Hi, I’m Stephanie, and if you’re like me (and 61% of Americans) you’ve emerged from the roller coaster of 2020 carrying a little bit more of you to love.
In July, I will be marching down the aisle wearing the world’s most unflattering color head to toe. When I got on the scale in January, the wedding dress that fit me just a year ago was 20 pounds out of reach–thanks to a pandemic and the internal chaos that is my hormones.
Weight gain comes with a lot of feelings---sadness, anger, frustration, self-blame, self-doubt, and, if you’re a bride to be with a previously postponed wedding and an expensive piece of wardrobe that no longer fits, panic. But, the most damaging feeling that can come with weight gain, in my opinion, is that lost sense of confidence. For a while I avoided mirrors and photos, my beloved closet that once brought me joy was now a daily nightmare. This is where 212 Health and Performance comes in……
If you’re reading this, you are likely already aware of 212 Health and Performance and their awesome workout classes and facilities, their sense of community amongst their members and the awesome trainers we all love (or depending on the workout…..”hate”). Those things, while super important, just scratch the surface of what makes this gym so special. I have been a member of several gyms across the state, and most had those same attributes of awesome classes and a sense of community, but the sense of personalization at 212 Health and Performance is what elevates this gym beyond good to exceptional.
At 212, you are not just a name or a number, you are recognized as an individual with your own goals and life challenges, and you are welcomed with a team who wants to meet you exactly where you are and will work with you to get wherever you want to go on your personal health and wellness journey. Our community is a diverse crowd, some of us are new to exercise, others seek weight loss, others want to lift heavier and be more fit, some just go to classes for stress relief, others want to keep their aging bodies moving and mobile, and we all have different lives and challenges that can sometimes be barriers to our goals. Kerry, Alicia, Colin, Sean and Kim all see you, they know you, they want to work with you and help you get wherever you want in the way that works best for….you.
I realized this about 212 during a really low point in my own personal journey, I was about to give up on myself and the gym and Kerry asked to meet with me. He sat me down and we just had good conversation about what was going on with me, my hypothyroidism, how my work/life balance has been out of whack, how I was feeling about myself and he showed me he believed in me achieving my health and wellness goals—even at a point when I felt helpless and didn’t believe I could achieve them myself. He asked me to trust him and Alicia, Sean, Collin, Kim and the team, and I am so very glad that I did.
Flash forward to now and, after being consistent with tracking my own macros and food intake, working hard in the Jeans Challenge and doing my own training designed by Kerry, I’m down 13 pounds and am up in muscle mass since that first January weigh in! I am feeling confident that my wedding dress WILL fit, but most importantly, I feel more self-confident, more myself and am way happier in my own skin. And, I know I couldn’t have progressed without the help and support of the awesome fit fam I have at 212 Health and Performance!
No matter where you are on your personal health and fitness journey—I promise you, the entire team at 212 is there to work with you on your goals. Wishing a happy and healthy 2021 to you all!