Success Story: Tracy
How many women think that their lives are too busy for exercise with work, kids, and other commitments? Plenty. And while I will admit that I used to be one of those women, I am proud to say that I no longer am.
I was always very active while going to school, and played plenty of sports. After finishing, I found it more and more difficult to make exercise a priority, but still tried various activities, from running and biking to badminton and yoga. I’d wanted to make a lifestyle change, as well as a long-term commitment to exercise, for awhile, but with a busy job and a family, making time for exercise was constantly being bumped to the bottom of my lists of things to do.
My turning point was when I realized that I was having difficulty keeping up with my two active children, aged 7 and 9 years old. I felt like I was never in the mood, or I didn’t have the energy to get out and about with them and do things together. It seemed that I was letting life’s stresses get the better of me, and was getting more and more unhappy. That’s when I gave Defining Eve a call.
I had done group exercise before, but determined that I wanted to be more committed to a program. In February 2007, I made the decision to work with a personal trainer 3 times a week, knowing that if I had someone counting on me to be there, I would be held accountable and it would be very hard to back-out.
Over the past three months, I have noticed a huge change in my energy levels. Now when I drop my kids off at soccer, I run—not walk—to catch up with them when they forget something. Even my eating habits have changed. I make healthier food choices without consciously thinking about it, and have replaced my regular pop-drinking habit with water.
I didn’t come to Defining Eve to lose weight; I came because I didn’t feel “fit”. It was, however, a pleasant surprise when I went shopping recently, and got to the change room with outfits to try on, only to discover that they were all too big! I didn’t think my body had changed that much over the course of my training, but have come to see that the inches added following pregnancy, and the loss of muscle tone due to lack of activity are history, and that is an amazing feeling!
I would say that I am not that self-motivated. When I played sports, I constantly had someone pushing me, and working with a trainer I was given that same drive. This will be my biggest obstacle: to keep up with my exercise program. But after talking with Alex and my trainers, I’ve learned that a true lifestyle change will take time, and I constantly remind myself of my goals and how exercise will help me achieve them. Right now, I am focused on being able to play tennis and and keeping up with my kids.
It takes something inside you to jump-start and dive right into exercise, but once you’ve worked with a trainer you find that it’s harder to stop than it was begin, because you see all of the benefits of activity materialize almost immediately. In the beginning, every sore muscle I experienced week after week meant I was making headway. Now I see my progress when an exercise that was previously really difficult for me has become too easy. My experience with Defining Eve has changed my life, and each session I do brings me closer and closer to integrating exercise and physical activity as a part of my everyday life.
