Goals come in many different forms and can be broken down in many different ways. Sarah Hanson’s goal is to lose weight like it is for many of our clients, but she views her goal differently. Instead of aiming for a particular weight, right now she is focusing on simply keeping her calorie intake consistently at or below 1,800 per day. After all, creating a calorie deficit is key to losing unwanted weight. Starting with goals like this that are easy to quantify is a great step towards progress!
Sarah started with a personal trainer at Xperience Fitness in 2021 and received two free weight loss sessions to begin with. “I remember being sore when I started personal training and regular exercising. I remember wanting to crawl up the stairs because my legs were sore,” she told us. But that isn’t a bad thing! In fact, reasonable soreness is a sign of progress, and knowledge of that is what kept her motivated. “I knew the pain would eventually go away and I would start improving my body.”
Our personal trainers don’t just teach you how to do certain exercises, they are here to be your fully-encompassed fitness coach in the gym and keep you on track with your diet. “My trainer would see my food diary because [she] was connected to MyFitnessPal,” Sarah said. “This connection made me feel like I had accountability. I received praise and support from Maddie (Sarah’s trainer).” Accountability is so crucial because a weight loss journey can be such a long, winding, and treacherous road.
Sarah went on to credit Maddie and the other amenities at Xperience Fitness, saying, “I had no strength or athletic ability, but Maddie worked on plans that slowly improved my skill. Prior to Maddie, I could not do a lunge if my life depended on it. I also loved the classes. I like the team atmosphere in Q (now Team Training). I have fun dancing in Zumba and Funk even though I’m a terrible dancer. I am always surrounded by friendly people here.” Being in a fun and welcoming environment is sometimes all you need to succeed! We strive to provide that for all of our guests.
As we all know, physical fitness contributes to mental fitness, too. Being in the gym more has improved Sarah’s mental health. “I feel that my anxiety and stress go down when I workout. I am not using food to solve these issues,” she said.
And for advice to others, Sarah had the following message to share. “Be kind to yourself during this process and don’t say anything to yourself that you would not say to another person.”
That’s about as good of advice as anyone could receive. Remember that this is a long path and you owe yourself patience. We love your story, Sarah, and we can’t wait to see what else you accomplish!
MAY 2022 UPDATE
We said we couldn’t wait to see what else Sarah would accomplish, and we didn’t have to wait long! Sarah reached out to us to confirm her 50-lb. milestone! While her original goals were focused mainly on calorie intake, once she noticed the progress, her journey turned to a weight-loss focus. 50 pounds is a remarkable and important marker to hit because it represents significant hard work and progress. Plus, we all love nice round numbers, don’t we? Awesome job, Sarah! Keep crushing it!