I have been struggling with my weight for the past 12 years mainly due to my three biggest challenges 1) Starting College 2) Getting Married 3) Having Children.

The first year of College was the first time I had really noticed a huge difference in my weight. As a result, I joined Nutri-System and I successfully lost 30 pounds and was able to keep it off for only a year until I reached my second challenge. Getting Married. After I was married I never exercised, and I felt that all we ever did was go out for dinners and entertain, and everything was always about food. I quickly discovered how much I loved food and how easy it is to over indulge. In time, this led to a huge increase in weight. Once again, in 1996 I took action and decided to join a gym and start a rigorous exercise plan. I quickly and successfully lost 30 pounds but this time it was only temporary and I couldn’t keep it off for more than a year.

My turning point finally came as I reached my last challenge and that was after having my second child. Being in my 30’s and after having two children my weight reached an ultimate high of 179lbs. This was definitely an eye-opener for me and I was very afraid of not being able to loose my weight. I reached a point where I hated looking at myself in the mirror; I hated to go out in public and nothing I wore ever looked right. I would look at myself in disbelief as I couldn’t even bend down to tie my shoes without struggling, and I couldn’t even see my knees anymore. The worst part of it was that I was very depressed and moody all the time and the ones that noticed it the most were my children and my husband.

Although I had been successful in losing weight before I wasn’t successful in keeping it off and also because I was faced with a bigger challenge than ever I decided to hire Karen as a Personal Trainer and Nutritionist. I was a little sceptical at first about changing my diet as I know how weak I can be when it comes to food and my first comment to Karen was “Please work me as hard as you want but please don’t take my food away.” I was so afraid of hitting that yo-yo weight gain again because I thought of dieting as temporary and once you resume to normal eating habits you gain it all back. But that was what I was missing, I didn’t know what the word diet was until I met Karen. Karen had personalized my meal plans for me and she educated me in so many ways. I quickly realized that dieting was not about taking food away. On the contrary, it is all about healthy eating and actually eating more of the right foods. I learned to eat 6 small meals a day which was more then I was ever used to, and drinking lots of water.

In addition to nutrition, Karen worked with me in weight training for several months twice a week. Karen showed me and taught me more than I ever thought possible. She introduced me to weight training, (which I knew nothing about), and she taught me to eat healthy and she always kept me motivated. Although the workouts were challenging, she always made them seem interesting as she used variety and every week I was doing something new. Karen was also very good at checking my progress and seeing her enthusiasm with my progress only made me want to work harder. She is definitely a true motivator. Because of Karen I now enjoy weight training, I find it very empowering and now I look forward to working out. Karen has made this possible for me and although I have been successful in weight loss before I am confident I will be able to maintain it this time. The reason for this is because now I am combining healthy eating habits along with an exercise program, which are definitely the two keys for weight loss and maintenance. My previous attempts were always lacking one or the other.

Since I’ve lost the weight I am a much happier person, I want to see people all the time, and I definitely love to shop more now. Most importantly, I have a huge amount of energy for my children and my 28-month-old son senses that I am a much happier Mom. I know this because his comment to me now is “Mommy are you happy?” With fewer temper tantrums from him I am convinced that unhappiness is contagious and your children’s mood will always be based on their parent’s mood. Since I’ve been happy my children are happy and nothing can ever beat that. Family and friends cannot believe my accomplishment and I’ve been told that I am unrecognizable. Since I’ve been in this program three of my friends are now following in the same footsteps as mine and hope to achieve what I have as they saw my determination pay off.

Thanks a million Karen!!!!!!!!!!! I couldn’t have done it without you!!”

Share on Facebook
Pinterest
Twitter

related posts

about the author

Picture of Karen Gallagher

Karen Gallagher

As a fitness expert and Holistic Nutritionist, Karen brings a unique blend of experience gained working in the health industry for over 20 years. Her holistic coaching offers an individualized process to help you move forward in life and to end the diet/binge cycle for good. She provides coaching tools and assists with strategies to promote self-discovery and the exploration of different perspectives to help inspire you to reach your health and wellness goals. She has had great success with her clients by taking a holistic approach to health. Karen believes every individual requires support, knowledge and compassion to achieve great health and wellness.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

download my 28 day streNgth challenge

About Karen Gallagher

Karen is a Holistic Lifestyle & Fitness Expert on a mission to cut through the over-complicated B.S. around food, health and well-being so that busy women, can learn how to transform their bodies and nourish their souls so they can feel strong, fit and confident.

From the Blog

Get my 7 Day Fat Loss Kickstart Guide

I respect your privacy and will never share your information.