Dripping Springs, Texas

Member Since January 2007

My Story
I first walked into a Curves for the first time about 2 1/2 years ago. I had been sick for over 3 years. It took most of that time to find out just what was wrong with me. I had been spending about 20 hours a day lying on the on the couch hurting all over with horrible headaches, dizziness, and a low-grade fever that appeared every afternoon. I had seen almost every type of specialist in Austin. I had test after test and got no diagnosis. One of those tests cost $40,000. It told us nothing. The medical bills just pilled up. I ended up taking over 30 pills a day, plus pain pills. I had no strength or energy or interest in doing anything. Finally I ended up at UT Medical School in San Antonio in the Rheumatology Department. There I saw Dr. Zuniga. He finally diagnosed me with Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and he added one more pill to my repertoire.

After two months on the Lyrica, he told me to start an exercise program. I thought, "Mister, I cant get from my front door to the end of my driveway without help and you want me to exercise. Ain't happenin'!" He nagged me for six months and finally one day he told me, "You are going to lay on your couch till you die...or you are going to exercise and hope to have a life." Even with this 'potential death sentence', I had to think about the consequences for a couple of months.

Finally one day a little light went off over my head and I realized the man was serious. This was my only chance at any kind of life, so I dragged myself to Curves. I could make through about 1/3 of the workout, but I knew this was my only shot at a normal life, so I focused on those 90 minutes a week spent at Curves.

Three months later I didn't hurt so badly. I was a little stronger. I had actually started to lose weight. When I saw Dr. Zuniga he told me that I was doing so much better. Then right before I left his office, Dr. Zuniga looked me straight in the eye and said, "Now, do it more." Later, he told me, "Up until about 100 years ago people got plenty of exercise in their everyday life. We don't anymore and it is making us sick." He went on to say, "Virtually every adult in the United States needs to be working out. Don't ever stop, it needs to be part of your live from now on."

Now this may be hard for you to believe, but in just under nine months I was totally well. I dont know quite how to explain how wonderful it is to be well. It is awesome. I have great energy and strength. I know now what it is to actually feel good; I had forgotten. I use to think exercise no big deal. I had better things to do with my time. I found out how terribly wrong I was. I have made an incredible discovery. I now understand exercise is as necessary for our bodies as food and water. I want to help make my community healthier, more fit. And at the risk of sounding melodramatic I will tell you - our lives depend on it.

We find time to eat; we HAVE to find time to exercise. I heard recently on a TV show that 80% of all of our health care expenditures in this country are going toward chronic diseases. The thing is that so many chronic diseases can be prevented if we just eat right and get enough exercise. In Readers Digest, Dr. Oz said that a good workout program should include strength training, aerobics and any other exercise component. At Curves, that is just what we offer, strength training, aerobics and for our third component, stretching.

Strength training for 30 min, three times a week at Curves can:
1. Help you to manage stress
2. Increase your energy
3. Reduce your risk of getting many chronic diseases
4. Reduce your medical & healthcare expenses
5. Increase your productivity at work
6. Improve your sleep
7. Increase your bone density
8. Improve you short-term memory
9. Reduce or reverse the effects of aging
10. & Enhance your sexual desire, performance & satisfaction!


Well, you might have noticed I haven't said much about weight loss. I haven't because to me the real key is to get healthy and fit. But let's go ahead and ask the question. Can working out help you to lose weight? Well, so far I have dropped about 80 pounds. It is something I didnt think I could do, but the Curves program has truly change my life. I guarantee it can change yours, too.

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