Winners / Candice B
Candice B.
19.03% weight loss, 40.6 lbs.*
*Results not typical
How am I going to get motivated? I asked myself this question multiple times a day, every day, but was unable to find the answer. I had always enjoyed working out and living a healthy lifestyle, but within the last few years I was hit with several difficult losses including the loss of my mother, my grandmother, and most recently, the loss of a business just last year. I found myself slipping deeper and deeper into a depression, and though I saw it coming, I was unable to stop it from worsening. Finally, I felt like I hit rock bottom in a slump and could not get out. My regular trips to the gym became fewer and fewer, and my healthy food choices were quickly being replaced with very unhealthy comfort foods. It didn’t take long for me to gain a large amount of weight, which made my body hurt, and my self-esteem hurt even worse. Ironically, eating and being withdrawn was like a safe haven. But I have two children and I could see that what I was going through could affect them, and I knew that I had to get myself together, if not for myself then definitely for them. I just had to figure out how I was going to turn this thing around.
One morning, I told my husband I really needed to get motivated again and had to find a way to do it. Literally that night, he came across the 60-Day Challenge on the internet. He excitedly began to read it to me. I felt so excited about the details of the Challenge. There were so many great elements to it that I literally had nothing to lose, but everything to gain. I was ecstatic! This was exactly what I needed. I called my twelve year old son downstairs and told him all about the Challenge. His response was, “Oh my goodness Mommy, you’re going to win it!” I knew at that moment that I had to do it, and I would work as hard as I could to make him proud.
I decided to go with the weight loss challenge. I knew that I had about 40 pounds I needed to lose, and I thought this could be a great way to shed the pounds and feel good about myself again. I would put to work everything that Life Time and the Challenge had to offer. I knew that I enjoyed taking the group fitness classes, and I love to jog. So, I planned to focus my efforts in those areas.
The first Try-it Tuesday I attended was a nutrition class, which gave a lot of great information about eating to lose weight, and eating to maintain a healthy lifestyle. The nutritionist recommended that I eat more often, with carbs in the morning before my workout for energy, shakes for snacks in between meals, and a sensible lunch and dinner. She even drew out the portions that were good to have on each plate. It was an extremely helpful session, and making those simple changes definitely helped out with my weight loss.
For the first couple of weeks, I took one class in the morning and walked and jogged for 3 miles in the afternoons. Saturdays I attended the complimentary group training class given through the Challenge.
Midway through the 60 days I began the D.TOX, which gave me a boost in energy and really helped pick up my weight loss as well. I would recommend doing the D.TOX earlier in a weight loss plan, which is what I would have done differently, or would do differently in the future. It just seems like it would be the best way to kick start any journey.
Toward the last few weeks of the Challenge, my endurance had increased tremendously and I began taking two classes in the morning, jogging on the treadmill for 30-45 minutes, and taking a third class in the evenings. It was so exciting to see the levels of growth I experienced in such a short amount of time.
I can’t say enough about how much participating in this Challenge has helped me to become my old self again. To go from feeling as down as I had been feeling, struggling in a difficult state of depression, to feeling refreshed and encouraged is unbelievable to me. It gives me hope knowing that I was able to do it, and there were so many people there to encourage me and show me so much support along the way. I can only wish that my journey can encourage others who are in or who have been in a similar place. There are definitely ways out, and Life Time Fitness is one of them. I am truly grateful for the staff that showed their support throughout my process. I am even grateful for the members I met along the way that I developed new friendships with. I couldn’t have done it without them all, or the support of my friends and family. With the success I have experienced throughout the weight loss challenge, I am now ready to move on to the transformation challenge and continue to build my knowledge of living a fit and healthy lifestyle. This time around, my plan will be to work directly with a personal trainer, to shed the remainder of pounds I need to lose and to tighten and tone, pushing my body to new limits. I can’t wait to see how far I can go, and to see where my new journey will take me. I am grateful for Life Time and the new motivation and life it has given me.