Naples

Member Since November 2007

My Story
Only you can decide when you are really tired of being tired and when enough is really enough. Even though I carried myself with an air of confidence, I was still hurt by the snickers and rude comments that came from others. I was blessed to not have any of the health issues that plague people who are obese, and I say obese because I had passed the overweight phase about 100 pounds earlier. Pushing the scale at 384 pounds didn't bother me because I thought that I carried it well. Getting winded standing in the mirror getting ready for work is what bothered me more. Being too tired to get motivated to do anything is what bothered me. Having been a member of Curves before and knowing that it makes a difference, I decided that I would join again. I joined in November of 2007, but I was too ashamed to allow myself to be weighed and measured.

The moves displayed on the cards in front of the resting stations were too much for me, so I just walked in place. Those were some of the longest 30 seconds of my life and I never got down on the floor to stretch afterwards because I couldn't get up off the floor. Paula (the owner) began to talk to me and encourage me to try one move at a time and slowly I did and I started to feel different. I no longer had to sit down in the morning while putting on my makeup.

My new years resolution was to loose weight and it was not a new one, but I felt that I could actually do it this time. I put together a goal theory/survey and a group of friends to help me go through this process, because you always need to have others around you who know what your goal is and who can cheer you on. On January 15, 2008, I asked Paula to weigh and measure me so that I could know how well I was doing. You can't really tell how far you have come, if you don't know where you started. I shared my goal survey with Paula and she became one of my number one cheerleaders. We went through my eating and snacking habits and she gave me pointers on what to do if I really wanted to see a change. The most important thing was to keep a food journal, this way I could see what I was actually eating. She would then review that journal each month and highlight things that I should work on and go over them with me. Man was I tired of seeing yellow highlights all through my book, but it made me more conscientious of what I was eating. As the months went by and I would miss my goals by one inch or one pound, she kept me encouraged. She was just as excited about my achievements as I was and that made me feel that I could do anything. After a few months, I started to get smiley faces, and who knew something so childish could make a grown woman so proud.

Paula began to challenge me on the boards, and push me on the machines. She was sensitive enough to know when I said that I couldn't do it; she found other ways to push me so that I would push myself. Now she just doesn't take any of my excuses and I need that because she makes sure that I hold myself accountable. So now I push myself when she isn't around, I can almost hear her in my head telling me to "Get that heart rate up".

All of the trainers at my gym are good, but I have to say that there is only one other that stands out from the rest. She has become one of my loudest cheerleaders. When Krista started, Paula sent her right over to me and told her to "kick her butt". Let me tell you, she really brings it and makes me bring it. For the first time in a year, I went in the back to stretch and get down on the floor. Since then not only do we go back in the back and stretch every workout, but a group of us get together and workout an additional 45 minutes doing other exercises on the floor. We make plans to work out together everyday, and when one member can't come at that time, someone else always fills the spot. We push each other and praise each other on being able to actually do some of the crazy things that come up. It is awesome! When I ask Krista for some new moves, she always brings something off the wall and crazy that you look at and say, "No way, I can't do that". But she doesn't let you sell yourself short and she doesn't let you push yourself until you get hurt. She convinces you to try it and after a few workouts, you find that you can do it.

I go to the gym, because I want to continue to be better than I am. Honestly, I am often tired when I get to the gym, but once I start working out, I feel like nothing else is more important than working out at that moment.

There is no better investment one can make than to invest in yourself. My biggest rewards are, now I walk/sprint 5 miles every Saturday (with another cheerleader) and my mother (my biggest cheerleader) has joined and she is now taking lower dosages of both her blood pressure medicine and insulin.

Weight loss is a change of mindset & lifestyle, it can be achieved the easy way or the hard way but it can only be maintained if you do it the hard way. Nothing is more precious to you as something that you worked really hard for. I have lost 67.2 pounds, 43 of which were pure fat and a total of 40 inches in total. I can't wait to see what Curves has in store for me tomorrow!