Fit Chick Transformation: Pflugerville Texa Fit Chicks!

Up until 3 years ago I rarely, if ever, worked out. I played sports and was active in school but after that I was able to stay thin without worrying about what I ate or how much I worked out. That is, until I had my daughter. My daughter was 7 when I finally decided I had enough. My best friend was going to Texas Fit Chicks in Round Rock and told me there was about to be one opening in Pflugerville.

I did the first trial class and then immediately signed up for 6 months before I changed my mind or chickened out. When I first started I could barely do a lunge and didn’t even know what a burpee or a plank was. I loved how the workouts were different each time so I never lost interest or if it felt too hard, I could tell myself it would change soon. Almost instantly I recognized how much better I felt and that I was in a better mood on the days I worked out. Knowing I was doing something good for my body and that I had accomplished something before most people even woke up, felt really good. I soon began to feel myself getting stronger and able to do more. 

Unfortunately, it took me some time to realize if I was going to lose weight I needed to change my eating habits, as well. After about a year of working out with Briana, I finally started making some changes with my diet. I spent the next year with my weight going down and then back up…I was dieting, I wasn’t making a lifestyle change. I am slow learner but I eventually started realizing the better I ate, the better I felt, the better my workout was…and then I started seeing results on the scale and in my clothes. While I still would like to lose another 10lbs or so and continue getting stronger and replacing fat with muscle, I am excited to say I have lost 38lbs, 17.5 inches, and decreased by body fat by almost 8%. Most importantly though, I am setting a good example for my now 10 year old daughter and that is what I am most proud of. Thank you Briana and TFC for changing my life, and that of my family, for the better. ~ Jerrilyn

Giving Thanks at Fit Chicks!!!

Thanksgiving quotes from a 

few of our Fit Chicks! 

"You all have made me feel so welcome, the best welcome I've had since moving here, no judgement just friendship. My heart is over flowing with excitement"

"I am thankful that Tammy Kaakouch accepts that I come almost every night with a mini-me. Not only does she accept this "helper" but has gone above and beyond to make her feel included and loved. You make me feel like a part of a village and my TFC time during the week is definitely something I look forward to. You're not just helping me get in shape physically, you are helping me find my balance emotionally and mentally."

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Fit Chick Fighter ~ Valerie

Here is a story written by Valerie, a client of Texas Fit Chicks Anna, who was diagnosed with lymphoma in May. She's a true fighter!! We are so thankful that she has chosen to share her inspiring story on the Fit Chicks blog. 

(This story was started in May 2016:)

Not sure how to start this out. I'm not a blogger or a writer by any means, but I thought I'd give a little background on my diagnosis of Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma on May 17th, 2016. Trust me, it was as much of a surprise to me as it was to any of you!!

When I think back over the last 7'ish weeks, I can see where things started feeling "off", but as someone who is never sick, I chalked it all up to common issues on Dr. Google. Night sweats and hot flashes=early menopause. I mean, I am almost 40, so it's possible. Light-headedness and dizzy spells=too much caffeine or lack of sleep due to a 15 month old. Full feeling in my head and swollen face=sinus issues. It is spring in Texas after all!!

So I never REALLY thought it was a big concern until Mother's Day weekend. I did the Head for the Cure 5k with a group from my work. I am not a runner, so I walked most of it and felt fine. However, when I see the pictures of me at the end of the race, I am un-recognizable. My face is puffed up to about twice its normal size and it's not a skinny face to begin with!! I again chalked it up to allergies, since we had been in the woods, and went home, took some Claritin and a nap. It never really got any better and then I woke up on Sunday and my neck was swollen. I looked like a line-backer that had been hitting the steroids..HARD! Veins standing up and everything! I called an urgent care place and got in pretty quick. I was diagnosed with an allergic reaction and given a steroid shot, Benadryl shot, steroid pills to take home and an epi-pen in case I started having trouble breathing. This helped for a few days but by Wednesday, I was puffed up again. I called my PCP on Thursday and he said I had not been given a strong enough dose of steroids. So he upped my dose, gave me a cortisone shot for the swelling and sent me on my way. I was expecting a significant improvement by Friday because I started to look a little better by Thursday afternoon.

By Friday morning, I was no better, so I went back to work. I work for Emergency Department physicians and several of them just happened to be having a meeting in our office that morning. Three of them looked at me and told me to go to the ED now! They called and spoke to one of our docs that was working and told her I was coming. She got right on it, chest X-ray, EKG, lab work, CT scan. Chest X-Ray=clear, EKG=good, Labwork=good, CT scan=not clear. Large mass on the back of my sternum that was pressing on my Vena Cava. So I had Superior Vena Cava Syndrome or SVCS. Please DO NOT Google that!!! Terrifying articles!!

