West Valley, Arizona
Many of us fall into the trap of life and work schedules and fail to carve out enough time for fitness. We let our health slip until we realize we can’t fit into our “fat jeans.” We look in the mirror and think, “what happened?” Crash diets may work on a short term basis, or help us look good for our high school reunion but sooner or later old habits creep back. A healthy lifestyle is just that, a lifestyle. It encompasses more than just what we eat. It’s a mindset. When you eat well, you feel well. When you begin loosing weight you have more energy and re-build self-esteem. Not matter how busy we are, or how much we love our kids, it is okay to make time for ourselves.
Sandy Robinson with SWValleyParent.com teamed up with Infinity Fitness Center in Goodyear and Health Within Chiropractic Center in Goodyear giving three lucky Southwest Valley couples the chance to participate in a Couples Boot Camp Challenge. The winner will not only learn how to get fit, the couple with the greatest weight loss will win a $500 cash prize. “I decided to sponsor the Boot Camp Challenge to help motivate couples to lose weight and get in shape. I offered free Chiropractic spinal examinations, posture evaluations, stress test and x-rays to inform the contestants of their postural challenges and help them understand how to get the best results from their efforts. I offered the $500 cash prize to the winning couple, to bless and challenge them to broaden their health paradigms and increase their motivation to succeed,” commented Dr. Nettles of Health Within Chiropractic.
“I know how easy it is to ‘fall off the wagon’ with healthy eating and exercise when you’re busy being a parent and running a family. I think most of us are more likely to succeed if we are part of a team working together toward the same goal and lifestyle change like the three couples in our Couples Boot Camp Challenge. We hope their hard work and determination will help inspire and motivate other families here in the Southwest Valley as well,” commented Sandy.
All three couples have an eight week challenge ahead of them that began after Thanksgiving. Laurel Kelsey, Infinity Fitness’ group exercise instructor outlined a training regime that consists of a circuit training session at Infinity Fitness with weights for 1 hour twice a week. In addition to this personal training session, the contestants are also required to complete five additional cardio sessions independently for a minimum of 30 minutes per week. Currently, the contestants are keeping diet logs for three different days which they submit to Laurel each Monday. Once the diet logs are completed, Laurel will lay out a healthy eating plan for each of them.
Meet the Challengers
(Jennifer Foxx)
Growing up I was always a skinny girl never thinking much about my weight. In High School I was known as the Junk Food Junkie. My weakness was cream filled sponges whether in the form of a Twinkie or Ding Dong, chocolate made them even better.
During college I walked everywhere I went but the eating habits pretty much stayed the same. Once married; life became a little more solitary. The big lifestyle change was having two children. I held on to some of my baby weight and also became a stay-at-home mom. While I would go on the occasional walk with the stroller, most of being home meant not being very active. As my children grew the less active I became. I hated to exercise but attempted with various exercise tapes. My husband and I even bought a weight machine- twice!
I am now 70 pounds heavier than I was on my wedding day. Reading about the couples boot camp fitness challenge on SWValleyParent.com gave me the kick I needed; it couldn’t have come at a more perfect time.
My husband and I are celebrating our 15th wedding anniversary this month. We plan on going on a cruise to celebrate. I never imagined I would be as heavy as I am. My motivation during this challenge is to be in better shape for our cruise.
(Rick Foxx)
For the last 20 years, I have been on what I call the “Mountain Dew Diet”. Every meal consists of a considerable amount of a sweet, carbonated beverage. Combine this with the limited activity of walking up and down the stairs in the house, and walking to and from the car and you understand why I’m where I am.
I sit behind a desk all day, and spend an hour and a half commuting to and from the office each day. Unfortunately, there isn’t much room for even moderate physical activity in my work day. My wife, Jennifer, and I talked for years about our need to get in shape. Aside from the occasional game of basketball or racquetball, and what little activity I get working in the yard, I just don’t get out much.
I wasn’t always this sedentary. Before the real-world responsibilities of a family and a full-time job, I was out three to four nights a week in one activity or another. Despite my bad eating habits, I still got enough exercise to offset my sweet tooth. As my physical activity dropped off, my energy level dropped, and my weight shot up.
Over the last few years, I tried to get a handle on my weight. Besides purchasing and then storing several fitness machines, I tried various fad diets and diet supplements. I did have varying degrees of success, but over time, I couldn’t stick to the programs. The fitness machines gathered dust in the corner, and I went back to my usual routine.
