How Does A 52 Year Old Woman Lose Weight

“Hi, I am Karen. I am a 52 year old wife & mother of 3 adult sons, 2 of them twins. This is my transformation story.10 years ago, I was at my (then) heaviest weight. I lost a good amount on a popular diet plan with a little bit of fitness work but when I reached that goal, that was the end of it. I didn’t maintain the loss because my weight had changed but nothing else had. My mindset, fitness habits, food choices & my spirit were still the same. I slipped back into old habits. Over the next years the weight crept back on & I dug myself a deeper hole than before.I have been blessed to be a stay at home wife & mom for most of our married life and have loved being able to take care of our family from home. I have given birth to 5 children (2 sets of twins, one set living). As happens to many moms, my weight increased slowly after having kids. Busy with raising them, it wasn’t too bad for a number of years. However the weight crept up through the years. I didn’t see it then but now I understand that I was taking care of everyone else as they grew, putting myself in the back of the line & then floundering as they left for college & moved on with their lives. In the past 10 years the lack of being needed to do this & that for everyone else left me with time on my hands that I didn’t fill with activity. (No, let’s be honest here… it left me lazy). I could have filled that time positively but didn’t. I ate poorly, didn’t move much . My life was good, though. It was comfortable. I have a family & friends that I love & that love me no matter what. No drama, no stress. Something was missing though. It was direction. What happens when you don’t have direction? You stay where you are or meander aimlessly. Worst case, you get lost. It’s strange thinking of being lost and not even knowing that you are. I was lost. I kept a smile on my face, enjoyed my daily good, good life but had no real passion or purpose.In June of 2012 I had a bad fall & shattered my kneecap. After surgery to put it back together & a few rounds of physical therapy, I was resigned to the fact that I was never going to be the same. It was easy to give up & lose hope for anything else. I was already too sedentary in my lifestyle and really became a couch potato with the injury. The lack of ease of mobility was not as frightening as it was sad, as I thought about the future.I then had a health scare with some crazy symptoms that doctors were afraid was something serious. After a bunch of tests it, turned out to be a vitamin deficiency and easily treated. It was, however, a wake up call that my health is important. I made a decision. I needed to get some weight off to ease the strain on the knee and ensure a healthier future and eat better. I was a 51 year old woman who wanted to be around & healthy enough to enjoy a long life with my family.I started on the same weight loss plan that I had done before. It was my comfort zone & easy to do without really changing too much. (AHEM!) After a few months, I was doing ok but slowly realized that I needed to do something else. I needed to get fit. I needed to get HEALTHY. I needed a new attitude.My oldest son had purchased the Hitch Fit on line version a few years prior to get in shape. I didn’t know much about it other than how much he was eating. I considered asking him about it but just “knew” that he would say that it would be too hard for me. Then I remembered seeing Facebook posts by an acquaintance I hadn’t seen in several years. I checked out Brandi Wisdom’s page & the Hitch Fit page. The first pages of the Hitch Fit website, at that time, showed a bunch of hard bodies, competition pictures, transformations of men & younger (much younger) women… I kept looking until I found a few transformations that I could relate to a little bit more. Still, it took me about a week to get up the nerve to message Brandi & ask if she thought I could do it. Her response was a resounding “YES, of course you can. They work with all ages & shapes.” I still doubted her (correction: doubted myself). After all, I was not a young woman. I had a bad injury. I had never been in any kind of exercise plan. I was not a “gym” person. I was too overweight. And the list of excuses seated in fear went on. Still, I had this feeling down deep that I had to do something & wanted to do it. I asked my son & he said YES, do it. They were my first cheerleaders. I owe them so much. Then I saw a Groupon for Hitch Fit. “OK. This is it. I can do the Groupon to test it out. If it isn’t for me, I can walk away.”

When I made the first call, I was very nervous. I was afraid. Seriously? It’s just a phone call. I think I knew (correctly this time) that this was going to be life changing. I nervously told the man that answered that I was 52 & WAY out of shape. That I had a bunch of weight to lose. That I had never done anything like this. His words to me were truly life changing & encouraging. I will NEVER forget them. “Good for you for taking the first step to make this call. I understand how hard it is. You can do this and we can help you. ” The rest is a bit of a blur because I was fighting back tears. He would set me up with a trainer & have him or her call me. I hung up the phone & cried for 30 minutes. This was IT. No turning back.

