught me how to meal prep the correct way but I would have to say the most important thing they taught me was that some foods that you think are healthy and good for you really aren’t. I also very much appreciated that they worked hard and helped me come up with recipes. I have a very strict diet to keep up with. Not only does Life Time have amazing Nutritional Coaches but they also have incredible personal trainers. I worked with Mickey the most. He introduced me to TEAM classes which have helped me tremendously. He also introduced me to a test called a Metabolic Assessment which is where you learn your zones for your cardio routine so you can work out smarter and not harder. I also worked with Will and Nathaniel who are both amazing. Now that the Challenge has come to an end I feel so great about moving forward. Life Time has provided me with the tools I need to keep going and I know I will be able to keep losing and eventually when I am where I want to be I’ll maintain. I am going to continue doing my TEAM classes, continue doing my Metabolic Assessments, and also keep trying new things. I have recently discovered yoga and I absolutely love it. I am so proud to say that I accomplished all of my goals I set for myself in the beginning of this Challenge. I wanted to love my body again, feel fit, and most of all fit into a nice pair of jeans, and I have done just that! My energy level has drastically improved. Because of my thyroid condition I felt so fatigued to the point where I didn’t even want to get out of bed, now people at my club say I should move in because I am there all the time. I graduated high school last year but was too insecure to go and take photos but now I know I am going to rock those photos! Thank you Life Time for giving me my life back, and thank you to everyone who has supported me. I destroyed all of the obstacles that were in my way!