Meet our sweet client, Becky Akana, who became a member in 2021. We are proud to say she's still training with us today and is looking and feeling absolutely fantastic. Way to go Becky, it has been a joy to support her and witness her transformation. And trust us when we say, she's not done yet! Here's what she had to say about the early part of her journey...
"I thought I was doing so good to lose 50 pounds in 5 months from when my husband was in the hospital from major health issues in August 2020. It was a wake up call for me to get it together. If you would look at my husband and I, you would have thought I should have been the one in the hospital bed with all the diagnoses, but it wasn’t and hasn’t been the case. But it made me take a hard look at myself, what would be the deciding factor that I would be there in his place? My husband had to start taking his health serious in the way he was eating and managing his lifestyle. I told him that we are in this together and that he didn’t have to do this alone. We drastically changed our eating habits. His health improved and we both started to feel so much better eliminating all the junk from our diet.
This all sounds good from the outside looking in, but the detail that is missing is even though I was eating “healthy” I was only consuming a small number of calories. Late January of 2021, I ran into Heather and Garrett from Transformations Personal Training Studio and shared my “success” in what I thought was a great accomplishment. When I shared that I was eating about 650-700 calories a day the looks on their faces said more than I knew at that moment and they both said we would love to work with you. I was reaching out to them because I was ready to take the next step in adding exercise to get stronger and build up my endurance – be more fit. I had an appointment with the both of them and learned I had been under eating and from there we partnered together as they explained the changes that I needed to make to attain goals for a healthier lifestyle.
My first workout day I found out how I wasn’t doing as good as I thought. It was a moment of truth – I was extremely weak and didn’t think I could even complete the workout. Heather and Garrett worked on an eating plan to begin increasing my calories and get the right balance of macro nutrients for me. This was the mind battle for me to trust the process of eating more, the workout plan and staying consistent. I’ve spent a lifetime of dieting – from the time I was 10 years old. Losing weight and gaining it back plus more; not just once but multiple times.
I’ve tried every plan, gimmick, and diet under the sun with hopes and promises which all led to the same insane result – failure! With the amount of weight that I’ve had to lose I had family members and have had some medical professionals say weight-loss surgery was the way to go, but this was never going to be an option for me. I lost family members who made this choice, my mom was one of those included. The other thing I observed that the struggle with their weight still didn’t change – weight gain still happened with the different weight loss surgeries. I knew that I would have to accomplish a healthy body with healthy eating and exercise – transformation of the body, mind and soul.
There have been many giants that have had to be defeated in this journey. It is not just a physical thing but a battle of the mind and heart. This is the first time in my life I have felt successful and strong. I have been given a gift – life’s tools to live healthy and fit. I encounter challenges on this journey to health but each one is an opportunity to breakthrough a stronghold and defeat another giant.
A little over 7 months later I have attained so many victories! From losing healthy weight (to date another 46 pounds), losing body fat (lost over 9%), losing inches, gaining muscle, gaining strength, gaining confidence, wearing clothing sizes that I never imagined I would even begin to fit into, donated several bags of clothes that are too big, and this is only the beginning. There are still more victories to be won! How I felt 7 months ago compared to how I feel today – the comparison in some ways is measurable and in other ways is immeasurable. All I know is I once felt sluggish, defeated, and insecure and today I’m thriving, feeling vibrant and alive! Soon I will reach my goals but my journey to health doesn’t end. I have a sticker on my water thermos that says, “Enjoy The Journey” and it’s a constant reminder to keep pressing on. I may have started this with the intention of helping my husband to get healthier and a “wake up” call to get back on track, but in all truth, this journey, from starting out doing things that were harmful to my health to discovering the key to healthy living, was and is all part of the process. I am extremely grateful for Heather and Garrett from Transformations Personal Training Studio. My life has been transformed exponentially and it will continue as this is not a “won and done” thing – this is a choice of how I now have decided to live the rest of my life."