Wellness Journey: Part 2

I need to backtrack a bit. Early in 2017 another friend, Cierra, committed to workout with me. Our typical week included three times a week. She'd bring her youngest over right after our older kids went to school. We went through the BeachBody brand workout, "T-25", which was intense. I ended up feeling more injured (neck and shoulders) and achy but more toned.  By May, I had lost 11 pounds! But gained a lot back by September.

It's a lot to share stats on here because it's a private matter. But as I did my own research, I wanted to read real stories, with real facts. So, I will be vulnerable and share these details.

I hadn't realized the weight had slowly crept on. Or the pain and fatigue were getting worse. I thought it was just old age. And that this was my lot in life. I say this with sarcasm but I began to believe that I would simply look at food and gain weight. I didn't enjoy looking at myself in the mirror. It was discouraging.

This was my heaviest point. February 2017. 217 pounds.

We took the summer off of exercising and I became addicted to Dr Pepper again. But then we started working out again in the fall with Zumba. Less painful and more fun. We kept that up for the rest of the year. It was so motivating to exercise with someone else. We were accountable to each other. Plus, I was moving my body and burning calories. And visiting with Cierra during and after was like the cherry on top.

After the Fall Facebook Health Challenge ended I had a renewed desire to become healthy. I randomly saw a Facebook Ad during my daily browsing. It was for a program that linked to a local TV spot for Good Day Utah, or something like that. It was called Skinny Utah and they guaranteed a 20 pound weight loss in 40 days. I thought it was kind of bogus and ignored it. But, as Facebook does, once you click on an ad, it bombards you with more. I was intrigued and did some research.

The program is called "The New You-Total Health Weight Loss". I researched and read reviews from previous participants. There wasn't much online that helped because I discovered it's a relatively new program in Utah. However, the program creator has been running it in Seattle (Skinny Seattle) for over a decade (maybe nearly two). The Dr who created the program, Dr Thomas Panah, was a licensed chiropractor but went on to study functional, integrated and pastoral medicine. His mission is to help people discover their potential, to feel better all around and weight loss is an added bonus. I read and watched all the testimonials of those who went through the program.

The days before Thanksgiving I went in for a free consultation. They did a BCA (body composition analysis) and discussed the program with me, the benefits, the cost, the reasoning. I brought Tyler along to make sure I wasn't getting into something unsafe or crazy. It seemed sound and honest and helpful. Although it cost much more than I expected, I knew it would be worth it in the end. I signed up and was excited to begin. After deliberating over when to officially start, due to the holidays, parties, etc I decided January would be the best time for me. I put on 6 pounds of holiday pounds.  Less stress and parties and commitments, and I could actually focus on my health.