Monday, March 31, 2014

CHICK TURNED TRAINER SERIES


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I have been so blessed to be able to watch women change their lives each month through fitness for the past 4 years. We have several amazing women who are now our chicks turned trainers! These ladies started as TFC chicks and found a love for fitness they did not know they had. Through our brand new "Chick Turned Trainer" blog series we will share their inspiring stories with you. We hope you enjoy! ~Melody



My Journey started last year in the fall of 2012 with Anna Texas Fit Chicks. One night I was looking online/FB and was looking for ideas of things to do to get into shape/exercise and I came across Texas Fit Chicks Boot Camp and I was like "YES!" I immediately signed up, the trainer Trina, emailed me right away and I flooded her with questions, my struggles, my hopes, MY STORY of fighting lifelong weight issues that was holding me back from fully being HAPPY & HEALTHY. Then it began there. I signed up for 4 wks the 1st round, then 3 months, and then 6 months & I called it my extra "gym membership". I was hooked since 1st week! And never wanted to miss a class. The women, camaraderie support, fun & sweaty workouts is EXACTLY what I was l looking for & desperately needed. I gained tons of unforgettable friendships through TFC, met some incredible STRONG women that I would had never met if us wasn't for TFC, and my confidence, marriage, attitude and self value had the biggest TRANSFORMATION besides my physical appearance. My doctor even did the "HAPPY DANCE" in his office after seeing me, my weight, and my blood work after 7 months being with TFC. He said "WOW your BOOT CAMP workouts have done this for you? KEEP IT UP GIRL!" I have gone from size 18Wide to size 10/12 in less than year and learned to EAT healthy, & truly EAT to fuel my workouts.

The TFC Boot Camp culture & trainers gave me hope,confidence and the courage to become a certified personal trainer and to start my own TFC Boot Camp class in Melissa TX. My boot camp started in the beginning of September and I honestly can't wait to see how TFC will make an impact on the CHICKs of Melissa like it did for me! I'm living my DREAM of following my new found PASSION of getting FIT, STRONG & HEALTHY and teaching other WOMEN to do the same!
Thank you Melody, Trina and Texas Fit Chicks for letting me be apart of this WONDERFUL JOURNEY!

#TFC4LIFE






As a mom of two young children, working full time, with a husband who also works full time and takes evening college courses, I found there was very little time for me. Then the day came in September, 2012 when I decided to quit making excuses and start making changes! So I did my research and decided TFC had an awesome program. I told myself I can do anything for 4 Mondays, I am going to go to bootcamp and get myself back in the routine and lose this baby weight. After starting and being motivated by such a unique program, I could not stop and now I am a TRAINER! Being a part of TFC is something you really don't understand the full value of, until you join! I can't imagine my weeks without my TFC Friends! NOW I am honored to say, I am blessed to spend my mornings motivating & encouranging an OUTSTANDING group of ladies! It's an up-beat, fun environment and it helps us all become stronger, healthier and more fit. It is an amazing Life Changing Event .... working out with women of all ages, stages, shapes and sizes but one thing in common: the desire to be more healthy and fit. The camaraderie and accountability you get with Texas Fit Chicks makes joining PRICELESS!







After years of being obese, all it took was a gift of a Texas Fit Chicks Boot Camp, and my life was changed. My fitness journey started as a TFC client in February 2011. After training with Melody and LeighAnne I found out that the passion that I have always had to motivate and encourage others could be carried out as a Personal Trainer. What a win, win for me! Inspire and motivate other women, have accountability to always maintain a healthy lifestyle, AND work out? Where do I sign up?! I was certified in August 2011, and started teaching my own class the following September. Since then, I have quit my corporate job and help other women achieve their goals full time! Being a Personal Trainer inspires me every day. My girls make me proud, make me laugh, and remind me every day that hard work pays off! Whether your goal is to lose weight, gain muscle definition, or maintain a healthy lifestyle, I would blessed to be a part of it. We''re granted one body, and life is too short not to take care of it.  

