Success Story: Codie
I first encountered Defining Eve through a friend that asked me to join her in a Bridal Boot Camp class to prepare for her upcoming wedding (I was a bridesmaid). When I got engaged myself later in the year, I decided that I would make slimming down and toning up my wedding goal. I had fallen in love with the fun and finesse of Defining Eve’s Bridal Boot Camp and rather than live vicariously through my friend’s fantastic results, I decided that I would invest in the route of one-on-one personal training.
To give you some background, I had been an athlete and competitor my previous life and continued to play soccer year-round and hockey in the winter. Exercise wasn’t something that was new to me, and I would have easily considered myself to be fit. After all, I was playing sports 3-4 times a week. With a job that saw me sitting all day long I became more prepared to accept the fact that I could no longer consider the sports that I played to be an effective method of weight management, because clearly they weren’t.
Sure, Bridal Boot Camp at Defining Eve kicked my butt, though admittedly it was the one-on-one training sessions that made the difference. Within a few sessions I was humbled. After a few short weeks I started shedding layers of insulation that were simply not needed (regardless of our harsh winters). And a few months later I found myself doing exercises that I never thought I could do, including jumping up onto a stability ball – I love telling people that I can do that!
Overall, I’ve lost more than 15 pounds, have gained muscle where I didn’t realize I had any and am finally on my way to having a flat stomach (believe me, that has been a life-long goal). The best reward though was on my wedding day when everyone kept commenting on how amazing and fit I looked – it made all of the killer sessions worth it.
I’ve realized that I can actually continue to change my body so that is what keeps me going. I don’t want to go back to my old weight, and now I know I don’t have to. I have a lot of support from my husband, family and friends as well and I’ve found that the more I shared my success with them, the more it kept me motivated to keep going. If friends and family know my goals, then I want to make sure that I don’t let them down. Also, I was finally able to fit back into my Grade 12 grad dress – 10 years later! If that’s not motivation enough, I don’t know what is.
I’ve never been much of a gym person but Defining Eve feels more like I’m going to a friend’s house to work out. I feel now that I am at a healthy weight for my body type, so maintaining it within 5 pounds permanently is a good measure of my ongoing fitness success.
My advice? Tell as many people as you know about what you are doing. You’re more likely to show up if you know someone else is counting on you.
