HER STORY: I was overweight as a teenager. In high school, I was inactive and spent quite a bit of time eating fast food. These habits continued into my undergraduate years. I lost weight in law school, but gained it all back. I spent years going through different diets and weight–loss plans.
I was ashamed and scared to go to the gym because I was overweight. I was spending a lot of money on a gym membership, but always finding excuses not to go. I weighed over 300 pounds, I was having trouble breathing and I couldn’t walk a block without getting tired. Diabetes runs in my family — both of my paternal grandparents had the disease — and I did not want to develop the same condition. I knew I had to do something to lose the weight.
One morning, I saw Denise Austin on Lifetime. I started getting up early every morning and working out with her — I felt more comfortable working out in the privacy of my own home and I could not use any excuses, like weather, to not work out. I started seeing results, and an improvement in my stamina and endurance, right away. I started taping “Denise’s Everyday Workout” and “Fit & Light” workouts and set a goal of doing one in the morning before work and then one in the evening when I got home. I also ordered several of her videos and books.
I signed up with Denise’s online plan to help me with motivation and meal plans. I liked that Denise had designed a realistic program. I always remember what she said on one of her workout shows: it is okay to eat well 80 percent of the time and enjoy yourself the other 20 percent of the time. I really believed that policy and still follow it to this day. You can’t live your life on a diet. You have to learn to make changes in your food choices that you can commit to for a lifetime.
Since I was not use to exercising at all, my body went into a kind of physical shock. I lost ten pounds right away. Actually, the first 70 pounds seemed to go very quickly. As I started losing weight and gained confidence, I started taking group fitness classes at the community center and boot camp classes at a local gym. I bought Denise’s Personal Training System which lets you customize your own workouts and I would take it with me when I traveled so that I could do the workouts in the hotel room.
It was not until I was approaching the last thirty pounds of my 120 pound weight loss that losing weight seemed to be quite hard. One of my biggest challenges was staying motivated when I would hit plateaus in my weight loss. It can be very frustrating to workout consistently and watch what you eat and not see the scale reflect your efforts.But by making better food choices and staying committed to exercise, I have lost over 100 pounds. It took me a little over a year to lose the weight. When I saw my aunt, she asked me who I was. She didn’t recognize me!
I have now maintained the weight loss for over three years. As I began to lose weight and gain physical endurance, I would make new fitness goals for myself, and I continue to do that to this day. One of my fitness goals was to become a fitness instructor. I wanted to show people that if I could reach such a high fitness level, they could too. I am now a nationally certified aerobics instructor and I teach classes all over Atlanta. I have more confidence in myself physically and mentally. I have an abundance of energy and I am in the best physical shape of my life. There is great sense of accomplishment when you set a goal for yourself and then successfully complete it.
But my journey is not over. I stay active by teaching aerobic and boot camp classes, and I still take boot camp classes as a student. I also like to participate in 5K events and take dance classes. I keep striving to find new challenges and goals to reach.
SECRET TO SUCCESS: If you stay motivated, consistent and committed, you can achieve any goal you set for yourself! Keep old photos of yourself around to look at the photos when you’re feeling discouraged — it will help you remember what you have accomplished and remind you where you do not want to return!
More DeniseAustin.com Success Stories:
Casey's Story: Finding Health and Happiness
Joy's Story: From Couch Potato to Triathlete
*Weight loss varies by individual. You may not achieve these results.