60day Challenge: Intimidating but Worth It

“How bad do you want this?” is the question I asked myself almost every day of this 60day journey. As a 28-year-old female that has struggled with her weight since middle school and then joined the Army for 6 years, being in the best shape of my life and then gaining it all back shortly after getting out of the military, dealing with mental health issues, I was struggling to find myself again. I got out of the military in 2018 and every day after I gained more and more weight, I needed something to help me find myself again. I joined Life Time in July but as soon as I saw the banner for the 60day Challenge I knew right then and there that that’s exactly what I needed to do to get myself back, physically and emotionally.

My goal for this 60day Challenge was not only to lose weight but to feel comfortable in my own skin. I didn’t want to hide under big shirts anymore or think about how others looked at me every second of the day. I wanted to feel healthy again and be able to do physical activities without feeling like I couldn’t breathe. When I started this journey, I told myself without fail I will go to the gym every day, no matter the excuse I would give myself. Even if I didn’t feel great that day I at least went to the gym and swam for 20 minutes or sat in the Sauna stretching for 20 minutes. I forced myself to do things that I might not have wanted to do at the moment but if I would just do them, I would feel 100% better when I was done.

I am so thankful to have found a club like Life Time. I don’t even like calling Life Time a gym anymore because it’s more than just a gym to me, it’s my second home. Being in the military I have had some injuries that I did not think I was going to be able to come back from. When I started this 60day journey I knew I needed more than just doing workouts that I could fumble my way through, I needed to heal my past injuries first. The best thing I ever did was make an appointment with our Chiropractor at Life Time, Dr. Cameron G. Without Dr. Cam, I do not think I would have made it through this 60day journey. He not only helped me heal my injuries, but he also gave me the confidence to do workouts I didn’t think my body was capable of. I started to love going to Life Time and seeing the progress I made or seeing how much further I could push myself with each exercise. I started by swimming and worked myself up to running again. I have recently in the past couple of weeks been joining the small group classes. I never thought that I was going to be comfortable working out in front of others, instead, I have made friends and can’t wait for the next class.

Working out wasn’t my only goal, I wanted to feel healthier which meant I had to work on my nutrition. I needed to get away from emotional eating and start focusing on intentional eating. I used the Life Time Training App and put in everything I ate. I absolutely loved the habits every week. It gave me a chance to build on my habits. Starting a fitness journey and going full force was something I wasn’t a stranger to, but I would almost immediately fall off the wagon every single time. It was too much to keep track of all at once, especially starting something new. Being able to build on my habits each week helped me stay focused on one habit before adding in a new one. I also liked watching others work out and complete their habits every day through the app because it pushed me to also do so.

This journey has not only changed my physical appearance but has changed my mental aspect of life completely. I enjoy getting out of the house and going shopping and trying on new clothes that I never would have thought I would wear. I love going to Life Time and connecting with a whole new family. I have made friends on this journey and we pushed each other to better ourselves. These are friendships that I would have never made if I didn’t do this challenge if I didn’t push myself out of my comfort zone if I didn’t ask myself “How bad do you want this?”