Hi, My Name is Megan and on October 31st of 2019 I turned 43 years old.  Here is the thing about turning 43 years old, it’s not a milestone year as far as most people are concerned but for me it was a huge milestone.  You see, my Mom didn’t make it through her 43rd year.  She died of Lung Cancer before she turned 44.  So turning 43, the age that my Mom when she passed was daunting in many ways it brought out a lot of emotion and feelings.  I am now the age that my Mom was when she passed and it puts into perspective that wow was she young.  So in honor of my Mom and the year she didn’t make it through I promised myself that this would be a year of taking better care of myself and making this year my strongest and healthiest yet.

In comes Life Time, less than 2 weeks before my 43rd birthday I joined my local Lifetime.  My boyfriend had already been going for a while so I decided to join as well.  Shortly after I joined I started to see the signs for the 60day holiday program. I started to think about joining the program.  I had been trying some of the group fitness classes at my Life Time and really loved the FIT class and Extreme. I hear you Extreme, you are what you name implies.  Whoa! I looked into the 60day info and decided that I should join.  Being a part of the 60day was a good decision for me, it really helped me jump start my 43rd year.  What I really enjoyed the most about the 60day was the people I met and the motivation and encouragement from my trainers and other participants.  Liz M and Korvon H led our Saturday Sweat Sessions and they were a lot of fun. Liz and Korvon were always excited to hear about and see my progress and that was a good motivator as well.  Thanks for the first pumps, Korvon!  I looked forward to the Saturday sessions with Liz and Korvon and they were really good at explaining the movements and making sure everyone had good form as well.  The 2 Saturday sessions that I enjoyed the most were Dumbbell all the way and Kettlebell Rock.  I enjoyed the variety of the Saturday Sweat Sessions.

The 60day gave me access to hundreds of recipes and workouts as well.  There are so many resources available for anyone committed to the 60day.  This challenge took place over the holidays and that added another entire layer of challenge.  Some really good advice on getting though the holidays during the challenge came from Anika, the online coach.  As a participant I received an email each week with points, tips, recipes and videos geared towards encouraging me to push through and stay on track.  At the holidays Anika said, “The worst thing that you can do is make one mistake and give up all the work you’ve already put in”.    I appreciated this sentiment because no one is perfect and there is a lot of temptation this time of the year so I knew that I wouldn’t eat how I wanted to everyday but that what was most important was to not let it derail me altogether.

The Café at Life Time was also convenient to have onsite so that after a workout I could grab a smoothie if I wanted to.  I really like the Triple Berry Smoothie that is available.  I get my smoothies with the plant based protein and I appreciate that they have the plant based and vegan protein options.  I am not vegan or vegetarian but the whey doesn’t digest well for me so I am happy Life Time offers an alternative for folks like myself.

The group fitness classes that I took during the challenge helped me out tremendously as well.  The people Life Time hire to teach these group fitness classes are top notch.  They are strong, fun, inspiring and encouraging. Oh, and these ladies have boundless energy.  There were times when I looked at the instructor and thought, “Are you out of your mind?”  The first time I took the Extreme class I thought I would pass out. I mean legit hit the ground!  Talk about a tough class.  I have heard its one if not the most challenging group fitness class that Life Time offers.  But, I stuck with it and I made it to on average 2 Extreme Classes per week during the challenge.  The combination of cardio and strength training offered in this class kicks my butt but there is no doubt that this class helped me to see results in the 60 days. This is now my favorite class and I can’t even believe that I am saying that.  I love it because it pushes me out of my comfort zone.  I see the results from this class.  I am learning that “Small disciplines repeated with consistency every day lead to great achievements”.

My goals for this challenge were to lose some weight and body fat but what I have found is that what is even more important than what I lose is what I gained.  I have gained so many things; energy, motivation, encouragement, strength, focus, friends, muscles, better sleep, self-esteem and bigger smile.  This was a 60day challenge but it doesn’t end here.