 


It’s amazing what two years can bring to you. Two years ago I was just starting with TFC as a bootcamper. Now I am about to celebrate my 1 year anniversary of opening my Texas Fit Chicks East Plano Los Rios location!

When I first started with TFC I was unhealthy, overweight and had little self-confidence. After struggling my first few months, I really took to heart what TFC was! It was MY time; it was time for me to have for myself, to improve myself. As a mother and a wife, I seemed to put my needs last, always putting others first…my kids, my husband, my parents, anyone but me! In late December of 2011 I had one of those days that I felt that I HAD to put someone else’s needs in front of me and I skipped another workout. I was upset at myself for once again putting myself last, and then I received a call from my TFC trainer. I will say that I was introduced to TFC through this trainer because we were friends. She called me asking why I was not at class. While explaining to her that I once again put someone else’s needs in front of my mine, I broke down. 
That was my light bulb moment! After that I made a point to not miss class unless there was NO other way around it. Within a few weeks TFC introduced the Transformation Diet (which is the meal plan you receive when you sign up). This diet helped me to discover how I should be eating. I thought I ate well because I followed a Vegan diet; however that was not the case. After 1 month of following the diet, I lost a little more than 8% of my body weight … in ONE month! Everything was clicking, I was giving 100% at camp, I was eating better than I ever had been, I was exercising on my ‘off’ days. I was seeing a change in ME! I was happy, getting my self-confidence back, I was enjoying my family even more. Not only did I see and feel it but so did my husband and kids. 
My family and friends started to notice and ask what I was doing. I loved my new found love to life! 
By April, I decided that I really wanted to help others achieve their goals. I knew that I still needed to improve myself more, BUT I had it in my head that I wanted to become a TFC trainer. Not only did I want to help other ladies achieve their goals, I wanted to join this group of ladies that helped me achieve my goals. I wanted to become part of the TFC culture as a trainer and motivator!
In May I registered for my certification and started studying. In July I took my test and passed. By August I had secured a location and got set up to start my location in October. On October 1, 2012 I started my class. I have now been on this new journey for almost a year and I am amazed by it daily! I get the opportunity to lead 2 classes of wonderful, strong, amazing women. I am lucky to be their trainer! I wanted to do this to help women achieve their goals (no matter what they are), but once again I am floored by how much I have grown and how I have developed some amazing friendships with my chicks! TFC is not just a bootcamp, to me TFC is a way of life! We are healthy, fit, strong, encouraging, uplifting, motivating, transforming, driven, and fun group of women. We are here to help you with your fitness journey no matter where in your journey you are! Texas Fit Chicks gave me back my life and I thank Melody for that!   



What TFC Has Done For Me…From One Inspired Husband

Every day I’m truly thankful to be married such an amazing woman. I’m also very thankful that she found TFC a couple of years ago. My wife is Danyelle Becker and she’s the trainer for the East Plano Los Rios TFC location. Her journey to get to this point started many years ago. My wife and I met in high school and have been together ever since. We got married several years later and had twin boys over 5 years ago. We’ve been together for nearly 17 years (married 12 of those). Needless to say, we’ve been through a lot together.
Over the years, she started to gain weight and began to slowly lose self-confidence. This naturally put an underlying strain on our relationship. It was something very difficult to discuss, and painful to think about and live with for so long. She tried all sort of things to lose weight, but nothing worked. This pattern went on for over 10 years. Everything changed when Danyelle met Leigh Ann Gilbert and was introduced to TFC. 

Leigh Ann is an amazing trainer who teaches at the McKinney Crosspoint TFC location. They met around 3 years ago through our kids school. I am so thankful they did since our lives were forever changed once they connected. For those that don’t know Leigh Ann, she is the epitome of what a great trainer should be…someone who can motivate you, hold you accountable, and really kick your butt into shape! After a few months of subtle convincing Leigh Ann got Danyelle to try out a TFC class. 
She liked the first class and stuck with it. It was slow going for a few months until ‘the moment’ happened. One day in late 2011, Danyelle was talking with Leigh Ann and getting down on herself about not seeing the results she wanted. Leigh Ann says to her ‘What can you do to change? No more excuses.’ For whatever reason, those words really changed something in Danyelle’s head. She suddenly realized that if she wanted to change, she was the only person that could do it. TFC and Leigh Ann provided the opportunity for change, but it was up to her to work it. To me, this aha moment was like a spark. Every person has this energy inside of them. All that’s needed sometimes is for someone to give you that spark to ignite it. 

