In February 2021, at a mere age of 28 my “it is time to change” moment happened. I’ve spent my entire life yo-yo-dieting… trying over and over and over again to lose weight. I don’t remember a time where I wasn’t over 300lbs.
I was 336lbs with 57.9% body fat. I was struggling with uncontrolled diabetes (insulin & oral meds) and blood pressure readings in stroke zones (blood pressure, water pill & high cholesterol pill). I really had two choices…continue living the painful, limited life I was OR choose to fight for a life worth living… one free of health issues. That was my “last day one” as I chose to fight!
Honestly, I had no idea where to start, so I started with small changes and built them into habits. I was dead set on doing this the lifestyle change way and not have to go the medical weight-loss route, and my doctor supported this. I knew a magic pill/shot wasn’t going to change my habits (it didn’t 10 years ago when I tried and it actually made my health and life worse). This time I strived to know more about health, my body, nutrition, proper supplementation, and movement. I paid attention to food labels and the quality of foods I was putting into my body. Even though I hated exercise I knew how important it was for the health benefits and sustainability, so I found a way to make it fun.
I began working with Chad and Heather at ETI Fitness July of 2021, alongside my primary care physician, after getting stuck with doing it on my own. At this point I told myself that “I’m not going back” and “my life is worth it”. When Chad and Heather asked me what my goal was, I told them I wanted to see 200lbs on the scale and to be healthy. I told them I was determined to do this the natural/hard way through exercise, proper nutrition, developing new habits, and completely changing my lifestyle. I was sick of just surviving through the days…I wanted to live and enjoy life.
Over the last 3.5 years, Chad and Heather have coached me and instilled in me an internal drive of determination, motivation, and grit. I really couldn’t have seen myself sticking with it and pushing through the difficult moments of being on a weight loss journey without them.
They kept me focused in on my WHY, kept challenging me to envision the life I was working toward, and fought the fight right alongside me. Having my coaches and health care team (my doctor was on board with all of this) all advocating, educating, and fighting alongside me is part of the reason I’ve been successful in crushing and superceding my goals. And I did it without the use of weight loss medications, injections, surgery. There was no “magic pill/shot”…I literally did the work to get here.
It’s crazy to think that today, after almost 4 years, I have completely transformed and taken back my life. I never looked back. Today at 31 years old, I’m currently 192lbs with 26.8% body fat. I’m considered the healthiest I’ve ever been…I am no longer diabetic, I no longer have high blood pressure, I’m medication free, and I’m down a total of 144lbs. Like…WOW.
I cannot even thank Chad and Heather enough for everything they have done for me in this journey. They literally helped me save my life, and helped open up doors I never knew were possible for me. And now here I am living the happiest, healthiest, and most fulfilled life I could’ve ever imagined. And we’re not done yet. I look forward to many more years, adventures, and crushing of goals with Chad and Heather on my team!
