I have been a Life Time member for 4 years but would only come in occasionally when I had spare time or would feel guilty after a late night binge.  I never participated or took advantage of the resources offered until I joined the Life Time Summer 60 Day two years ago. (it was actually still the 90 Day at that time.)   I was 3 weeks into the challenge when I found out I had overcome my PCOS diagnosis and had conceived our precious baby boy!  Of course I was overjoyed, but also kind of bummed that I would have to forfeit the challenge and more than likely gain back every hard earned pound lost.  We had a healthy bouncing baby boy that following April, and then went on to have our precious baby girl the April after that! Whew!  As you can imagine, I did gain back everything and then some with the two back-to-back pregnancies, but I was determined to finish what I had started.

When my daughter turned 6 months old, I decided it was time to release the pregnancy weight. I had just come back from vacation to find the scale reading 254 lbs, my scrubs at work fitting snug, I was suffering from acid reflux nightly, I was sleep deprived,  and my knees, ankles and back where already aching and I was only 35 years old!

I started going back to my favorite group fitness classes at Lifetime and in two or three weeks, I had lost 14 lbs on my own.   One day, I was leaving class and was approached by Phillip, who asked me a few questions about my goals and asked if I wanted to join his 60 Day team.  This was my chance!!!

During Kick-Off weekend, I weighed in and got my preliminary numbers and set up lab testing, but most importantly, Phillip and I discussed my “WHY”. We discussed my being healthy and active for my children and being a better example of health as a nursing professional.  My goal for the 60 Day was to lose 20 pounds over the holidays, instead of my normal 20 pound gain from Halloween through New Year’s Day.  My plan to achieve this goal was to drink a gallon water daily, eat 1200-1500 calories of balanced nutrition daily, and to incorporate exercise 4-6 days a week.   Most importantly, my plan was to also use the resources offered by Life Time to enhance my weight loss efforts.  I continued to attend my favorite Hip Hop dance class led by LaKeyna, but I also tried Strictly Strength led by Kaci and became a Saturday morning regular at Strike! Kickboxing, led by Ashlee.  On days where my favorite classes weren’t offered, I expanded into using the treadmill and elliptical.  To my surprise, my new favorite machine is actually the once dreaded stair-master machine, which I affectionately call the Beast.   Where I once lasted only 5-10 minutes, I now can knock out 45 minutes to my favorite tunes.  This I am especially proud of and I attribute my new found stamina to it. I attended a core stability workshop led by Cody, which made me more aware of how important it is to strengthen you core/spine in order to maintain stability as you age. One of the most important workshops that I attended at the beginning of the 60 Day was a nutritional seminar that was led by my 60 Day Coach Phillip.  It was a class about Holiday Hacks and it discussed how to make your holiday meals more nutritionally sound and how to navigate Thanksgiving and other holiday functions without sabotaging your weight loss efforts.  One of the hacks that I used successfully and will continue to use even going forward is to eat a protein-rich snack before the function and to fill half my plate with veggies, a quarter with lean protein and the last quarter with small spoonfuls of the not-so-healthy treats.  Finally, I used the weekly 60 Day emails for motivation, for recipes, and for workout tips.

During this 60 Day, my lifestyle has improved so much for the better. I am still focused on getting in my gallon of water, which has done wonders for my energy levels.  By eliminating processed carbs, I have eliminated my carb cravings.  I am so much more active and actually look forward to my “pampering” workout sessions at the club.  I have even inspired my sister in law to join Life Time and inspired my husband to start his own health journey just leading by my example. I’ve learned that I don’t have to be perfect but that I do have to be consistent.  Finally, I’m confident that this will be a lifestyle change because shortcuts don’t exist and NOTHING WORKS BUT PURE HARD WORK!