What motivated you to start at AFS?
After I turned 50, I started to gain weight; my diet and what I thought was exercise just wasn’t working. It got to the point where I didn’t have energy and the simple things that I never had an issue with just made me feel “ugh.” One day, my friend Patti told me about AFS, so I decided to look it up on the web. I liked what I saw, so I decided that it was either now or never and called to set up an appointment that same day. The intake manager at the time, Nate, showed me around and I started realizing that I needed to make some changes–I just felt unhappy with how I felt and how I looked so I was really excited that this was an opportunity for me to make a change. I was then assigned to Kate, and the rest was history.
What was your biggest fear before you started here?
My biggest fear was that I wasn’t an athlete and I’m really not athletic, so I was pretty intimidated initially. I wasn’t sure I could do the exercises, let alone keep up with everyone else, so I was very worried. Once I started though, all the trainers made me feel really comfortable and, if I felt intimidated or couldn’t do a certain exercise, each one of them was more than happy to make modifications for me. That part made me feel great in terms of knowing that I was in good hands from that point on.
What changes are you currently working on?
I’m currently working on building up my strength. My biggest challenge is incorporating enough protein–I got the fruits and veggies down, but for some reason, protein has always been a struggle for me. Kate’s been really supportive though; she’s been emailing me with suggestions every week. It really helps because we’ll correspond where we give each other our thoughts on my daily eating habits and she’ll give me different goals to hit all the time. Overall, I’ve definitely improved; before, I probably would have just lived on salads.
I’m also working hard to build more muscle. You know how some people are naturally pretty muscular? Well, I’ve never been like that, so I’m really looking to get stronger and more toned.
Tell us about a moment where you were really proud of yourself!
I would say that I’m just really proud of myself for actually sticking with an exercise program. I used to not incorporate exercise as much, so it feels good to find something that really works and I’m happy with the support I get from everyone here. I feel like it’s so unique and there’s no other program out there quite like AFS. Overall, I’m also proud of myself for meeting and maintaining my goals. I’ve tried things in the past like Weight Watchers where you lose the weight, gain it back, lose it again, gain more back, so on and so forth… so this is really a breath of fresh air being able to stay consistent.
What advice would you give others looking to start with AFS?
I think that this really is THE place to meet your goals–whether it’s to lose weight, become stronger, improve your overall health, or just become more confident. As long as you stick to the program and communicate with your practitioner, you will succeed. I was nervous too, but you really have nothing to worry about. If the trainers see a new face, they’ll immediately help you feel like you’re welcome here and give you the confidence to make it happen. It’s a great feeling knowing that, although I used to be nervous, I can rejoice in the fact that 90% of my wardrobe had to be replaced since I started here; not the weight so much, but the inches flew off!
I honestly wish AFS was around 20 years ago. Everyone was going through a bunch of diet fads and exercises, so AFS would’ve really cut through all the nonsense over the past 20 years and given a lot of people what they REALLY need 🙂