Anyway, I was admitted after that and spent the weekend in a bit of limbo-hoping for the best and preparing for the worst. The prelim labs came in Monday morning and showed that is was more than likely lymphoma, but we didn't know what kind. The oncologist came in and kind of described the treatment plans and told us that it was treatable and possibly curable, which was very good news. She wanted to do a PET scan and a bone marrow biopsy to make sure it hadn't spread, so that set off more alarm bells. We hadn't even thought about this thing spreading, yet. She did say it was unlikely because it had apparently grown to this point in a matter of weeks, it was VERY fast.

Either way, Chemo started on Tuesday and I was given a pre-chemo mix of things to fight off nausea and other possible side effects. That first day was pretty nerve wracking but I never got sick or had any pain and as of today, I'm still feeling pretty good. I'm still very swollen and mentally and emotionally exhausted from all of this, but I can say that I've (almost) made it through the first 5-day chemo treatment and I'm getting ready to go home tomorrow.

We've been told that this next week may be a challenge. This will be the week that my blood counts drop and my immune system crashes, so I will probably be pretty fatigued by mid-week. We are still hopeful that it won't be that bad, since I've reacted so well to the chemo. It's going to be a crazy few months and we don't really know what to expect, but we will keep you updated as we can until this thing is over.

One thing that we do know is that it WILL NOT end well for cancer!!

Fast forward approximately 5 months and things are looking good!  My last chemo treatment ended on September 2, 2016. I had a follow up PET scan on September 15 and the tumor was still shrinking.  My doctor said that I could stop all of my meds and basically return to my “normal” life.  Since then I’ve returned to work full time, my hair is starting to grow back and I have just completed my first week back at Texas Fit Chicks Anna with Trina’s Fit Chick Tribe! It sure feels good to feel good!!

I truly believe that my treatment would have taken a much more serious toll on my body had I not been working out with TFC during the months before my diagnosis. That and the support of my amazing family and friends!

Join Anna Texas Fit Chicks:

Trina Harris

Texas Fit Chicks Boot Camp

One Star Directing Trainer

Certified Personal Trainer

Trina@texasfitchicks.com

www.texasfitchicks.com

Like them on FaceBook

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Texas-Fit-Chicks-Anna/373610532706322?ref=hl

Emily's Fit Chick Transformation!!

Thank you Emily, at Mansfield Texas Fit Chicks, for sharing your story with us. 

On April 1st, I started Texas Fit Chicks. The first class had me SOOOO winded. All I heard from the trainers mouth was 100 jumping jacks, as a " warm-up". I thought to myself, "the warm-up?! Is she serious? How am I ever going to get thru this LONG, HOT, and TIRING next 50 minutes?" Before I knew it, the work out had flown by and I was coming 3x a week. With the help of my awesome trainer, supportive group of ladies that are now my friends, I kept showing up. I came to realize that the best feeling wasn't the numbers on the scale going down, but that I was doing better every class. I could handle 100 jumping jacks and more than 3 burpees a minute. So, fast forward to August, and I had lost 20 pounds, over 30 inches, and I was so pleased that my size 16 jeans that I was squeezing into, were way too big. This has been quite the experience, and I'm just getting started! 

Planning Your Thanksgiving Meal?

Keep your holiday healthy with these recipes! Thanksgiving is right around the corner and we know you are planning your menus!! Here are a few festive and healthy recipes that everyone will love!!

Pumpkin Fluff:

Mix canned pumpkin with Zero fat Cool Whip and a large fat free vanilla instant pudding (adjust amounts to taste) Makes Pumpkin Fluff, low cal and yummy!

Crust-less Pumpkin Pie:

15 oz can pumpkin
¾ cup Splenda®
½ cup Egg Beaters®
1½ cup nonfat milk
½ tsp salt
1 tbsp flour
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Beat all ingredients together. Spray pie plate with cooking spray. Pour batter into pie plate and bake for 15 minutes at 400°. Reduce heat to 350° and bake for an additional 45 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.
Top with a dollop of fat-free whipped cream (not included in nutritional information).
Nutrition FactsServing Size: 1/4 of 9" pie Servings: 4 Squares: ■ Calories: 64 Total Fat: 0g Cholesterol: 2mg Sodium: 893mg Carbohydrates: 17g Fiber: 1g Sugars: 1g Protein: 4g
"Serving size: ONE QUARTER OF THE PIE! WHOO HOO! Go ahead ... have seconds!

