Kathy S 60day Challenge Success Story – My Healthy Way of Life Journey

Backstory: I grew up poor with little access to good nutrition or outlets for healthy activities. I also have a lifelong problem with my knees, especially the left one. Severe patellofemoral chondromalacia made my knee very unstable. All of this led to lifelong poor nutrition and lack of activity, leading to obesity and poor health.

In August 2019, I lost my job at the age of 65. I knew I had only 2 choices: stay in bed and cry, or focus on my health. I have gotten up every day and worked out. I also removed the worst food (chips and cookies) from my diet. This set a perfect lead-in to the 60day Challenge.

Goals: My goals were to lose 20 pounds, and increase strength, mobility, balance, and endurance. I lost 19 pounds and 10 percentage points of body fat while gaining in the other areas. My greatest achievement during this time is that I now have the strength and stability to walk a flight of stairs!

How Life Time Helped: Lifetime helped me on this journey through emails and supportive messages, online workouts, weekly challenges, weekly weigh-ins/body stats, nutrition guidance, and messaging with Algonquin, IL Life Time club trainer Lane R.

Emails: The emails explained everything: rules, uploading results, accessing workouts, and weekly tips. These supports kept me on track. The high 5s and positive comments kept me motivated.

Workouts: The workouts were very hard because of the squats and lunges – not good for my knees! But I tried each movement, and over time and with adaptations, I can now start to do lunges and squats. The workouts were lengthy for my abilities, but I completed them. My strength, endurance, balance, and stability improved noticeably over the 60 days. I also went from using 0 to 10-pound weights. I’m ready to increase that again.

Weekly Challenges: These helped me do my best, but some (protein with each meal) were harder than others (10,000 steps daily). The challenges upped my learning and kept me focused, and were fun.

Weekly Weigh-Ins/Body Stats

Discouraged by my “before” photos, I almost dropped out of the 60day at the start. I hated how I looked, knowing it reflected my health. Really looking at myself was depressing, but I wanted to make the most of this opportunity. Weekly weigh-ins showed I can and did make progress. This helped me stay accountable, and I plan to continue.

Nutrition Guidance: The nutrition tips helped me learn. I don’t eat animal products so I adapted the tips. I appreciated the article links that cited research. That helped me trust the messages.  I also improved nutrition through the support of Lane R.

Lane R: A key nutrition tip Lane shared was to get the Life Time Vegan Protein+ All-in-One shake powder. I have a shake for breakfast 3-4 days a week. They are filling so I don’t snack. I know Lane wants to help me succeed, and I trust his judgment and recommendations. I emailed Lane weekly results and how I felt about them. When I was discouraged, Lane pointed out progress like losing body fat and gaining muscle one week when I hadn’t lost weight. He motivated throughout.

Lifestyle Changes and Maintenance: The end of the 60day is a beginning, not an endpoint. My progress gives me the motivation to continue my journey to better health. I am committed to refining daily workouts, improving nutrition (especially the shakes), at least 10,000 steps daily, and finding new challenges. I have already registered for the Life Time 30 Day walking challenge, and plan to walk a half marathon in 2021. I will continue tracking on my Fitbit and MyFitnessPal. The main reason I hope to win is so I will be able to work with Lane R on a regular basis. That one change will increase my accountability, performance, and results. But either way, I have learned a lot and plan to carry this forward to improve my health. I appreciate the opportunity and all the support LT has given. Thank you.