Dartmouth

Member Since August 2005

My Story
Curves Helped Me Do A Complete 180 And More!

My name is Debra, and I am a Curves Trainer at the Curves gym located in Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Although aware that Curves employees are not eligible to enter this contest, that doesnt mean that I cant post my success story to help inspire other women struggling with weight and self-confidence issues out there!

My story began over 5 years ago, in the spring of 2004. I was topping the scales at an embarrassing 360 pounds! I could hardly make it up the flight of stairs in our home without pulling myself up with the banister. I was tired all the time with zero energy, and felt miserable. I had every bad food habit you can name: secret-eating, over-eating, and comfort-eating. Doritos and the television were my best friends. I had no social life whatsoever.

My mother had been after me for years to go on a diet and shed some pounds. She worried that my health was greatly at risk and feared diabetes or a heart attack in my future. Shed often come to me, crying, asking me what was wrong; was I eating so much because I was unhappy, etc. I never knew how to answer her. I just kept digging myself into that very deep hole I was in.

Im not sure how my light bulb moment came about, but it finally did. In the spring of 2004 I decided that enough was enough. I was no longer going to live to eat; I was going to eat to live. I started watching what I was eating, consciously choosing healthier foods. I stopped buying Doritos and started eating more fruits and vegetables. I gave up sodas and started drinking water. I also started eating smaller portions, and stopped eating when I was full.

I set a personal goal of losing half of myself, to lose 180 pounds. It seemed like an incredibly overwhelming goal, but nonetheless it was where I was headed. I knew that thinking about losing 180 pounds was daunting, so I broke it down into smaller, more achievable 10-pound increments, and tackled those one at a time.

I joined a womens fitness center with my mother and committed myself to working out at least three times a week. It was very difficult at first. I could barely move around the gym without feeling winded and tired, but I kept with it. Pretty soon my hard work was paying off. The weight started melting away and I was feeling more empowered and in control of my own health. After about a year, I had shed over 50 pounds and was more energized than ever before.

When the fitness facility where my mother and I worked out closed, we decided to join Curves. I was a little apprehensive at first, unsure if I would like Curves as much as my old gym. Would I feel as comfortable working out there? Would my weight loss success continue?

My figure analysis on that first day at Curves showed that I still had a far way to go to reach my goal. I weighed in at 280 pounds, had a BMI of 40, and a body fat percentage of 44. I became even more determined to stick with the program and get out of the obese area on the BMI chart and into normal.

My mother and I soon loved our new gym! The staff and members of Curves were so supportive and the energy level and friendliness were amazing! I loved working out there, and often came in every day after work.

I joined my Curves in August of 2005, and a year later I had lost another 55 pounds, for a total weight loss of 135 pounds since beginning my journey! I got married in September of 2006, and made a point of stopping in at Curves on my way to the church just so the staff and members could see me in my wedding dress! They snapped pictures of me pretending to workout on the dip shrug machine! Curves was such an important part of my life and had made such a difference in my self esteem and confidence that I just couldnt let my special day go by without sharing it with them.

Soon after getting married, I was elated to discover that I was pregnant. I continued to workout at Curves until I was about 6 months along. I did my best to control how much weight I gained as I knew I would only have to work that much harder after the baby came to get it back off again. I gained 50 pounds during my pregnancy, but delivered a healthy baby boy. My son is the best gift I have ever been given!

Once my son was born, I got right back on track with my original weight loss goal. I was 270 pounds the day he was born, and through a lot of hard work, dedication and support from my Curves family, I lost 100 pounds by his 1st birthday! I had done it! I had actually reached (and beaten!) my goal! I could hardly believe it but I was a very healthy and very happy 170 woman! My BMI was normal, and my body fat was under 25!

After my maternity leave was over, I decided that I wanted to work closer to home to spend as much time with my son as possible. I was very fortunate that I was hired as a trainer at my Curves gym in September 2008. After giving me so much support and being a part of my journey, I was now able to give something back at Curves! I am now a source of inspiration and support for other women going through the same thing I did. It is a very rewarding experience, and I love my job and take great pride in what we do.

After losing 190 pounds, I had a lot of excess skin and fat on my abdomen, despite working out and toning during my whole weight loss process. In May 2009 I had plastic surgery to remove that excess from my abdomen, and it was very successful. I am back at work and loving how I look and feel!

If you had told the old me 5 years ago that one day I would be working in a gym, doing aerobics classes and inspiring other women with my weight loss success journey, I would have scoffed at you. But here I am today, having done a complete 180 in my life literally! Thank you, Curves, for being such a big part of my success!

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