I view Leigh Ann and TFC as the spark that got into Danyelle’s head. After that moment, everything changed for the better. She began to eat better, work out harder, feel better, look better, smile more…you name it. She got so into the TFC program and lifestyle that she became a trainer herself. She took the steps to accomplish her goals and now her business is really starting to grow. It’s amazing to see the number of chicks Danyelle has inspired herself. I know of one boot camper turned trainer Danni (Melissa location) who started TFC after seeing Danyelle’s before and after photo and reading her success story. During the course of all of this, Danyelle has lost nearly 70 pounds, has become a certified trainer and is building a thriving TFC business. She has also done one other thing…inspire me to become a better person physically, mentally and emotionally. 

I wasn’t blessed with the big guy gene, so I’ve been small and scrawny most of my life. After seeing Danyelle’s transform firsthand, something changed mentally for me as well. I started working out with a lot more intensity on a daily basis. I’ve been going to the gym 6 days a week for months now and have no plans to stop any time soon. I’m in the process of transforming myself and it’s an awesome feeling! I’ve put on 10 pounds of muscle in the past year with the goal of adding 10 more. It will take a lot of time and hard work but I know it can be done. Danyelle proved to me that you can accomplish whatever you set your mind to. My self-confidence has gone up tremendously and I’m genuinely happier than I have ever been. Danyelle was and still is my inspiration. I have to keep up with her! Without TFC, none of this would have happened. Odds are, Danyelle and I would still be the same people we were a couple of years ago. The impact TFC and Leigh Ann have had on our family is immense and cannot be understated. I have never taken a TFC class, but I strongly feel that without TFC I would not be who I am today. 




I've been "thin" my whole life. As a child, I competed in cheerleading & was always very active. At 23, I was pregnant w/a high-risk pregnancy that landed me hospitalized three times - two of which I almost lost my life. After my son was born, the trauma took over & I gained alot of weight. For someone who was always a size 3/5, my new size 14 was a huge difference. I was having chronic joint pain, chronic fatigue, & some really weird "flu-like" symptoms. I spent the next few years in & out of the hospital & doctor offices begging for answers that no one could seem to give me. After 3 yrs of this cycle, I was diagnosed w/Lupus, RA, & Sjogrens - autoimmune diseases that affect different parts of the body. They put me on "preventative" medication that caused me to feel weird, but I was able to lose the weight & get back to my "pre-pregnancy" size. But, I wasn't healthy & I still felt awful. Often, the pain would be so bad I couldn't get out of bed. I began to isolate myself from my friends. Finally, one day, I woke up & thought: "This isn't me. I've got to make a change". I decided Lupus was NOT going to take me - I was gonna take Lupus. I checked my email & saw a Groupon for TFC. A friend was a trainer & several of my friends took her class, but I always made excuses & hid behind my symptoms. Not this time! I signed up & began class. I was hooked after the first week!! I signed up for another 6 months, & after 3 months noticed that I hadn't had any major flares, my joint pain was decreasing & my energy levels were increasing. This, literally, was saving my life! I decided right then & there that I had a mission to share this with others. I knew there are many people who suffer from situations similar to mine & I felt a burning desire to help them. So, I got certified in June 2013 & am ready & excited to "pay it forward" through leading this camp just as my trainer did for me.



