Mary’s Success Story

The only thing worse for me than being overweight and out of shape was not having the energy or ability to keep up with my 4 grandkids the way I wanted. I started thinking that 158 lb was my new baseline due to menopause and a slow thyroid so I stopped trying to lose the weight and resigned myself to a size 12. After a trip to San Francisco last Oct, as my girlfriend and I were eating and drinking our way through wine country, we made a pact that after vacation we were going to focus on getting into shape. Admittedly, we were not disciplined enough to do this on our own and had quit several times previously over the years. I had met Joy about a month earlier through my husband and knew we needed more than just a gym to help keep us on track so I sent her a text from CA half hoping she wouldn’t answer but of course she did almost immediately. That’s Joy, always ready for a challenge.  Anyway, day 1 came fast and there I was, facing Joy in my living room. I really had no idea what to expect but I promised myself to try my best and keep an open mind. She jumped right in making it clear that it wasn’t EVER going to be easy, that’s why it’s called “working out”. That was disappointing to me because I like easy. I’ve always been willing to work for something with an end in sight but if it got too hard, I’d always quit.  Well, long story short, I am still here almost 6 months later by some miracle, 20 lb lighter and doing things I used to only think about, like the River Run this year in under 2 hours with Joy right there being my cheerleader and 100 burpees in less than 10 minutes! With her guidance and encouragement and my determination not to give up, I am feeling darn good these days and cannot imagine my life without someone like Joy who got me to this point. I’d probably be closer to my goal weight of 125 lb if I followed all of Joy’s recommendations but nobody’s perfect. Working with her these months, I’ve come to realize that losing weight and getting fit is a lifelong process. It’s not something you do for a little while until you reach a goal and then stop. In order to be able to continue this process on a daily basis, my attitudes had to change, like acknowledging it’s never going to be easy as Joy pointed out and eating healthier because I actually prefer that but if you have the right attitude and someone like Joy who is passionate about changing peoples’ lives one day at a time, you can achieve and do things you never thought you could ever do. I curse her out loud sometimes when she challenges me but I’m not going to quit cause I’m no longer a quitter thanks to her! I have to give her the credit. I did the work but she has this way about her that keeps you going and that is all I ever needed, EnJoy!