Katy Leep: Farmington Hills Club
I just had my last weigh in for the challenge and I’m leaving feeling excited! I’m ready to see
what comes next in my weight loss journey. I might not have reached my weight loss goal in this
challenge but in the challenge of LIFE I am beating the odds. So far since joining Farmington
Hills Title last year, I’m down a total of 72lbs and I’m not done fighting! This Battle of the Bulge
really gave me the boost I needed to keep me going though the holidays and a very stressful
time when my mom had brain surgery. I was also at a plateau for a month before this challenge
and it kept me from gaining weight during the holidays. It’s not just about the numbers to me
though, it’s about my overall health. These past two months have been challenging and
rewarding at the same time.
I made a goal to workout at least 4 times a week. The first two weeks were hard, but I felt great
and I had so much more energy even though I was working out more than I usually did. Every
Sunday I did a group workout with the trainer, Greg, it really kept me accountable. The workout
was full body conditioning which really aided in the toning I can see in the before and after
photo. I feel one of the major aides in my weight loss is having people like trainers and the friends I have made at the club continuously pushing me to stay on the right track.
I added cardio to my workouts as well. I started the challenge only being able to run for about 5
minutes and at the end I run for about a half hour for my cardio. It is amazing what you can do
when you really push yourself. During the boxing classes my friend, who has lost about 100lbs
at TITLE, recommended doing the active rests as much as possible, because before I found
myself just walking in place or taking really long water breaks. It is all the little pieces put
together that made me overall a stronger and leaner me!
It’s truly the combination of eating right and the workouts that got me to lose weight. I made
an effort to write everything down I ate. If I did didn’t do well one week I could go back and
look at what changes or slip ups I may have had to see why I didn’t get the results I expected.
I was really good the week of Thanksgiving, I lost 4lbs that week!! I never would have done that if I didn’t have this competition going on, I kept myself accountable for what I ate.
I made some changes to my diet as well. I stopped eating anything processed after 7pm. I don’t usually get off work till 7pm so that means I had to make my dinner every night. I also ate very few carbs at dinner which made me feel a lot better in the mornings when I woke up. I notice in my before and after pictures the biggest difference is in my midsection. My back and stomach are a lot smaller and I think that is from the reduction of carbs in my diet. I still ate carbs I just switched to healthier ones things like sprouted grain breads, fruit, whole wheat no sugar added pita/tortillas. I never would have thought I would eat whole grain or brown rice tortillas but now I prefer them.
Another gym friend that has lost about 40lbs going to TITLE gave me advice to watch the sodium levels in food. Something I never did before the challenge, I feel a lot less bloated everyday and my weight fluctuates less. I started my morning with a healthy breakfast usually a greek yogurt parfait, lunch is a well balanced salad or sandwich, and dinner was always a protein, healthy fat and a carb. Snacks were usually around workouts and always had a little fat, protein and carbs, like peanut butter and apple is a favorite snack of mine. I have come to love avocados spread on a piece of toast more than butter. I got a lot of advice on healthy eating online, weight loss bloggers, trainers, and friends that have gone through this.
I contribute a lot of my success to the motivation and help from my friends and the gym. That is
something I recommend for anyone trying to lose weight.
Get a workout buddy!!! There are days I didn’t want to go but I knew someone was counting on me to be there and I had to go.
Some days I wanted to just eat some pizza and I knew I could call anyone of my friends, trainer,
or heck I could call the gym and they would help me find a better solution. Having a support
system in place is so important to the success of weight loss. Sometimes you need someone to
cheer you on when you just don’t want to do what you know needs to be done. During the
challenge my mom had major brain surgery and it was very very stressful. In the past I would
have dealt with the stress by eating, sleeping, and watching TV.
This time around I worked out the night before the surgery and the day of the surgery which was the most stressful day. When I worked out it helped manage my stress so much more than those other unhealthy things ever did! I’m so happy with my overall success and this challenge got me through the hardest time of the year, with my mom’s surgery and all the bad holiday food. The timing couldn’t have been better. This gym, not just this challenge, but Title boxing has changed my life. I’m a different person now than I was a year ago and in this challenge I’m definitely different than what I was even 2 months ago too. I shout it from the rooftops, on instagram, and facebook “I LOVE TITLE!” It has saved my life and I’m so glad to a part of the Title family.