Finalists / Jordan D.

Jordan D.

Parker, CO

Jordan D

When I started the 60 Day program on November 10, I was wary about whether it would be effective in changing my lifestyle.  The holidays were coming up, work was piling up and, let’s face it, in my entire adult life nothing has worked to allow me to get my weight under control, to encourage me to eat sensibly (and not gobble down the entire pint of ice cream at 11 pm), and to get fitter, stronger, faster.

Until now! At age 25 I weighed about 180. At age 35, I weighed 195. At the start of the program, at age 63, I weighed 214. My body fat percentage was about 27%. My waist had mushroomed to a little over 40”. I was soft and got winded easily. I had participated in cycle class and done some weight training and other cardio activities on my own, but not consistently. I tried triathlon training and master swimming a couple of years ago, but neither pursuit lasted very long. I had never attended any other classes at Life Time.

So, my goals were simple and realistic. I wanted to lose 15 lbs. and get down to under 200 and I wanted to lose 2” from my waist to fit into 38” jeans again. I wanted to establish a repeatable routine of cardio and strength training and stretching, and I needed to cut out those dastardly late-night snacks and the cravings for starchy foods that had plagued me my entire life.

This program proved to be a game changer. The weekly routines were fun and short enough to encourage completion and the motivational aides were inspiring.  What I enjoyed the most were the 2 classes each week during which I was able to try out something new, such as GTX or Fire or whatever.  Instead of performing the cardio routines as designed, I engaged a metabolic coach, Snake Blocker, to give me an assessment. He then put me on a 5-day a week cardio plan that made a lot of sense to me, was heart rate zone and watt zone-based and I missed only one work-out during the entire program! I also supplemented cardio with one or two cycle classes each week.  I added the barbell strength class once or twice a week and absolutely fell in love with yoga.  Never thought that would happen. Not that I can yet do all the positions. I tried Ashtanga, Flow (but it still has to be guided), Surrender, and I even tried Nidra with the gong bath. That was a trip!

What were my results? I now weigh 187. Down 27 lbs. Body fat percentage was down to about 20%. My waist is 36”, down over 4 inches. In the assessment, I jogged the mile in 11:45. In my re-assessment, my time was down to 9:35. Yoga has allowed me to become somewhat more limber. What’s infinitely more important, however, is that I think I have established routines that I can follow and that I enjoy. I do cardio 5 days a week, whether it’s on the treadmill, spinner, stair stepper, elliptical, or even the erg.  I try to mix it up to give my arthritic hip a break and to work different muscles, and I reserve spot 30 in Don’s Power cycle class most Sunday mornings. I attend Marty’s barbell strength class on Saturday mornings and again in an evening during the week. I run to yoga classes at least 3-4 times each week. Now I just have to get back into the pool!  And, I do all this while eating salads and protein and eschewing, for the most part, starchy carbs and chocolate and ice cream.

I will maintain these lifestyle changes by doing metabolic re-assessments and continuing to work a program to improve and by attending the classes that I enjoy. I have seen that by making healthy living a priority, change is possible. And I can do it all in my Lifetime.

Thanks for running these programs and offering so much to your members.