“I’ve done it before, what could be so hard about doing it again?” A line that had been playing like a broken record in my head for almost 2 years.

My weight has always fluctuated between the extremes. In the school days, I was the girl who always came armed with a note to excuse herself from PE; whether it conveniently happened to be my ‘time of the month’ or some sort of made-up, unseen -but strongly convincing- injury.

Upon the sudden, tragic loss of my best friend, I gradually started to decline in health. My body showed it. Binge-eating made itself part of my lifestyle & before long, the physique I had previously worked so hard to achieve during my 20s, completely dissipated. Adios abdominals… Welcome to cellulite city.

With this increasing obsession over food & deterioration in eating habits, my workout routine soon became inexistent & eating was my newfound ‘talent’, if you will.

On the sporadic occasions the monthly outgoings of my bank account did instill a guilt-trip in me, & I actually made it to the gym, it was always just a simple justification for ‘earning’ my next meal. I would stick to whichever machines I felt comfortable with, never seeing any progress, becoming progressively frustrated & hopeless.

With this never-ending cycle, my mental health fluctuated in an almost parallel correlation & daily life became a struggle. I was desperate for a change.

I must admit, I was ambitious with my goals for the 60day. After having attempted – but repeatedly failed – at staying consistent with fitness & weight loss at my old gym, I longed for motivation; a goal that was finally worthwhile for me to work towards.

I remember being most content with my body 4 years ago, so I wanted to aim for that figure (meaning a loss of almost 30lbs). Whether or not I could drop weight on the scale, my main goal was to lose belly fat & relocate my abs with the hope of being able to fit into old clothing. I prayed this would in turn help me gain control over my diet.

On day one, I opted to undergo both the RMA & AMAs, simply to gain more custom information on my own body. Beforehand, I had no idea personal heart rate ranges for optimal fat burning even existed! Andre really helped me understand my specific data, providing me with a customized cardio coaching program for 6 days a week in order to spend my workout time more wisely. The Life Time app paired with my heart rate monitor became part of my daily workouts, allowing me to play around with my precise heart rate zones & actual calories burned, as opposed to made-up figures on the machines. Mind. Blowing.

The fab (FREE!) group classes at Life Time quickly became a further part of my daily routine. I spent my weekends planning out which sessions I wanted to attend, to the point where Barbell Strength & Gluteus MaxOut were prioritized over work.

It didn’t take long before the instructors made an effort to introduce themselves & remember my name, causing my attendance to be much more regular & my confidence levels to gradually increase with this accountability.

The weekly Sweat Sesh (alongside regular emails) provided even further motivation; checking in with the other participants as well as trainers who were dedicated to our progress & enthusiastic for our results. Amongst the evermore familiar faces, we became a true community, which really made me look forward to each Saturday morning (not forgetting sampling the healthy post-workout delights provided by Coach Shayna!).

It was around the 4 week point when the compliments started flooding in. Oh, the compliments! When asked how I was achieving such results, I made sure to take full advantage of my Guest Passes, & even convinced 2 of my friends to join Life Time.

From having worked out sporadically due to obligation, I quickly progressed to a much more scheduled routine of 6-7 days at the gym, sometimes twice a day. Out of CHOICE. Wasn’t long before I stopped even thinking about going, it simply became a natural part of my daily routine.

Thanks to my Nutritional Coach, Teresa, I also became more educated on bodily necessities, & begun to incorporate Life Time supplements into my daily routine, such as the AM/PM multivitamins, BCAAs, fish oil & vanilla whey protein isolate (yum!).

The amazing InBody facility has become my new weekly obsession! It has kept me in line during the challenge, allowing me to detect exactly where to focus more attention in order to achieve my personal goals. I will definitely continue to take advantage of this resource in future to be the absolute best version of myself. I feel like I am well on my way!

Overall, I am extremely content with my decision to have participated in the 60day. For me, it became so much more than just a weight-loss program, rather a genuine shot at a completely new way of life. These past 8 weeks have had an immensely positive effect on all aspects of my lifestyle & wellbeing! I cannot thank the supportive staff at Life Time enough.