In Sept 2009, I was 7 months away from getting married in Mexico. I had gained about 15 to 20 pounds in the 3 years since I met my soon-to-be husband. (He introduced me to Indian food and gyros and chicken wings, darn him!) My plan to lose the weight in the 9 months since getting engaged hadn’t worked so far and I was ready to do SOMETHING about it! I wasn’t sure what that was until Shannon did a wellness workshop at my full-time job. I really resonated with everything she was saying about working out and eating right and she gave us some great tips!
Holly Before wedding nearing 30% body fat!
Holly beaming on her wedding day after losing 10% body fat!
2 weeks later I took advantage of a free week at Squeeze to make sure I liked it and I’ve been working out 2-3 times per week ever since. After my very first session during a noon-hour workout with Shannon – I could only stay for a half hour – I immediately called my fiancé and proclaimed that it was THE HARDEST WORKOUT I had ever done in my life! (I also had never sweat so much in my life!) I was pumped! One of my favorite things continues to be how the trainers keep everything fresh by introducing new moves at almost every workout, it’s AWESOME! I never get bored and neither do my muscles!
Around December, I knew I was getting stronger through the workouts, but I wasn’t losing the weight like I wanted to. When I was younger, I could workout at a quarter of the intensity and lose weight. Apparently, I couldn’t rely on workouts alone at 30 years old. My eating patterns had to change (and I LOVE to eat – especially things like cake and Kopps Frozen Custard!). Once again, Shannon came to the rescue with the 24 Day Challenge! I signed up and stuck to it and lost 10 pounds, 9 inches and 4.5% body fat during that time. For the past two years, I haven’t been able to fit into most of my pants and the 2 pair that I could fit into were pretty snug. After doing the 24 Day Challenge, I could comfortably fit into those formerly snug pants with a little room to spare! I’ve been sticking pretty close to the plan since then, and adding in more cardio with Core Camp on Thurs mornings, and in April I was able to fit into 2 more pants and 2 pair of jeans!
Not only that, but I didn’t feel like a cow in my wedding dress anymore (or in the bikinis that I bought to wear in Mexico)! I purposely bought the dress one size smaller because I KNEW I would get there and I did! I felt great and was happy with what I saw in the mirror. I still have about 10 more pounds and 3% body fat to lose to reach my optimal goal, but I have come really far in my journey since starting.
This is the FIRST time in my whole life that I have consistently stuck with a workout program for more than 3 months! It’s because I feel like I belong to a group, will be held accountable and I KNOW I’m getting the best workout because they are all trainer-run workouts! Where else can you get that? For my three AWESOME trainers – Shannon, David and Kelly – thank YOU for all you do and helping me do more than I thought I could! And Kelly, thanks for Core Camp on Thursday mornings at 6am and showing me that cardio can be fun! (I typically hate cardio!)
And to all my morning workout buddies, see you at 6am!
Forever a client, Mrs. Holly Baer…..yay!
