Three Months and 30 Pounds Later

Written by Liz Wolf, of Rockwall, TX

I have, or have tried, every piece of fitness equipment known to mankind (yes, even the Thighmaster!!). I have been a member of every major gym chain, tried every type of class - body blaster, boot camp, step aerobics, etc... Each time I tried something new I was excited. "This is going to work," I would think. Each day I would crawl out of bed at 5am to do whatever I was into at that time, only to be disappointed when I would burn out, or injure myself.  I would spend hours at the gym, or on my newest piece of equipment with very little results.

I have also tried every diet. I have almost every diet book published. I have eaten only cabbage for days - (NOT a good idea) - stopped carbs, added carbs, low fat, slim fast, Jenny Craig, Weight Watchers, Medifast, you name it I have tried it, or at least read about it!!

Then one day I woke up and I was 42 years old and 60lbs overweight!!! How could that happen? I was "into" exercise, and very conscious of the "proper" things to eat. Not only that, I felt terrible. I had no energy. I would get short of breath whenever I exerted myself. My favorite pastime - shopping - was no longer fun because I looked terrible in the clothes, and you can only have so many shoes and handbags - right? (ok maybe not...) Anyway, I decided it was time for a REAL change...

I began a frantic search for something new and found what I thought would be my saving grace. There was a doctor in Plano that did diet counseling and exercise recommendations. That was exactly what I needed!! After all, a doctor wouldn’t steer me wrong.

I made my appointment and I was very excited. I had a list of questions about the various diets I had tried. I had a list of questions regarding weight training vs. cardio. I arrived at the clinic and filled out my papers. They called me back, weighed me, and took my blood pressure. After a few moments the nurse came back in, handed me a pamphlet about diet and exercise and a prescription for diet pills. Then she told me to make an appointment for a month to track my progress.

I was so disappointed I stopped by Starbucks for a quad grande vanilla latte, and a blueberry scone.

After more internet searching I decided I needed a life coach, or a personal trainer. I Googled Personal Trainer, Rockwall, Texas, and Crossfit Rockwall came up. Wow, I thought. Looks interesting. The selling factor was that it was run by a female that would come to my house, (after all I had all this cool equipment!), and lived up the street from me. It was also very affordable. I called and set up my first appointment.

When Mary came over I was nervous, but she immediately put me at ease. She promised not to kill me, and said she thought she could help me make the necessary improvements to get in shape and lose weight. She also said we would not need most of what I had crammed into my extra bedroom I called my gym.

We began with what I now realize is the warm up. I really thought that was the exercise! I then did JUST a 10 minute workout- “Mini Cindy." After I could breathe again, we discussed the zone diet and portions and timing of meals. She measured me and wrote down my weight. We decided on two times a week to start with and she left.

When I woke up the next morning, I thought I had been hit by a truck. It hurt to breathe, I couldn’t sit down, but if I did, I couldn’t stand back up!! N0, she didn’t kill me, but I wished she had! But she came back the next day, and I was already feeling better. She just kept coming back, and I just kept feeling better, working out longer, eating better, feeling better!

That was 3 months and 30 lbs ago. Since that time I have seen a steady (slow) weight loss and increase in exercise duration that is beyond what I expected. I have amazing energy, I wake up feeling good. I look forward to the workouts and seeing Mary so she can tell me how awesome I am doing. Best of all I have not had any injuries. She helps me tweak my diet to stay on track. She is forgiving when I miss a work out or lapse out of the Zone - but keeps me accountable for my behavior. She and Crossfit never fail to challenge me. The entire Crossfit community is so positive and encouraging to each other. The competition is within yourself.

My husband has now started working out with me, and has also been challenged by Mary - a different story all together!!

My gym is almost empty now. I have pull up bars, rings hanging from the ceiling, a treadmill, an Abmat, and free weights. I also have some gently used exercise equipment and 50 diet/workout books for sale ....