Pumpkin Parfaits:

1 box fat-free, sugar-free vanilla pudding mix
1¾ cup nonfat milk
15 oz canned pumpkin
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
½ cup Splenda®
2 cups fat-free whipped topping
Mix first five ingredients together in a bowl for two minutes. Hold a long tapered glass at a slight angle. Spoon ½ cup of pumpkin pudding mixture into the bottom. Top with with 1½ tbsp fat free whipped topping . Repeat layers. Chill until ready to serve. The hardest part of this recipe is not getting the pudding on the side of the glass. Spoon slowly and carefully.

Dirty Potatoes:
6 cups diced potatoes with skin
4 tbsp fat-free cream cheese
4 tbsp fat-free half & half
1 tbsp fat-free spray butter
2 tsp crushed garlic
2 tsp garlic salt

Wash potatoes and cut into large cubes, but don't peel. Place in a large pot, cover with water and boil until tender. Drain. Beat with an electric mixer on low, or mash remaining ingredients together.
Nutrition FactsServing Size: ½ Cup Servings: 12 Squares: ■ Calories: 71 Total Fat: 0g Cholesterol: 2mg Sodium: 69mg Carbohydrates: 14g Fiber: 2g Sugars: 1g Protein: 3g

No Guilt Gravy:

2 cans 98% fat-free cream of chicken soup
6 oz fat-free chicken broth
¼ tsp Gravy Master® seasoning
½ tsp garlic powder
1 tsp poultry seasoning
½ tsp pepper
¼ cup nonfat milk
1 tbsp cornstarch
In a medium saucepan, mix cream of chicken soup, chicken broth, Gravy Master®, garlic powder, poultry seasoning and pepper. Heat and simmer for 7 minutes. In a small bowl mix together nonfat milk and cornstarch. Bring gravy mixture to a boil and gradually stir in the milk mixture. Continue to cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute or until thickened. Be careful not to let the bottom scorch.

Nutrition FactsServing Size: 1/3 Cup Servings: 12 Squares: ■ Calories: 37 Total Fat: 1g Cholesterol: 4mg Sodium: 393mg Carbohydrates: 6g Fiber: 0g Sugars: 0g Protein: 1g

Vicki's Fit Chick Transformation!!

Let me introduce you to my amazing chick Vicki! She is 61 years YOUNG, she keeps her mind and body moving and doesn't let any thing slow her down! She will tell ya, most of the chicks in our class are about half her age BUT she isn't focused on that - She is focused on herself! She works crazy hard, she leaves drenched in sweat and attends other TFC camps to get in extra workouts! She thought not much had been changing for her, until I snapped the most recent Unicorn pic of her. Left was March and right is October! Here's her TFC journey in her words:

I had a workout partner and we went to the gym almost 5 days a week. She started to get tired of the workouts and wanted to go back to another workout program.  I retired on April 1, 2015, and kept going to the gym but it wasn’t the same.  The end of January 2016 my niece asked me if I wanted to try Texas Fit Chicks, and I said sure.  I signed up as an official member February 1, 2015. 

I wasn’t looking for a quick fix because I knew I didn’t gain the weight overnight so it wasn’t going to come off overnight.  At first I was more interested in what the scale showed, but the more I worked out I became more interested in getting stronger and building muscle.  I knew from watching my mother-in-law and father-in-law I was going to need strength the older I got.  The saying is true if you don’t use it you lose it. Also, I wanted to keep my cholesterol down. 

After the first week I was hooked. I had a place to work out with other ladies, and I didn’t have to figure out what I was going to do each day I worked out!!  The Awesome thing about Texas Fit Chicks is every day it is something different and there is always a modification if you aren’t able to do some exercise. The other thing I didn’t like about working out by myself was I never knew if I was doing an exercise or machine correctly. Our Awesome trainer, Christy Riley, is always willing to help you and show you the correct form.  She is really concerned about you becoming the person you want to be and you cannot find that in a gym!!! 

I feel so much better since starting with Texas Fit Chicks. It’s so good to be able to work out first thing in the morning and then go about what I need to get done the rest of the day instead of trying to fit my workouts in through the day!! 

I get excited about the small things in life so taking one day at a time and one step at a time with Texas Fit Chicks works for me!!
Vicki