Jen

Fort Worth, TX

Jen W.

Over the last 60 days, I am proud that I have made significant changes to my lifestyle. I am completely dedicated to continue this journey to see how far I can go. I have so much more energy and honestly have so much more self-esteem. It makes me feel good to know I can do this, it feels great to look in the mirror, and like the changes, I see!

I am also very grateful to my Life Time “family” for helping me change my life. My LT family was truly dedicated to guiding me through the entire process. It was not just one or two people supporting me, but really this amazing team cheering us all on!

I began the challenge at 302.5 lbs. and am so happy now to be in the lower end of the 270s! I have not been this light in more than 6 years. I am still a little shocked to think it was only 60 days ago that I started this journey. It is amazing what you can accomplish in 60 days!

The biggest change for me was my nutrition. I have always had problems losing weight because I am an emotional eater. Food to me was always an escape from a bad day, stressful argument, or just feeling down on myself. I used bad foods to make me feel better about myself and it has always been hard for me to stick to a nutrition program because of the intense cravings I have for sweets and fatty foods. My nutritionist, Kate Imthurn, walked me through the importance of what I chose to put into my body and was always there to encourage me to stick to the program. She shared her journey with me and I was able to connect with her because of her deep empathy about my psychological connection with food. During our weekly nutrition check-ins, she was able to review my food logs and help me identify why I had cravings and how to overcome them. The knowledge she shared with me regarding blood sugar crashes, the best foods for maximum nutrition (protein protein protein), and how to incorporate the LT shakes, Generation Ucan, multivitamins, and probiotics into my diet and exercise routine has really made a huge difference. I have so much more energy and really feel like I can push myself when I work out. I sleep so much better now and I have completely cut out caffeine out of my diet. In addition, my entire family is following this wholesome eating program. We love spending Sunday each week food prepping and experimenting with new recipes for the week (love the 60 day recipes). It has really been wonderful spending more time together as a family and knowing that we are teaching our children to be better every day.

In addition to eating better, I have been working out consistently throughout the week. My family and I have made ‘going to the gym’ something fun and entertaining – NOT a chore. It has been wonderful getting excited to go workout!

I work out at least 4 days a week. At least two of these workouts are strength training and I recently added in Pilates reformer lessons on Fridays. The other days of the week, I either participate in a small group workouts or pop into a fun group class. By switching out what I do for workouts, I never get bored. In addition, there are SO many classes at Life Time that I can try. Each trainer/performer is a little different so each class is unique. It is so nice to have the many amazing choices at our club because I know I will never get bored.

Additionally, my LT family stressed how important it is to recover through good nutrition, but also physically. After strength conditioning workouts, I treat myself to a nice aqua massage, few minutes with a Hypervolt, Normatech boots session, or a therapeutic stretch session. I love having access to these amazing recovery tools and feel that I recover faster so that I can work harder in my next workout.

In conclusion, the best part of the last 60 days is that I really feel like I have changed my lifestyle and encouraged my family to adopt these habits. I plan to continue to keep doing the same diet and exercise routine now that the 60day is over. I have a long way to go to hit my goal weight, but I feel that I can do it. My LT family is always there to continue to encourage me, and therefore I do not feel like I will ever be alone in this journey. Lifetime has given me a second chance to be the best me I can be both physically and emotionally. Thank you!

Shout outs to my LT Family for being there for me: Dwayne McDonald (best small groups ever), Leslie Dixon (Alpha Stronger because of you), Sam George (trainer extraordinaire), Rochelle Vance (forever thankful for showing me I have more core strength than I thought), Amanda Hope (early morning barbell classes to kick off a great day by kicking my butt), Arika Harden (my cycle and aqua queen), KC Comella (for all the high 5s), and Kate Imthurn (for never letting me give up even when I really wanted to). Without this team I would not have been able to make the last 60 days happen. I am so grateful for their dedication to helping me be better every day.