Walking in to the HitchFit gym, I saw that this was not a big, busy intimidating place. It felt comfortable & personal. (Ok, maybe this isn’t too bad.) I met my transformer, Joel Salter. We talked about my history & goals, took measurements, etc. He was easy to talk to, non judgmental & positive. PHEW! (Groupon or not, I was now committed to this). We had a shorter but challenging workout. I got in the car & every muscle in my body quivered. My arms were spasming so much that I had to wait to drive. Strangely enough… I LOVED the feeling. My first full workout was a few days later. As I walked out the door after my hour, my knee gave out completely & my legs collapsed underneath me. Thank goodness I was around the corner on the ground before Joel walked out the door. I would have been embarrassed if he had seen me. It was about a month later when I confessed to him what had happened & was able to laugh about it. I guess the falling, getting back up & coming back for more is really a metaphor of how my journey would be.

A 58 Year Old Woman With A Stage Iii Pittsburg Scale Deformity After A...

When I started I could do so little. I could barely do 5 tricep dips or 10 squats. But with each workout I could do more & more. My knee hurt…BOY did it hurt… but then, everything hurt – for a while. With each workout & each week of great nutrition, I got stronger, felt better & became more confident. I was truly transforming. I took monthly progression photos for my own use & would recommend that others do too. That visual is surprising & very motivating. The monthly photos were great because not only did I see big changes in my body, I could see it in my face, my smile, my eyes. I was truly transforming but not just my body. I was not lost anymore. I was found. I am new. It took a bit longer for me to lose weight & body fat than for some people. Turns out that just as I started Hitch Fit, I was also beginning peri-menopause (Great timing huh?) . Regardless, this was MY journey…not anyone else’s. Everyone’s journey is different.

Often, people don’t recognize me now.. I wave at people I know or strike up conversation & can see them trying to figure it out. I forget that I look so different than before. They tell me how great I look & I thank them sincerely & humbly because, while how I look now is great, the most important is how I

When I started I could do so little. I could barely do 5 tricep dips or 10 squats. But with each workout I could do more & more. My knee hurt…BOY did it hurt… but then, everything hurt – for a while. With each workout & each week of great nutrition, I got stronger, felt better & became more confident. I was truly transforming. I took monthly progression photos for my own use & would recommend that others do too. That visual is surprising & very motivating. The monthly photos were great because not only did I see big changes in my body, I could see it in my face, my smile, my eyes. I was truly transforming but not just my body. I was not lost anymore. I was found. I am new. It took a bit longer for me to lose weight & body fat than for some people. Turns out that just as I started Hitch Fit, I was also beginning peri-menopause (Great timing huh?) . Regardless, this was MY journey…not anyone else’s. Everyone’s journey is different.

Often, people don’t recognize me now.. I wave at people I know or strike up conversation & can see them trying to figure it out. I forget that I look so different than before. They tell me how great I look & I thank them sincerely & humbly because, while how I look now is great, the most important is how I

When I started I could do so little. I could barely do 5 tricep dips or 10 squats. But with each workout I could do more & more. My knee hurt…BOY did it hurt… but then, everything hurt – for a while. With each workout & each week of great nutrition, I got stronger, felt better & became more confident. I was truly transforming. I took monthly progression photos for my own use & would recommend that others do too. That visual is surprising & very motivating. The monthly photos were great because not only did I see big changes in my body, I could see it in my face, my smile, my eyes. I was truly transforming but not just my body. I was not lost anymore. I was found. I am new. It took a bit longer for me to lose weight & body fat than for some people. Turns out that just as I started Hitch Fit, I was also beginning peri-menopause (Great timing huh?) . Regardless, this was MY journey…not anyone else’s. Everyone’s journey is different.

Often, people don’t recognize me now.. I wave at people I know or strike up conversation & can see them trying to figure it out. I forget that I look so different than before. They tell me how great I look & I thank them sincerely & humbly because, while how I look now is great, the most important is how I