7 Week Transformer – Diane

My name is Diane and I first heard about the challenge on Christina’s Rykmans facebook page. When I looked closer I saw people that I knew who were doing it and I was surprised at what I was seeing. The before and after results and the testimonials stirred something in me. I am not a person who has worked out before so the whole thing seemed foreign to me and I began to think about whether I could incorporate this plan into my life.

When I think back even to childhood I can see that my diet has pretty much always been compromised. I hadn’t been making healthy choices for a very long time and how I had come to feel about myself was a direct result of that diet. High sugar, candy, pop, redbull were all staples in my diet and left me feeling tired, listless and always looking for the next sugar rush. I wasn’t happy with how I was looking and feeling for so long that this was just feeling like my normal. I decided it was time for some big changes. With the anticipation of planning my upcoming wedding and all that it entails I knew that it was good timing and that it was time to take action.

The thought of attending a gym scared the life out of me so I recruited my friend Libby to join me. Strength in numbers ☺ and someone to commiserate with.

The first workout was so hard that I almost passed out and I began to worry if I could do this but I kept going. The diet was difficult too as I wasn’t used to eating these new healthy foods and having to be organized and have the foods I needed. This got easier with time. I began to actually like the new diet and my cravings for my bad food began to diminish. I had new energy and didn’t feel as tired at work. I actually began to look forward to my workouts too. The group setting had huge advantages and a lot of funny things happened but in the end it was nice to share the time with others in the same boat as me. The facebook group was really helpful as people were sharing complaints, recipes, stories and motivational material. Hearing about the struggles and successes of the others in the group was comforting.

I am happy that I began the challenge and that I made some new friends. I plan to continue with my new diet and work out regime beyond the challenge and try to keep these new habits to maintain good health. I am going to continue my progress until I meet my personal goal. A big thank you goes out to my fiancé Jay who stood by me and supported me with my goals, mood swings lol and also became my very own personal chef. Thanks to Christina and Andy for the support and opportunity to change my life.

7 Week Transformer – Libby

I first heard about this challenge when I saw Sarah Van Ek at the gym looking slim and strong and was totally in awe of not only her transformation but her hard work. She was doing some freaky things in the gym and I was amazed and wondered secretly if this is something I could ever push myself to do. On my first day of the challenge, there was Sarah greeting me and saying “you can do this”.

I have been a member of Body Fit for over 15 years and I am the one you see at the same time of day over and over doing the same things. Stuck in my routines, not pushing myself and not doing anything different than what I have always done.

My husband is a person who works out often, eats whatever he wants (often bad things) and remains in fantastic shape. (Grrr) I am not so lucky. I am a busy working Mom of over scheduled athletic kids and the grind of the busyness led to rushed meals, grabbing snacks and eating on the road. It is almost impossible to maintain a healthy diet especially during the winter without lots of planning. Working out happened only when everything else was done. I can assure you that this was not happening. The kids were and always are first.

My friend Diane heard about the challenge and said “let’s do it” and although reluctant I mentioned it to my family and they said “do it”. So I did it.

At first I was anxious and scared; I worried and wondered what I had gotten myself into. The first week was difficult, the diet seemed daunting and I wondered if I could actually do this. Although the workouts were really tough, having the structure and companionship of the group seemed to really help. We were all in this together and I took great comfort in that. We could share and talk about how we felt and felt safe complaining behind the back of our trainer Christina. (complaining in front of her didn’t work)

The workouts were tough, the diet is tough, but things got easier with time. My body stopped craving bad things and began to crave good things. Instead of flaking out at night exhausted, I had to go out to the gym. I would always say night time is not my time for exercise but I eventually found it that I loved it. I had to count on my husband to deal with dinner and everything else and out I would go to Body Fit. At first I felt guilty and selfish but after the first few weeks I knew that this is what I needed. This positive change then led to many other positive changes. The changes went way beyond how my clothes fit or how I felt my body change.

Overcoming obstacles is something we all have to learn how to do and can be applied to our whole lives. Someone once told me to just itemize all of the things weighing on you then deal with them one by one. So here it was.

1. I am tired all the time

2. I am unhappy with my weight

3. I am unhappy with my fitness

4. I have no clothes that fit me

5. I’m worried about my skin and hair

6. I have no time for myself

As I read that now I see that the problem was obvious. I learned that it is ok to ask for help. I learned that I couldn’t do this myself or else I would have by now and I learned that no one could do it for me.

As a result of the challenge I feel stronger; my outlook on pretty much everything has improved significantly. I feel so happy and proud of myself for finishing this challenge. My family is proud of me too and that is the icing on the cake…make that the cream cheese on the celery. 🙂

7 Week Transformer – Lisa

I started the 7 week challenge with the goal of losing the last 15lbs of baby weight. I gained 70lbs with my last baby and it has taken me a year to lose 55lbs. I had lost some motivation and thought this challenge would help and it did! I may not have lost 15lbs of fat but I know that I am down to my pre-pregnancy size as I am fitting into clothes I have not worn for almost 2 yrs !! And for me that is worth it. I am thankful to both my trainers Christina and Eric. They were very encouraging and helpful the whole way through. At first I found the challenge to be easy but as we went on it actually got more difficult. I really missed my favorite foods and eating out! But I did learn to cook in a different way and found some new favorite recipes that I will continue to use as I work towards keeping the weight off and hopefully losing a bit more. I am looking forward to using the information I have learned the last few weeks to keep myself on the path to health and fitness. Thank you for the challenge!!