In 2014, I made a career change.  It was then I decided to leave law enforcement where I was working on a contract basis training up and coming law enforcement-officers in conflict nations, and joined my brother in a family business.  Upon returning to the United States I was approximately 145 pounds and still running like a gazelle, though I was 45 and had realized I was slowing down.

Over the next 6 years, I would join Ruiz Salon and run one of our locations.  The amount of movement necessary on a daily basis severely declined as did my outside sports activity.  I was focused on learning a totally new line of work and enjoying being back in the USA.  Unfortunately, the leisure and comfort of this vast new lifestyle included fast food, meals on-demand, and an abundance of tasty craft beer to explore. Although, I wasn’t completely sedentary and even completed a full marathon in 2019, by Nov 1, 2020, I was 191.8 pounds.

Just a week before I learned that Life Time would be starting its 60day challenge again and I felt it was a lifeline.  Interestingly enough, a group of friends all decided to do a weight loss challenge to get rid of our excess COVID weight just a week before (on Nov 1, 2020).  My competitive nature shifted into overdrive.

I started using my Life Time app and following it to a T.  I read and reread the diet, and recipes.  I did all workouts.  Some I did twice and oftentimes, I would do a couple in a day.  The app was easy to use and I like being able to see my progress.  I enjoyed seeing new records and previous weight I did on the same exercise.  Having those numbers on every exercise kept me honest and pushing even though I may have been trying to take it easy on myself or if I was just tired.  I pushed through, and always felt successful for having done so.

Before the 60day challenge, I was struggling with planter’s fasciitis, a condition I had had for over 9 months.  This caused me to slow down my workouts and stop/start runs and walks because of extreme discomfort. After, my first 3 weeks, and 10 pounds, I did feel some relief.  I was able to go longer and push harder.  I felt the energy I had not had in a while and was able to work out twice a day, even if the second workout was only walking on the treadmill.

Eating really took a lot of discipline.  But I used all the tricks offered by the program, I did a lot of preplanning.  I went grocery shopping more consistently, buying healthy food and getting fresh veggies regularly.  I prepared many different meals I would have never tried.   Having all that information at my fingertips really, made it easy and I didn’t feel like I was spending too much time obsessing on meals.

The holiday’s offered their own set of challenges, however; I kept my serving sizes small, which allowed me to try things that aren’t on my regular diet.  I also made sure to stay hydrated, a lesson I learned early in the program.  This was key to keep me from overeating.

November 7th, I weighed in at 187.6 on December 31 I weighed in at 168.4 that is a loss of 19.2 pounds and I lost 5.2 % body fat.

I feel great and look great.  I am continuing my journey as I would like to lose another 15 pounds by May.  I thank you very much Life Time for a very much needed shot of motivation and the structure with which to achieve my goal.