Both Jennifer and I are very excited to be involved in the Boot Camp Challenge. Our hope is that this program is exactly the kick in the pants we both need to develop good habits of physical activity. It’s a big help to have someone keeping track of our activity and helping us to stay on track. I know that once we get in the habit of proper exercise and diet, this is something we can stick with for life.
(Maria Cortese and Mike Tzinis)
Being chosen for the Boot Camp was a wake up call for us both. Being measured told us loud and clear we need to get moving. We chose to do this our lives were spinning out of control. Becoming this overweight has not only brought on health issues, it has caused guilt and heartache. Letting ourselves come to this point has been devastating. We need this challenge to get us into shape so we can be here for our daughter and for each other.
Food has become our main focus. Our lifestyle bought us to this point. It is now time for a serious change, in behavior and lifestyle. Our lives are busy with work, children, and various responsibilities but somewhere along the line we forget about us. We want our life back. We want to go dancing again, something we haven't done in over 10 years. We go on vacations to the beach, but we hate putting on bathing suits. This challenge is a motivation for a better life and a better “us” for the next 40 years.
We plan on continuing this long after the challenge is over. We don’t like what we see anymore, or what we have become. We took a long hard look at ourselves and asked ourselves if we liked what we say. The answer was “no”. Our motivation is to return to the old “us”.
(Brendan Fehr)
I am a 30 year old father of two and have been married for 4 years. Over the past several years a lot has changed for me. I got married, became a father, moved to a new state, and unfortunately, lost my mother and at a young age. My mother was not very active, was a heavy smoker and had a horrible diet. These things I’m sure caused my mother to lose her life at 50 and robbed me as well as my kids of a long life with her.
Up until now my eating habits and exercise routine consisted of walking to and from the kitchen, sitting down on the couch, and chomping on some chips or whatever else I found to snack on. It’s really hard to stay away from the 3 to 4 cans of soda a day, and the big fat cheeseburger. But now that I am part of something, something of which I am accountable for, I take more thought in what I put in my mouth and what I do on a daily basis for exercise.
Before I met my wife, I was quite independent and very job and goal oriented. Getting married and having a family has changed that. I realize now that family is more important than anything. Raising your kids and making sure they have a positive role model is most important. Part of raising your kids right is making sure you’ll be there throughout their lives. Overall health is a very important factor in being there for your kids and that is one of the reasons why I entered the contest.
Entering this contest and being picked as a finalist is one of the best things I’ve done in a while. Completing this challenge and making simple life changes gives me confidence that I am creating change in my life and the lives of our kids. I know now that the mistakes my mom made will end here and now, with me.
(Tiffany Fehr)
I am a mother of two who works full time. Since I met my husband six years ago, I have been steadily gaining weight. In the past year and a half, it has gotten worse. I now weigh more than I did during either of my pregnancies. I’ve used a lot of excuses for not exercising. The most common are “I’m too busy”, “I’m too tired”, and “honey, we can’t afford a membership at the gym right now”. But, honestly, there are only two major reasons. I am lazy and I like to eat junk food.
I turned thirty this year and have suddenly realized that I can’t live this way anymore. I don’t want to live this way anymore. We moved across the country to make a change to better our family. We make more money, live in a nicer house in a better neighborhood, yet we aren’t taking care of what is most important. It is time to work on us. I want to be able to enjoy all the physical activities this great area has to offer. I want to be able to take my kids on a hike or go camping without being worn out from unloading the car. Basically, I want to be able to enjoy life without being dragged down by extra weight. My husband and I need to change our lifestyle. We want to be healthy so that our children can enjoy us longer. We want to raise our kids in a health conscious home so that exercise and healthy eating habits come naturally to them. I don’t want them to get where we are now. I also want to do this for me. I don’t take a lot of time for myself. I want to feel and look better for me.
Learning we were finalists created a mix of emotions. I was very nervous, taking photos and measuring body fat was terrifying. I was very self conscious and afraid to see the results. In the end it will all be worth it. Hopefully, someone else out there will be motivated by my struggle and take on the challenge for themselves. When I think of the end result of all my work and know that I am making a positive change in my family’s future, I get goose bumps. I never thought I wanted to change, but now, I can’t wait to start!
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