*This is the first of three blog posts in which YMCA of Greater Toronto staff member Robyn Trew shares tips for losing weight and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.
Hello readers,
My name is Robyn Trew, I work at the YMCA of Greater Toronto's head office as a communications and marketing coordinator. In the last year I decided to adopt a healthier lifestyle which has yielded some drastic results. Here's my story...
At 24 years old, I tipped the scale at 312 lbs, a number I had been choosing to ignore for many years. I had tried ‘dieting’ more times than I could count for more years than I care to admit, but I had to come to terms with the fact that I needed more than just a short term diet fix -- I needed to change my lifestyle. And I finally felt like I was in the right head space to make the change.
I began working out at the Y, eating more organic food, and even walking more in my daily life. I signed up for my first 5k run and kept up with my 3 times weekly workouts.
The weight started to come off, my friends, colleagues and family became my cheerleaders, and I was finally feeling like this new lifestyle was something I could maintain. When I started to get into a rut of cardio-only workouts (and was still a little scared of group fitness classes), I met with Dominique, a personal trainer at the Y. After my first ‘get to know you’ workout with her, I was sore for four days and wondering what on earth I had gotten myself into. After the next session I was down to only three days of pain (and lots of A535).
I soon began to build muscles that I didn’t know existed, which really boosted my confidence when I walked into the conditioning room on my own. Believe it or not, I started looking forward to our Tuesday night sessions. Each week is completely different, which keeps me on my toes and prevents me from getting bored. Dominique challenges me, encourages me and never lets me give up.
I’ve accomplished a lot since January 2013:
- Decreased my body fat by more than 15 per cent
- Decreased my BMI by almost 20
- Run a 5k race (I’m now training for a 10k)
- Overcome my shame about my weight
- Lost 5 dress sizes (24 to 14)
- Lost more than 115 lbs
These are pretty dramatic results, which I promise you can achieve too, as soon as you decide that you're ready to change the way you think about food and exercise. In my next two blog posts I'll count down my top 10 tips to adopt and maintain a healthy lifestyle. Stay tuned!
