weight loss success

Jake’s #UNSTOPPABLE Journey

Jake Zvonar, a current personal trainer at Xperience Fitness Hales Corners, started his weight loss journey on July 13, 2018, after a traumatizing personal problem. Since then, he has lost around 50 pounds. 

After Zvonar suffered from a difficult personal problem, he found solace in fitness. Zvonar had played football previously but had lost his motivation to go to the gym leading up to his personal event. 

“Once the event happened I resorted to fitness to keep everything off my mind,” Zvonar revealed. “It also relieved a lot of stress for me and gave me something to work towards.”

About three to four months into going to the gym, Zvonar began to see results. 

“Everyone wants to see results the first week and that isn’t the case,” Zvonar explained. “You need to really push yourself past those first couple of months. That’s when the real results start to show, and when you start to notice them the most.”

While Zvonar was happy with the progress he had been making, there were multiple times he nearly threw in the towel. But, as Zvonar says, nearly everybody has a point in their fitness journey they are ready to give up. However, Zvonar pushed past these feelings by continuously setting new goals for himself. 

before and after weight loss
On left, Zvonar on July 16, 2018. On right, 50 pounds down, Zvonar on September 1, 2019.

“I think that’s the thing that’s so great about fitness; you’re never really satisfied and you can always set bigger goals for yourself,” Zvonar expressed.

After working out consistently for over a year and a half, Zvonar acknowledges that he has not only grown significantly as a person, but he realized the effort he was putting in prior to July 2018 was not as much as he needed to to see a physical difference. To continue on his journey, Zvonar plans on continuing to grow as a person and setting new goals that will keep him focused. 

As far as advice, Zvonar said the number one thing is to not look for quick results. But, to stay motivated in times of not-so-obvious change, Zvonar recommends setting short-term goals. Personally, Zvonar had a year-long goal, monthly goals, and daily goals to keep him inspired. 

“Think of all the times you said if you would have started you’d be in great shape by this time of year,” Zvonar recommends. “Just start now and next year you won’t have that ‘what if’ or ‘if I would have started.’”