I was given an ultimatum from my doctor last December: Either I get my health in-check on my own within the next few months, or I will be going on several medications to get my cholesterol and high blood pressure down plus, a diabetes diagnosis was nipping at my heals. Genetically I know I have things stacked against me – my dad died of heart disease at 62 and my sister had a stroke at 56 – I’m almost 54. I don’t want to be on drugs when I am certain I have exasperated the problem by not taking better care of myself. I was also at the point that walking was beyond painful even with expensive orthotics. My feet are just not meant to support all my weight.
The time had come for me to really get serious about my health which immediately summoned all the old demons I have fought with my entire adult life. We all know this story – “I’ve tried everything and sometimes it works for a while – but then I go off and I gain all the weight back – and then I feel hopeless”. So as usual, I sat on things for a couple more weeks feeling paralyzed while trying to muster up the motivation to try one more time.
One day I drove by the Better Body Fitness NW facility and saw “personal trainer” on the placard. Now, I have done the personal trainer thing before but this was so close to my house – no excuses. I made a consultation appointment for later that week to see if there was any hope for me. Another demon surfaced: I was embarrassed to tell anyone I was trying again- even my husband, Thomas. Realizing this could potentially be a big financial commitment and the fact that he would soon wonder where I was since he would notice the big empty spot on the couch at night, I took a deep breath and I told him about my plans. Surprisingly, he immediately said he wanted to come with me. Although he is only 47, he too, has a dismal family health history and is also significantly overweight.
Walking into Better Body Fitness NW impressed us immediately. This is a no nonsense facility, but not in a scary way. Our trainer put us at ease right away and it was clear she was a trained and educated fitness professional. She told us it would be hard work but she would keep our workouts interesting and at a level we can do regardless of where we are starting. I have to admit, the financial commitment is enough to scare off anybody but we were willing to forgo other things to try this out. The way we looked at was, we may not have the financial resources to have a nice vacation this year but we have a chance at achieving something neither one of us has been able to achieve – healthy bodies.
Thomas and I go together for one hour sessions three times a week. It works out great combining our sessions because we end up getting 1 hour of training together instead of 1/2 hour individually. Also, our trainer has been true to her word about the exercise program and is great at tweaking our workouts to help us with our particular issues. In addition, she has been tremendous in helping us really change our eating habits. No diet – just eating the way we all know we are suppose to and we are finally making it a way of life.
After our first five weeks of training, we had lost a combined total of 29 lbs (I even lost more than Thomas!) of which a good percentage was actual body fat. I am focusing on reducing my body fat percentage from obese to average and dropped 3% body fat in five weeks! That was amazing. We signed up for another 5 weeks.
We may not look like it on the outside but in just a few short weeks, we are stronger, have more endurance, and most importantly, just plain feel better. I am learning to accept that I feel better on the inside than how I’m looking on the outside. We are putting our trust in our trainers expertise knowing we are getting fit from the inside out. We are looking forward to our next five weeks at Better Body Fitness NW.
Thomas and Peggy Allen
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