Losing Weight Over 40
43 year old Mother Takes Back Control of her Body with Hitch Fit Online Personal Training Program!
I have an awesome story to share today. This one is really going to touch your heart! Nicole went through 3 years of turmoil as far as her body, and her emotions were concerned. She and her husband suffered the terrible loss of a child during pregnancy, and also experienced the joy of a new beautiful and healthy baby boy in their lives during this time. Nicole reached out because she was ready to take back her health and her fitness. She started her journey with a Lose Weight Feel Great program. She did her training for this program at home and she really dedicated to it shedding 18 pounds and 10% body fat during her 12 week time period. But more than that, she got herself back!! She just celebrated her 43rd birthday and has a lot of reason to be joyful in this new year! Nicole is now tackling a Fitness Model program, she’s ready to take things to another level. So stay tuned, you have seen the last of this inspirational mother!! Congrats Nicole!!
Nicole’s Stats:
Starting weight: 154
Ending weight: 136
Starting body fat: 26%
Ending body fat: 16%
Nicole’s Story:
“I started the “Lose Weight Feel Great” program because I wanted to regain some control over my body. Actually, I wanted to feel like I COULD control my body. I had smoothly sailed through life feeling healthy – but somewhat disconnected from my body – until I turned 41, when my husband and I found out that we were pregnant. Our doctor told us that, given our ages, it could be up to a year before getting pregnant – if we could even do so at all. So we were shocked – and blessed – to find our dream coming true a mere month after trying. Sadly, there was trouble from the very beginning. I suffered from horrible bouts of morning sickness followed by unbearable gall bladder attacks. And our little baby Nicholas was not thriving or growing at the rate he was supposed to be through my pregnancy. Finally, at 6 months pregnancy, the doctor said my gallbladder had to be removed before going into sepsis (fatal infection) and threatening both of our lives. So I underwent an emergency gall bladder removal while pregnant. The surgery was a success and little Nicholas hung in there until I was almost 7 months pregnant, at which point our baby died in-utero and I had to be induced into labor in order to have a still birth. We were – and still are – devastated. Nothing can prepare a parent for this. We had an autopsy performed and ran every test possible with no conclusion as to why it had happened. We had utterly prepared our lives and home to welcome this sweet little boy. I hated my life and I hated my body. I felt like it had betrayed me.
Then, our wonderful doctor told us that if we wanted to, there was no reason for us to not try again. There were none of the indicators that our loss was due to age or anything health related. My hubby and I talked about it for a few months – and had to fight the guilt that comes from feeling like you are trying to replace another child – and the mind-numbing fear that comes with the big “What If” question. What if it happens again? We took a leap of faith. This time we were expecting within 3 months of trying. Another little boy. At this point I had no choice but to surrender everything to a power higher than myself, and have faith. I couldn’t do ANYTHING – especially worrying – that could negatively impact his chances of growing. Then I found out I had gestational diabetes and had to monitor my blood sugar and food and go in for weekly stress tests towards the end of my pregnancy to ensure the diabetes wasn’t taking a toll on him. In June of 2011, I went in for a standard stress test and the doctor was worried about his heart rate. He told me we had to do an emergency C-Section at 38 weeks due to his heart rate and the fact that he was lying sideways. At 8:00 PM on June 1st 2011, our Maximilian was born and while he was a bit on the small side he was perfectly healthy and beautiful!! It was a success! My husband Rick was an amazing rock through everything. We still miss Nicholas – and always will – but we feel so blessed and happy every day we have with our Max.
What does any of this have to do with body transformation – something that may seem so insignificant compared to what we have been through in the past 3 years? The fact is, I HAD to re-establish a healthy relationship with my body. I had been pregnant for what seemed like forever, and nursed Max until he was 18 months old. I needed to get my body back. I needed to feel like I had some (healthy) control over it. I had to stop looking at my body as something separate from myself that had betrayed me. Regardless of whether or not you are a parent, you only get one life and one body, and the way you treat this body will directly determine how much physical energy and emotional/mental presence you have to give to the people you love. How could that NOT be significant? And this is especially true of an “older” parent if you want to someday play with your grand children. (By the way, in case you don’t know, the doctors call it “advanced maternal age” if you are pregnant after 35 – nice huh?! Gotta love medical terminology).
Another reason I wanted to do this transformation is that I hate the way our culture can treat women over a certain age. I sometimes think that women give up on their bodies’ mid-life because so many things in life appear to give up on us – our health, our external beauty, the fashion industry, men, the media, and even some careers. Honestly, we owe it to ourselves and the girls in our lives to show that it’s not OK to quit trying once we hit a certain age. We are letting some of this stuff happen to us and we don’t have to!!! I’m ashamed to admit that even as I started Diana’s awesome program that a part of me was saying “of course this program works for her, look how YOUNG she is, this will never really look for you.” I had to promise myself that I would at least really DO the program before letting such voices take over. The program was challenging but Diana was there every step of the way. Even through my infamous “DONUT WALL” episode, where I consumed not one, not two, but THREE donuts straight in a row! (Sugar has always been such a weak point for me). Diana’s response was key in recovering from this. She encouraged me – in a very motivating way – to notice exactly how my body feels when under siege from all of that sugar. It did not feel good. But I never would have known that had I not followed the plan so closely up until that point. I had gotten used to feeling great on her program – so the contrast was obvious.
Before this program, not feeling good was my normal and I didn’t even know it! Now I feel very energetic and grounded, and I’m beginning to not over-emotionalize my body. My body is not out to get me! Basically, you get out what you put in, regardless of what your motivation for transformation is. My big motivation was to regain control of my body – my selfish and “superficial” motivation was to look good for my husband naked and in skinny jeans. With Diana’s help (and my sweet hubby and miracle son Max!), I accomplished both! I now feel much more at home in my body and am thankful every day for what it can do. I am grateful I can run and lift weights and pick up my 2 year old son without any exertion. I feel strong and even broke through my hatred of cardio (trust me I HATED cardio before – then one day in towards the end of the 2nd month on this program, I was running along not paying much attention, looked at my watch, and realized I’d been running for over 45 minutes straight!) . I turn 43 on June 23rd and this program – and getting re-connected with my body – was my birthday present to me. I can’t thank you enough, Diana!! “
A note from Diana: You’re so welcome Nicole!! And for those who are wondering, as of today I am actually 36 years old, so not quite as young as many people think! :-)
Nicole’s adorable son Max!! A major motivator for her to live fit and healthy!
Nicole’s Program Choice – Lose Weight Feel Great
Check out Mother of 2 Amy’s awesome transformation!
…and Amy I.!
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