Stacey, from our C Street location in Cedar Rapids, IA shares her fitness transformation story:

Stacey with her family. Her husband Lew is punching and kicking his way to better fitness at Farrell's now too!

Finding time to exercise with 4 children all under the age of 7 became my first excuse.  I watched my weight fluctuate up and down throughout the years. I placed my own health as my last priority as we learned our youngest son was displaying severe developmental and physical disabilities and then even started losing skills he once had. Finding answers to his regression became our primary focus.  In 2006, when he was 8, we finally were given a diagnosis, but were devastated to find he was suffering from a fatal genetic disorder for which there is no current cure. The debilitating disorder,  Sanfilippo Syndrome,  slowly  is taking away  his ability to walk, talk, and feed himself, causes seizures and terrible muscle and joint pain. Faced with the reality of his future, but trying to remain positive, I drifted into our busy daily schedules all along forgetting my own health.

My eating and exercise habits worsened. I was eating  all the wrong foods sporadically throughout the day, sometimes getting so busy with the care of my son , household chores and family activities,  I sometimes forgot  to eat at all. My health spiraled out of control, my back hurt all of the time from the daily lifting and repositioning required in the care of our son, I had terrible headaches, and  I had no energy. November 2009, my eye opener came at my yearly physical. I stepped on the scale and was horrified to see it read 198 lbs. When did I let myself get to the point where I almost weighed 200 lbs?  My weight was an issue but also my blood pressure was so high that the doctor took it three times.  My family has a history of high blood pressure and heart disease, so a lecture from my physician was not necessary. I knew that if I did make changes, I would continue on this downward spiral and would not be around to take care of my family, nor be able to provide the adequate care our son needed and deserved. I started slowly at home by walking on the treadmill and watching my diet more carefully. I became discouraged losing only 10 lbs in 4 months. March of 2010, my husband gave me the push that I needed and convinced me to join Farrell’s. He said he would make sure things were taken care of at home so that I could make it to the 6:30pm fitness kickboxing and dynamic strength training classes every night.

I remember my first class clearly, I hurt everywhere! The fact that I could not breathe during the group fitness class was even more evident of how out of shape I really was. I could not do a 6 inch leg lift and remember thinking , “What have I gotten myself into.”  I told myself that our son experienced pain daily from his disorder, and smiles despite it,  I was determined to stick with it!

I watched my body transform, the inches crept off and each week I felt my stamina increase.  As my 10 week session came close to the end, I felt better than I had in years.  I followed the nutrition plan and I found that eating every 2-3 hours kept me from craving my comfort foods and by staying hydrated and eliminating the caffeine, I had more energy and less headaches. My sleep improved, my back stopped hurting, my mood improved and the stress of our daily life became more manageable. I looked forward to my 45 minute workouts every day.  After seeing my before and after photos at the end of the 10 weeks, I knew from the dramatic transformation Farrell’s had helped me achieve, I was adopting a new way of life that meant continuing on with the nutrition plan and working out daily.

21 months later, I am stronger, healthier and 45 pounds lighter. I looked back at my original fitness evaluation scores from my 10 week orientation; I was only able to do 17 pushups and 19 sit-ups in a minute. Now I can do 68 pushups and 62 sit-ups!!  I am turning 40 in a few days and I feel stronger and look healthier than I did in my twenties!

My transformation motivated my husband to even give it try. My husband is a former full back for the Iowa Hawkeyes and it took much convincing on my part to persuade him that the cardio kickboxing and resistance bands strength training could help more than his regimen  of  jogging and weight lifting, as long as he stuck to the nutrition plan with me.  In his first 10 weeks he dropped 35 lbs. He has since signed on as a FIT member and says that he will not be going back to his old workouts!

I am able to now pay if forward as an instructor.  I want others to know that the reward of just 45 minutes a day will be a stronger, healthier, leaner you! I hear others tell me that I am an inspiration to them and they have realized that if I am able to make a workout a priority in my day with our schedule and hectic life, so can they!   I tell everyone that my daily workout at Farrell’s is the best therapy for a stressful life! I look forward to a workout every day, no excuses! Walking through the door makes me smile even before the workout begins, I know how good I will feel at the end of each class!!

Stacey, thank you for sharing your fitness tranformation story!  We can all face the challenges life brings more effectively with a strong and healthy body. 

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