I was the typical working parent during the first half of 2020 – juggling remote work, distance learning, too much wine, binge snacking, zoning out on Netflix, and endlessly scrolling social media to numb the anxiety of all that was happening. As a business owner, the stress of closing our physical office and trying to continue to serve my clients by leading a remote team was enormous. From March 2020 through sometime early-summer, I had gained 20 lbs, I was not sleeping and my stress level was through the roof. My hair was falling out in clumps from the stress, I was waking up at 2 am and binge-watching TV because I couldn’t sleep and I couldn’t focus during the day. I was cranky, tired, and gaining weight at a rate that seemed unstoppable.

In late October, I took a much needed vacation and watched my kids take surf lessons, boogie board, and play in the waves, but I did not have the energy to keep up with them. The 60day started a week later, and it was the first time that I ever really committed to a 60day. During my 60day consult, my coach helped me sketch out my plan. We started with GUT.FIX to get me on a solid nutrition path. I also committed to all the things I had known for years: drink ½ of my body weight in water, supplement with Life Time fish oil and multivitamins, get plenty of sleep, cut caffeine, and reduce stress. I followed this plan faithfully. One of the ways that I made sure to keep my diet on track was to get the Life Time Meals to Go, and the Life Cafe was super accommodating about modifying dietary restrictions. It was so much better than meal prepping for me and kept me from ordering out or mindless snacking. These changes made all the difference in how I felt. I also learned some coping mechanisms for occasional cravings particularly through the holidays (like the Lifetime protein ball recipes!). I was also laser-focused on stress management, and I have literally never listened to my body more than I have in the last 60 days.

Even though we started with nutrition, the workouts were the core of my 60day. Since I broke my ankle two years ago, I have 2 plates and 17 screws holding it all together, and I’ve really struggled with inflammation and pain. All of my health-related goals since then have been to “get back to where I was.” My plan consisted of Alpha Conditioning 3 times per week, Alpha Strength once per week, a cardio day, and a rest day. My Team coaches are all rockstars. They modified workouts for me and pushed and supported us. It took a few weeks to see results, but by Week 3, I started to really feel better from the work I was doing outside of the gym with my nutrition and started to crave workouts. I added a few more Team classes and tried Alpha Fight and UltraFit for the first time. These workouts gave me such a mood boost and reduced my stress so much. That alone made the workouts worth it. I learned to schedule my Team classes before anything else in my week. Not a single client-appointment or other obligation could take priority over my workout schedule. That has never, ever happened to me before.

I had a lot of moments where I didn’t lose as much as I thought I “should” based upon the work I put in. My coaches were there to help me interpret my InBody results, make adjustments and celebrate the victories. They encouraged me to track my progress in different ways. Some weeks, I had incredible decreases in body fat, one week during UltraFit I ran at 8+ miles per hour (something I hadn’t done before breaking my ankle, let alone after), and another week I deadlifted 205 lbs, crushing my prior personal best of 165 lbs. I found myself fueling my body so that I would perform better in my Team classes. I was going to bed early and cutting out devices so that I would get proper rest, so I could lift more and run faster or further. I cannot say enough about the amazing trainers, all of whom have earned a major shoutout: Patrick, Josh, Kenzee, and Lorenzo, you are the absolute best!

One thing that saved my sanity, and my workouts, was Distance Learning Camp. My school-aged children have attended since August, and it has made all the difference in my ability to work and workout. I love that they are staying active and getting all of their school work done. They have learned to play checkers, dodgeball, and martial arts. And I have made it my routine to workout every day right after I drop them off. Life Time pivoted so well during this year, particularly with the Distance Learning Camp. As a working parent, I could not have done this year, or the 60day, without it.

I have come to realize that this time it is about so much more than just these 60 days. This 60day changed my relationship with nutrition and I am listening to my body. I’m playing the long-game now. At the end of 60 days, I have “only” lost 2.9 lbs, but I also lost 4.4% body fat and I gained tons of energy, flexibility, and happiness. In any year, but particularly this year, I am super proud of that.