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A year ago, I was sitting at a women’s retreat sponsored by my church, trying to experience joy and yet feeling big, fat, old, and ugly. While at 5’2”, 47 years old, and 134 pounds most people would not have described me that way, it didn’t matter. That’s how I felt. After having kept myself in pretty good shape for most of my life, in my 40s the extra pounds seemed to come on more easily and go off much, much harder. I had been working out an average of 3 times a week at the local Y – and somehow managed to only gain weight. Determined to make changes, I tried low-carb dieting and lost 9 lbs., but was still out of shape.
After a winter of too much work and not enough caring about myself, I sat down one evening and searched the Internet for personal trainers. I happened upon Angela’s website: The Body Sculptress. Reading through the things she had to say, I found myself thinking that I wished Angela was located nearby so I could use her services. When I finally read that she was located in Raleigh (I live in Durham), I immediately emailed her to see if she could help me. We agreed on a time (thank goodness she had an opening!) and a few days later Angela was on my doorstep. I knew exactly what I wanted to tell her about how I was feeling, “I’m tired of being 15 pounds from happiness…15 pounds from feeling good about myself…15 pounds from strong…15 pounds from being the woman God called me to be.” While I know God’s focus isn’t on our weight, I knew that I did not feel that I could encourage others if I didn’t feel good about myself.
We started with me at 125 pounds and 26% body fat. I worked out with Angela twice a week, weight-trained on my own one additional time during the week, and greatly increased my cardio work – from walking the dog 1.5 miles each day to running/sprinting/walking 45 minutes to an hour about five times a week. In addition, I started eating more healthily—more fresh fruits and vegetables, smaller quantities—and in general better choices.
The results? After three months, I lost 6.5% body fat – hitting 19.5% and had lost 5 pounds. I was stronger and healthier – running the 1.5 miles that I used to walk my dog, something I didn’t think I would or could do. While the pounds had not come off the way I thought they would, it didn’t matter as much. Hearing people say: “So, how much weight have you lost?!!” “Hey skinny!” and “Look at those biceps!” made up for what the scale didn’t say—feeling better about how I looked in my clothes and most importantly, feeling strong and healthy, something many people nearing 50 years of age seem to have given up on.
I plan to continue working with Angela with a goal of getting closer to my goal weight by the end of the year, continuing to tone muscle and gain strength.
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