I like to think of myself as an active person, and I love kiteboarding, which means a lot of time on the beach and in the water, and last summer, I really began to feel embarrassed about how I looked and how I was feeling.  I turned 42 and found myself getting tired quickly out on the water and not liking how I stretched out of my wet suit.  This was a key motivation for me. I want to spend more time doing what I love with friends and family and to share how they can do it too.  I started the challenge at 196 lbs and 31% body fat.  I was terrified when I saw those numbers, I had a lot of work to do and this was going to be more about finding the right balance in order to maintain results for a lifetime versus a 60 Day target.  I set my target to get back into the 170’s, and get down to 20% body fat over the program.

My 60 Day was about learning balance; how to balance family, friends, work, and my fitness in order to achieve my goals.  I have typically approached fitness as an “all or nothing” process which would work for a few weeks, and then it would be over with little to no results, it was not sustainable.  I used this opportunity to redefine myself and implement sustainable practices that would enable me to focus not only on my fitness journey, but allow me time to enjoy what life is about and what I enjoy.

I could not have made the type of progress I made without my Life Time trainer – Srisak M.  Not only is he my trainer, but he is also a friend.  He really helped me craft a work out and diet program over the 8 week period that was not my typical “all or nothing” approach.  He understood that I still wanted the opportunity to meet with family and friends for an evening out, especially around the holidays.  He really taught me how to create a balance and what to focus on each week in order to keep progress moving and allow me to enjoy things outside of the gym.  I learned how to change my work outs and diet to keep them interesting and impactful, and most importantly making me want to come back for more.

As we come into the end of the challenge, I did hit my goals, but I am not done.  This is just the beginning and a great beginning at that.  At the final weigh in, I felt great, I really felt lighter, stronger, more confident and when we looked at the numbers I was amazed.  I ended this challenge at 175.6 lbs (down ~21 lbs.) and 20.5 PBF (down 10.5%).  I did it, but I am not done – I created a new goal to continue this journey and will be using what I learned along with my new found balance to continue achieving these goals.  In fact, I am happy to say that I had to order a new (smaller) wetsuit for my upcoming kiting trip this February.  I am looking forward to that one being too big by the time I hit the beach.

At the end of this, I have learned a lot, have a new mind set, and realized that I do not have to be all or nothing, but I can balance all of the important things in life with my fitness and health!

#Ididit,notdone