Now What?

Well, now what? I was fit. I had lost weight. It was time to do the critical piece of the equation—maintain it. I spent 2006 following my workout and eating plans and ended the year at 212 pounds. Not bad, in my opinion. Now I was statistically much more likely to keep the weight off forever. A challenge presented itself along the way, though. I still worked out regularly with DDR and I still got EXTREMELY sweaty while doing it, but it began to lose its effectiveness. I now know (thanks to Darren Anderson!) that I had developed muscle memory and my body had adjusted itself to the rigors of DDR. I had to shake up the workout if I wanted to continue to improve. I began to look for something else to do. I had developed a bit of a crush on Bob Harper, the trainer on the TV show, The Biggest Loser, and I found out the show had exercise DVDs for sale. There was my answer! I spent the last four months of 2006 working out every morning with Bob. But was I doing the exercises correctly? What about my specific issues? My skin had been remarkably elastic as I lost the 120 pounds, but I still had some sagging folds on my arms, legs and abdomen. How could I address that? By January 1, 2007, Steve had decided he needed to change his lifestyle, too. I like to think it was in part due to me. As he often says, he was about to turn 40 and he wanted to make sure there was a 50. I was delighted to hear it. He knew that he had to have someone to push him and, as much as we like and love each other, I was not the one to do the pushing! He researched personal trainers in all of Kansas City and found Darren, who turned out to be the answer to our prayers…and a magician! Steve got us a gym membership and started working out with Darren twice a week. Now, I will admit I had always been terrified of gyms. I knew it was because I didn’t know the rules—written and unwritten. Who would teach me those? It turns out Darren would. Through Steve, I learned what to do and what not to do at the gym. I started going to walk on the treadmill whenever I could so I could support Steve in his workout regimen. By May of 2007, I was totally comfortable with the “code” of the gym, but I had only walked on the treadmills. I was still totally ignorant of the weights and machines. Then I had my initial consultation of my own with Darren. He took all of my measurements and analyzed my needs and goals. I started working out with him once a week. Additionally, I did a strength training workout that he developed for me two times a week and some kind of cardio five times a week. He took time to ensure that I understood each exercise and its purpose. He also taught me about the weights and machines. Wow…did I get results! I’m now fond of saying that I lost the initial weight, but Darren helped me put my parts where they belong.