Before starting the 60day Challenge I was stressed, exhausted, and at a breaking point.  Being the mother of a teenager, a small child with a debilitating autoimmune disease, working two jobs, and being a wife left no time for myself and I was at a breaking point.  I joined the 60day Challenge to become stronger, create healthier habits, and to make it a point to do something for myself. I started by committing to work out for at least 30 minutes a day, and to take a 20 minute daily walk to reduce stress.  As the weeks went on, with each weekly challenge I started to feel better mentally and physically.  As a vegetarian, the 1g of protein for ideal body weight weekly challenge was the hardest for me.  I drank protein water, shakes, and added eggs to my diet to try to get in all the protein daily.  The weekly challenge that really made the biggest impact was starting my day with protein.  I never knew how much that helped to keep me satiated all day and avoid the afternoon snacking. With each weekly challenge I felt myself getting stronger, my stress levels lower, and I was able to care for my family.

Michael, the trainer at Flower Mound, was great at checking in with me multiple times a week and holding me accountable to my goals.  The Saturday Sweat Sessions were so much fun.  The trainers had such high energy and were so positive.  I looked forward to the Saturday Sweat Sessions, unfortunately I wasn’t able to go to all of them as I have to work most weekends.  I also took advantage of the supplements discount and starting taking the Lifetime AM/PM Multivitamins, Omega-3 Fish Oil, Calcium, and Vegan Protein Powder.  The Flower Mound Life Time Club is beautiful!  I love their group classes, with Strictly Strength as my favorite.  I also enjoy the heated Yoga classes. Lastly, my family and I all enjoy the pool together.  Unfortunately, I don’t get to go as much as I would like due to work, my daughter’s disease, and Covid, but that is changing after spring break!

Of all the weekly challenges the ones I plan on keeping are: make protein the first meal of your day, limit highly processed carbs, eat less than 25g of sugar a day, keep hydrated, and have a goal to hit 10,000 steps a day.  This 60day Challenge saved me mentally. I have always enjoyed being active and eating healthy, but life had taken over and I had lost that part of me.  The 60day gave that back to me and gave the better version of myself back to my family and for that I am so grateful.  I have more energy to pour into my family.  Some days were hard to push through and do all the things, but then I would think of my daughter and all she has had to overcome.  She faces pain daily and I would remember my Why. She is my Why.  She is the reason I want to stay healthy. By me being a good role model and creating an environment with less stress, she is also healthy.  As moms we do it all, and more often than not, ALWAYS put ourselves last.  While we think that taking care of everyone else is more important, it is impossible to do it well when we aren’t taking care of ourselves.

I write this paper from West Texas at my husband’s family ranch with tears running down my face.  Although I did not lose weight, that was not my goal, I did lose stress, pain, and the depressed overwhelmed state I was in.  While I still work two jobs, have a teenager, another child with an autoimmune disease, and am a wife, I am happy, fulfilled, stronger, and more energetic.  My family and I have spent the day hiking, riding four wheelers, playing games, and eating healthy snacks.  I cannot thank Life Time 60day program enough for bringing back the person who I had forgotten…ME.