Joshua Texas Fit Chicks: Chick Transformation!!

Lessons from my Weight Loss Journey

By Cathleen, a Joshua Texas Fit Chick

Down 109.7 pounds

I’ve been overweight most of my life. On occasion, I would lose using a fad diet, but the weight came back, and then some. Excuse after excuse were no longer an option when, in January of 2014, I retired. To what do I owe my success?  

• Pray. Pray daily for the strength to continue weight loss successes and to be an encouragement to others.  Being an encouragement to others is another critical source of inspiration.  
• Keep a food journal. I use the “LoseIt” app, but there are other options and simple paper works well. The key is to record every morsel you put in your mouth.  When I go to a birthday party, I eat cake!   As you progress with journaling, begin to analyze the quality of your food choices.
• Move! Start small. I started walking outside 2-3 times per week for 30 minutes. Bad weather cannot be an excuse. I joined the YMCA and began to increase the amount and number of times per week I exercised. Over time, my expectation grew to engage in rigorous physical activity each day. Coming close to this goal is satisfactory.
• Social connections are KEY to success. I found Joshua Texas Fit Chicks when I needed it most. Honestly, I hid my self-consciousness when I first attended, but I did what I was able. Hollie Rae is absolutely the most supportive, encouraging, driven trainer with whom I’ve worked. She modifies all work-outs and has a 6th sense in regard to the progress of each individual, knowing inherently what each of us needs. When the 1st fitness test was announced, I wanted to crawl under a rock.  I could not do one sit-up, couldn’t plank, and couldn’t do real push-ups. Even so, the camaraderie among the group is amazing.  Everyone is accepted, encouraged, and the feeling is amazing. The private Facebook page is a source of support, recipes, encouragement, and deep friendships. The best part? In a short time with Joshua Fit Chicks, I am able to perform sit-ups, plank for 90 seconds, complete push-ups, wall sit for 3 minutes, and the list goes on.  I am stronger than I've ever been.  
• Accept that you will have set backs.  Simple, but difficult to accept.  On a cruise, I gained 7 pounds.  When I returned, I got right back on my plan.  My sweet Daddy passed away, I gained weight.  Stress is the devil. I stuck to my plan and eventually, with determination, outlasted the gains and began to lose again.  My most recent challenge is shoulder surgery.  The recovery process is brutal and long term.  I am struggling more than I ever have with journaling my food, the food choices I make, with accepting I cannot exercise and must rest to let my body heal.  But, I will return to being “in the weight loss zone”.
  
  
  Joshua Texas Fit Chicks 6:30-7:30pm MTTH www.TexasFitChicks.com/hollie