Holy snap! Member of the month, I have arrived, but seriously, humbled and grateful for this chance to tell my 212 story! I don’t know if you’re like me, I’m a goals person. Pick a goal, stick with it, obtain it = new goal – my whole life. But 2020 seemed to throw me for a loop.
Insert COVID and my whole world was turned upside down, I started working from home, and I feel like those 212 virtual workouts were my lifeline, thank God for you guys – seriously! But I was ending every day with a glass (or 2) of wine. Working in the Mortgage industry, rates were dropping, loans were coming in fast and furious and it was CRAZY!! So that was how I was signifying the “end of my day” - wine……….by June of 2020 I was approaching the weight I was when I was delivering each of my daughters, except this time I wasn’t pregnant. There was a lot of “poor me” and “how did I get here” and “I work out all the time”. Kerry listened to each excuse, let me wallow, and when he knew I was done asked me if I was ready to make some changes.
Alicia started to work with me focusing on my nutrition. We had the perfect mix of humor and tears (mine) to have honest and hard conversations about my eating. I got a standing desk, upped my water, stopped excessively eating carbs and dropped 10 lbs. Whew! But I knew I wasn’t done.
Insert SUPERHERO ACADEMY, guys, there’s legit not enough I could say about how much this program changed me. I was scared I couldn’t “lift that heavy”, “run that far/fast”, “follow that food plan”. But like I said IF I set my mind to something, it’s on. I followed that food plan to the T, increased my weights, ran that extra lap, doing ALL the things. Feeling like I had more in the tank so at the end, during the “shredder phase”, adding in doubles. I’d come back later in the day with a crew to run sprints, laughing, commiserating, feeling a part of something. Those stubborn pounds started to come off. At the end of Superhero, I was down another 7 pounds, I couldn’t believe it!!!
BUT Kerry and Alicia knew the number I wanted to hit so I stuck with it some more, kept with a few doubles a week, and in October 2021, around my 43rd birthday, I hit IT! THE goal!! I was down 30 FREAKING POUNDS from June of 2020 and the weight that I was at in college – WOW. WOW. WOW.
Here’s where it gets gushy, man, I legit couldn’t have done this without Sean (absolutely butchering my Boston accent BUT always encouraging me), Colin (with all the jokes but also the slightest tweaks that seem to make all the difference), Kim (don’t tell her but I kinda dig the stopwatch and her heart of gold), Heather (dealing with me day in and day out and always, always smiling), Alicia (for letting me be SO REAL and finding a way with kindness and humor to nudge me to keep on going); and KT (for letting me cry but not stew on the negative, picking me up, motivating me, challenging me and being a shining light) I hold you all in my heart.
For me 212 is NOT just a gym, for me it is confidence, it is empowerment, it IS Church (my Saturday crew knows what’s up) and it’s a place where dreams (mine and/or yours) can come true. If I can do it, you can too. Why not choose ourselves once and a while, self-love isn’t selfish! Love yourself enough to give it a try!!! Feeling nervous or unsure?, find me at the gym (this is usually what I look like, JK), I will be your accountability partner, PROMISE!
