How did you hear about AFS?
Easy, I did a Google search.
What/Who inspired you to take the first step toward getting in shape?
The year before starting with AFS I had horrible Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) and ended up gaining weight. The fall was coming up and I wanted to be proactive against gaining weight and taking care of my emotional health. When I met with medical professionals they were open to me trying exercise, nutrition and light therapy before medication, in my case it worked!
What initially intrigued you about our program/why did you sign up?
I was already walking quite a bit and wanted to start doing weight lifting and toning to make it more complete. I was super ecstatic about home workouts! The fact that this is something that my practitioner would provide for me is exactly what I was looking for.
How did you achieve the success you’ve seen thus far?
Honestly, my motivation coming to AFS was quite different than anything I had experienced before. My motivation was simply for health and feeling well. I didn’t want seasonal slump. I made the connection between food/exercise to health/wellness after I started at AFS. I was impressed by how nutrition and exercise went so closely together. I’ve worked with trainers in the past and joined other gyms. I’ve also worked with a nutritionist and done food diaries. All of which provided results. I just never did them together at the same time like I’m doing with AFS. The accountability is excellent as well. Just reporting back and turning something in makes a big difference that I’m not doing this alone.
So, as you can imagine, I was blown away by how much I feel better and from noticing a difference in my body. I am also happy that working with AFS has became a long-term commitment. Honestly, this is the lowest weight I’ve been at in my life, even in high school! Yes, my current weight is the lowest it’s ever been! I faced crazy setbacks during this process, a knee injury, car accident, job loss and now I’ve relocated out of state. The process is about making the connection on how health and wellness impact all areas of my life. I would be a complete fool to give up on my health and wellness during life setbacks. This is a life changing process.
What changes have you noticed in your life since starting with AFS?
Eating balanced and healthy is everything, even more than exercise. I was in physical therapy and unable to attend WLS classes and I was still losing weight from keeping up the good habits I had in place.
Advice you can offer others looking to make changes you’ve made?
We all come with bad baggage that keeps us from being healthy. Mine is Seasonal Affective Disorder, laziness, and unhealthy binge eating when depressed. I just go with the flow and just continue learning more about myself.