News / Resources

Awesome Client of the Month: Kathy

Meet Kathy, a busy working mom who found herself overweight and tired all the time. Kathy would go to work, come home and be too tired for anything so she would go to bed. When Kathy came to us at SNW she wanted to no longer be tired, to lose weight and become more active. She had torn the meniscus of her knee about four years ago and didn’t know how to be active with it. It hurt whenever she tried to do things. Her co-worker Colleen had been coming to us for some time and told her she should give it a try. Kathy had tried other programs in the past, but the success was short lived; she lost the weight only to regain it again.

When Kathy came to us she started out with the Healthy3 Weight Management Solution. I hadn’t personally spent much time with Kathy as she did personal training with Derek and class with Chris. So it was really fun getting to know this dynamic and amazing woman. Here is a snapshot of our conversation:

Why did you start with SNW?
I was tired of feeling tired and in pain all the time. Colleen talked about SNW and so I decided, on New Years Eve, that I needed to change things. I had finally hit bottom and needed to do something.

I had tried Weight Watchers and L.A. Weight Loss; they had worked but the weight didn’t stay off. I wanted to get more active; I was tired of feeling 80 years old.

What were your goals?
To become more active, be able to do more things, to lose some weight (esp. to help with my knee pain), to have more energy. I always felt run down and exhausted after work. I would work, eat and sleep; that was getting old.

Did you reach your goals?
I’m not quite there yet. I’m about half way. I have lost 26.4 pounds. I have increased my activity. I am no longer tired all the time. I can walk our 20 acres of property with the dogs (which I couldn’t do before without my knee pain). My new goal is to get down to a size 10; I started at sizes 20-22.

How did you do it?
I joined Healthy3. I was a sugar addict; I had tried to get off it before without success by doing a three-day detox. It made me shaky so I gave up. This time was different, maybe because I was ready for it or maybe because it was a little different. But this time I didn’t have any problems with the detox. As a matter of fact I felt better right away. My energy increased almost immediately.

Was personal training what you expected?
It was everything and more. I am a “Biggest Loser” addict. I told Derek I wanted him to get in my face, to tell me what to do. And he did that. He was a great encourager for me; he was always finding ways to make me realize I could do things I never thought I could. He would tell me “all I want you to do is one”. I would do one, then, so proud of myself I would do three or four more!

What was your favorite part of your journey?
The nutritional part was my favorite. I needed the direction on nutrition. You think you know what you need to do and how to eat but the reality is you don’t. The nutritional education changed how I looked at food. Before Helathy3 I ate maybe two vegetables a week. Now I eat 4-5 servings per day! The detox helped me taste food differently. I could start tasting the sweetness in vegetables. It gave me “new” taste buds for eating the good stuff. The bad stuff doesn’t taste so good anymore. I am noticing how salty food really is now. I am looking forward to doing it (detoxing) again; I never expected that

Were there any unexpected pleasantries that come through the process?
Being able to do the abdominal exercises with a medicine ball was so great. There is no way I could have done that before. Being able to do exercises my 22-year old daughter can’t is amazing! I love watching my strength build up.

How do you plan on continuing that success?
I will continue with the classes at SNW and add personal training back in for 3 months or so. I plan to keep plugging away at the nutrition stuff. It is a little harder now without the weekly weigh-ins, but I’m going to keep doing what I have been doing.

If you could pick out one thing that you learned that you would like to share with the world what would it be?
I realized injury or not there are ways to adapt exercises that make it work for you. If you get into a structured program you can overcome old injuries, weaknesses and excuses for not working out.

What piece of advice would you like to pass on to others who are just beginning their weight loss journey? What words of encouragement would you give someone who is thinking about beginning but feels overwhelmed?
Everybody has got to start at a certain point. You have to do what you can do. Try not to be discouraged by what others can do and you can’t; you will get there some day. Just do what you can do at the level you can do it.

Is there anything else you would like to add?
People look at Derek and think he is so young, there is no way he has any idea about what an overweight 40-year old woman is going through. But they are wrong; he is awesome! He did great with understanding. He talks you through things and makes you think you can do what ever he throws at you; he’s a great inspirational trainer. Derek had me doing things I never thought I could do!

Thanks Kathy for allowing me to share your story with others. You are an inspiration to many out there. Thanks for working hard and congratulations on you success. Cheers to many more years of enjoying movement and living a healthier lifestyle!