Well here I am; a better, stronger, healthier me. I went into this program not just to get fit but to challenge myself to be healthier. I like many reached a breaking point in my life. I reached a weight that was unsustainable and particularly unhealthy. 225 pounds was what my scale read in 2018 and I knew I had to make a change. So I began going to the gym off and on and I lost some weight, but I still wasn’t healthy. I can attest my eating habits weren’t the best and I needed a change. I have been struggling with my weight for many years now and it has caused me some real health problems. Primarily with my back. Past injuries and weakened core muscles had me laying around a lot. So I decided to make a change, to challenge myself to be a better, stronger healthier me.

I began my change by speaking with a personal trainer. He encouraged me to be more active and got me to try a GTX Cut class. He also advised me to take proper vitamins and fish oil to help me in my change. So after a visit to the Life Cafe and getting supplied with everything I needed it was time to work out. The first class was brutal and a wakeup call as to how unfit I had become. The coach was great though, working with me and my prior injuries; he made the exercises doable. I was horrified to find out that I couldn’t even do a push up and had to do what I could on my knees. (Future goal: to be able to do 15 pushups). So I found myself enrolled in a class 3 days a week. This was a huge step in the right direction. I was challenging myself to be more active and working on my nutrition. I was in the class just a few weeks when the 60 Day came up. My coach encouraged me to give it a try. Go for my goals and see what results I could reach. This was it; my chance to put myself to the test.

This 60 Day is just what I needed. I was trying to improve myself for the better. Not just diet, but to change my life style and be active. It would give me the nutritional support, training tools, and several inspirational resources I was lacking in the past. I went to every Try It Tuesday and Saturday Sampler I could. They were great for an extra workout and to meet a great community of people who were on their own roads to a better them. The nutrition class was my favorite. Especially with the holidays coming up, it helped me stay on track. It wasn’t too long ago I did the Life Time D.TOX program and found that I am intolerant to gluten. Funny how such a small thing can make such a big difference in your life. With my 60 Day Recipe Guide, I was able to cut gluten almost entirely out of my diet and I feel 10 times better for it. My family was very supportive of my change and we enjoyed an entirely gluten free Thanksgiving dinner.

When I couldn’t make my Cut classes there was always another GTX class I could take; Burn, Metcon, and Alpha. (Future goal: run a mile in under 15 minutes). The coaches and people where always supportive. It wasn’t long before being inactive bothered me. I stayed strong and survived the holidays without straying too far from my healthy life style. When it came to New Year’s Day I encouraged a group of my party pals to go for a 1.5 mile run to start the year off right.

So here I am; the better, stronger, healthier me. I have completed this 60 Day reaching my goals of a healthier more active life style. I have lost 27 pounds in this challenge and almost 50 since I started on my journey. I went from 47.7 percent body fat to 40.4 percent. I can proudly do over 30 pushups (not on my knees) and run a mile in under 12 minutes. This is just the beginning. The tip of the iceberg. I have gotten on the healthy band wagon and have no intentions in falling off.

Kevin Crowe and Elliott Clayton were my cut, burn and metcon class coaches. They always pushed and encouraged me to do my best. And Chris branham was the one who sold me on competing in the challenge and always kept up with me for progress reports. Rooting me on.