The Marty Difference

In addition to the “story” I wrote up for the square1 website, I was also asked to provide a “weightloss testimonial” for work. It’s posted on our intranet for all employees to read for inspiration (still a strange concept for me). Much of the bulk of it is identical to the story I just posted, but there were a few additions. I figured, while I had a forum for it, why not endorse my awesome trainer and support group? You never know who might read it and get inspired to join us. I’d like to post that here as well, because again I think it’s good for me to remember why I am doing what I am doing.

On April 24^th, 2010 I walked into Marty Wolff’s boot camp. My sister went with me for support. We got up at 5:00 am and got on treadmills at the YMCA. That day I could barely walk at a 2.2 mph pace. I had always been fairly active, but I had trainers in the past who always went too easy on me. As a trainer, when you see someone of my size you instantly worry about heart attacks, and you don’t want to push too hard. I was used to almost holding my breath when I exercised, so that no one would see that I was huffing and puffing so much. I thought if I looked like I was still breathing normally they would know I was okay to keep going and push harder. As soon as I would start to breathe heavy most trainers would back off and think I’d had enough. Marty was different. He called me out on it right away, he could tell that was exactly what I was doing. Because Marty had been overweight himself he was used to working out around very overweight people. He told me to cut it out and just go ahead and breathe heavy, that’s what happens when you exercise. Right away he earned my trust because I knew he wouldn’t give up on me if I struggled.

That first day, after struggling on the treadmill, we did a weight circuit and Marty was practically GIDDY to see how much weight I could lift. I knew I was strong, I’d been carrying so much weight around my whole life already, but I didn’t know I was that strong. My sister struggled through the weights, which was even more encouraging to me! She had always been the athletic one, and now I was doing something she couldn’t. When she ran over to the corner and threw up I was REALLY excited. I was feeling good, and my sister was working out so hard she was sick and still not keeping up with me. That’s when I really knew this boot camp was the perfect choice for me.

My sister only came with me four times. I kept on going. But all the while I was still eating fast food and donuts. I was working in an office full of temptations, where no one exercised. I also had a lot of job-related stress, and the way I dealt with it was to run to the vending machine for “F4” (chocolate donuts). When I heard about claims processing positions at Blue Cross I applied right away. And thank goodness I did! I started there in May of 2010.

Last summer, The Biggest Loser held auditions here in Omaha, and as a former contestant from season 3 of the show, Marty encouraged his bootcampers to go out there with him and stand in line to talk to people about losing weight at home. We recruited 30 people that day for a beginner’s boot camp. Although I had been with Marty since April and the new people began in August I feel like we’ve gone through most of our changes together. They are my biggest supporters. I’ve learned that it makes such a difference having people in your life who truly relate to you. We have a lot of the same stories and have been through similar struggles, and we can share in our victories together.

The rest of my work “story” continues just like the previous version, so I’ll cut off there. I just….needed a few reminders today about why I’m doing what I’m doing. It’s not easy, but it’s where I need to be.  Reading this helps me to remember that.