Rachel
Age: 23
Lost 85 pounds
Completed Program March 2001
In the winter of 2001, I did the 20/20 program at the age of 19 while an employee in The Bistro at the PRO Sports Club. I had a starting weight of 172 pounds and after 10 weeks I was at 152. I was very pleased with the program and I thought I had everything under control. Steadily over the next few years I started resisting the principles that I was taught in the 20/20 program and started gaining the weight back. At the age of 23 I reached my heaviest weight ever. At 5’2”, I weighed 215 pounds, which was considered extremely obese according to the BMI (body mass index). I was embarrassed that I had reached that weight, and felt horrible.
Every time I would come into the club I felt guilty and ashamed, not from any outside influences, but strictly myself. I wanted to start having children, but at that weight I knew the potential health issues and that I was in no shape to keep up with a child. Last year, I came to a breaking point. I was completely fed up with being fat, not having much energy, not fitting into any clothes, hating shopping, hating the scale, hating myself, not liking looking in the mirror, etc. I had had it.
I decided in October that there was nothing I wouldn’t do to get rid of all the excess weight that I was plagued with. I knew it would be hard but what success comes easily? So I decided to apply what I learned from the 20/20 program back into my current lifestyle. After all, I was taught by the program what I needed to do to lose weight and maintain it for life.
This past month I reached my goal of 85 total pounds lost. I can hardly explain to you how good I feel. I have tons of energy. I enjoy eating healthy food and am satisfied from it. I love to shop and fit into new clothes. I get excited to step on the scale and see my hard work pay off. I have hung out this summer in a bathing suit. My self esteem has increased immensely, and my husband can’t keep his hands off me! All the hard work has paid off and I am now experiencing the fruits of my labor.
All along the way I have had tremendous support and encouragement. During all my previous short-term diets I hid from others, mainly because I didn’t want to experience more shame and guilt when I would fail. This time I told everyone close to me what I was doing. I had decided in my head and heart that this was the new beginning and I wasn’t going to fail, so there was no reason to think I would feel shame and guilt. My brother was one of my biggest supporters and source of encouragement along the way. He would push me harder, make sure that I was actually coming to the club to work out, taught me how to play racquetball, and would set up rewards for me along the way. I could not have done it without him. I also met weekly with a group of girlfriends who would check up on me and see how things were going. It was also a huge encouragement to have my husband tell me daily, sometimes hourly, how proud he was of me.
The support of family and friends was crucial to my success. At points along the way when it wasn’t hard anymore, I knew I was doing something wrong. When I wasn’t complaining about how sore I was, or it had been a week or two and I had not dropped another pound, I knew it was time to switch things up, try something new, or cut something out. Being healthy is not a program, as I had thought before, but a lifestyle. If you don’t know what to do or how to start, there is not a better place to be than the PRO Sports Club where there are endless numbers of experts and resources who want you to succeed and be healthy.