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TFC has truly changed me. Physically and mentally. I get to do something I love to do and not something that just pays the bills. I started boot camp with TFC after trying 2 different personal trainers after I had my 2nd baby at almost 40 years old. It was so hard losing those almost 50 pounds that I gained on my almost 5'2" body. The first personal trainer was ok…the 2nd one, almost ok. I had trainers before but for some reason, I wasn't inspired. Them saying do a push up and me saying sure..how many? 
Then, I went into Run On one day to get some running shoes and I saw the fliers out for TFC. I grabbed one thinking I'd look into it more. I kept going on with my training and my running, but I didn't love it. I had pinned the TFC flier to my cork board on my fridge and one day decided to finally look into it. I called and got some info and then as one of those New Year's Resolutions, I signed up and never looked back. I did the 5:00 AM boot camp every day for almost a year. Then, I saw random Facebook posts about interested trainers for TFC. I thought that would be awesome but I can't do that…I'm too old…I have too much to do…I'll never have the time to study….My brain will never keep track of all that info needed to pass the certification test. 
I had actually started my ACE Group Fitness certification a few years prior but never got to finish because of LIFE. I had thought I'd get my yoga certification and open a studio. But, a divorce, single mom status, moving, job, new marriage and new baby…whew! So, after talking myself out of it…I did it on a whim. And, it truly makes me a better person. I smile more. I'm less stressed. I'm HAPPY. I LOVE being there at 5:00 and 6:00 am to get my Chicks going. I have a day job that I do for security….but, what drives me is being able to do what LeighAnne did for me. I get to provide them with the a butt kicking work out that will keep them going. It's not just the workout. It's the fact that they are making time for themselves. And, they have to make that time at the break of dawn before their families are awake. That motivates me and wants me to ensure that one hour that they get to focus on them…not the kids or the job or the family tasks…is exactly what they needed. 
They get to focus on their health and fitness and mind and I want to make it as close to perfect for them as I possibly can. I want them to see how much they've improved. And, be proud of themselves. And, its sooo good for me, too. I get to watch them progress. I'm amazed at my clients that barely moved their knees to do a squat and now they get that booty LOW! And, those triceps push ups…seriously mad skills from my Chicks when they wanted to quit on their first day. 
All in all…I am so incredibly lucky that I got to be a client and have one of our amazing TFC Trainers get me into shape and then turn around and get to do something that I absolutely love to do and had been working towards for years. Thank you Melody and LeighAnne for allowing me such an awesome opportunity. I just want to pay it forward and hopefully be as inspiring and motivating as I can.
 


When I was asked to share what Texas Fit Chicks has done for me, I immediately thought about the fact that my full time job is phasing out and will be gone in December. Essentially I will be “retired” from the corporate world. For more than 10 years, I’ve been working 60-80 hour work weeks between May and November in the event industry, specifically focusing on corporate picnics and weddings… But thanks to Texas Fit Chicks, that’s all changing!
As some of you have seen in my bio, I became a client in June 2011. I quickly fell in love with everything TFC! Both of my parents were very sick at the time and I was determined not to grow old, overweight and ill if I had anything to do with it. I’m the child who won the responsibility of taking them to doctor appointments, grocery shopping, help with laundry – whatever needed to be done and it was important that I had good health and lots of energy to take care of them plus work all of those hours.

Something was mentioned in class one day about TFC expanding and I quickly jumped on the opportunity to become a trainer (Seriously…less than a month after it was mentioned, I was sitting in a personal trainer certification class). I lost my sweet mom in June 2012 and the last week of July, I started with a 5am class in Anna, Texas on the Brookshires grocery store parking lot. In just over a year, I’ve expanded to three classes and my attendance has just about tripled from that first class on July 24, 2012!

I’ve since bought a house and moved back to Anna, my hometown, to be close to my “work” and family and help my father who is battling numerous health issues. After this December, Texas Fit Chicks will be my full time job. I feel so blessed to 1) own my own business 2) call Texas Fit Chicks my family (it certainly shouldn’t be called work) and 3) know that every day of the week I am inspiring the ladies in my camps (and even men who are getting on the fitness wagon) to live a happy, healthy and fit life for whatever their personal reasons may be.
 
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