Success Stories
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After 38 years, Lisa Cracraft stepped down from a full-time job. With this big change in her life, she knew it was time to focus on her health and wellness. Lisa reached out to J. Thomas Lovell Jr. Community Center and found the RevUp program.
When Lisa joined the RevUp program, she was welcomed into the group immediately. Her RevUp Trainer, Lori Davis, pushed Lisa to do her best but also provided adjustments to the program when needed. “I felt included, like I was definitely learning how to do more exercises, improving my health, and was motivated to keep going.”
Lisa lost 8 pounds and several inches in her first 6-week RevUp session. She was just getting started. “I had worked so hard. I never missed a class, and I took the things I learned and worked on them at the gym or at home. I also attended the Healthy Eating Every Day nutrition classes and changed my diet to be more protein/vegetables versus processed food. One thing I kept remembering that the trainer said was, “You know what to do, but you have to actually do it!”
Lisa’s motivation and confidence continued to grow as she progressed through the RevUp program. In July, Lisa had her annual physical and was shocked by her results. Within the four months of the program, Lisa lost 20 pounds, improved her cholesterol numbers, and improved her overall heart health. “I am stronger, I’ve learned so much about the weight equipment and exercises, I feel more confident in working out, and have really noticed a change in my endurance. I feel lighter and healthier as a result.”
Lisa highly recommends the RevUp program to others, stating, “If you need to exercise, improve your health, or want to have more self-care in your life --- join RevUp. The trainer will guide you, help you to be successful, and you will have a small group of people that have similar goals. I promise you will feel better about yourself and will want to keep going.”
-Lisa Cracraft
"Before RevUP, I had almost no energy, didn't have much desire to work out, and was making poor eating choices. Several people at the Police Department had told me of the results they had, so I thought I would give it a try. My initial goal was to lose enough weight to Zip Line during a family vacation to celebrate my youngest son graduating high school. I achieved that goal plus some. I am now in reload and still working hard and losing the pounds. I highly recommend this for anyone who is fighting the battle to stay healthy."
-Rodger Bowers
“RevUp is the single best thing I have ever done for my physical well-being! I believe the combination of nutrition classes and personal training was the key to my success. The MyFitnessPal app, made it a cinch to track both my food and exercise. Turning that information in each week kept me accountable and allowed my fitness coach to review my diaries and offer suggestions during my weekly coach calls. The before and after assessments showed the positive results of my hard work! I lost weight, gained muscle, and improved my cholesterol, triglycerides, blood sugar, heart rate and flexibility. I would recommend this program to anyone of any age who would like to lose weight, build strength and endurance, and improve their overall health. I was a 59-year-old with poor eating habits and a sedentary lifestyle. In July, I will be a 60-year-old who is healthier and more fit than I have been in years! Trust me, if I can achieve success through RevUp, anyone can! What a great team!!!”
-Pat Huskey
"In August 2011 I weighed 209 pounds, although I knew what I should be doing, I didn’t have anyone holding me accountable. In January 2012, I joined RevUP, and in 12 weeks, I lost 19 pounds. I continued logging my food and working out and ended up losing a total of 50 pounds and weighed 159 pounds 6 months later. I easily kept the weight off for 3 years. In 2015, I got lazy, I stopped logging my food and working out. As a result, I gained 30 pounds back. I was so disappointed with myself, so I reenrolled in the RevUP and quickly lost 18 pounds. RevUP is a great program to get you back into a routine, provide you with nutrition tips and gives you a team of people to keep you on track!"
-Jodi Bell
"When I started RevUp I didn’t expect much to come of it other than hopefully it would force me back into the mindset of working out every day and being active. It did, in fact, do that, and so much more. The healthy eating classes on Wednesday evenings taught me things I never would have thought about – and gave me insight into how to lead a healthier lifestyle. The training sessions were not easy at all – but were one of my favorite parts. The training sessions forced me to work out at another level beyond what I would do on my own. Most importantly RevUp helped remind me that eating healthy is doable, and working out and being active is fun and beneficial. 6 weeks later and 25 pounds lighter – I couldn’t be happier with the decision to make a lifestyle change through the guidance and assistance of RevUp."
-Ryan Gibson
"Engaging in the RevUp program was a hard decision for me. I am not a person to join things and can easily let life override some activities. So, that I managed almost 12 weeks of physical and nutritional training as well as putting focus on additional exercise has been a success for me. One of the important things that I was measuring the success of the program, was not totally weight. Yes, hard to believe that when I am definitely overweight. I wanted to make lifestyle changes that would improve my health and my quality of life. I recently had blood work done at my doctor's office. My HA1C level has been anywhere between 7.2 to 7.5 for the past year. This time it was 6.5. Definitely an improvement. In fact, all of my blood tests were well within the normal range. My second goal was to be taken off insulin. That has not happened yet. But I am not giving up on me. I didn’t get to this health situation in 12 weeks and don’t believe 12 weeks will make it all better. But, these 12 weeks have made me rethink my actions. It has also allowed me to make room for exercise in my life. I will say that the department's involvement has helped. They have been supportive and having exercise buddies is helpful. I would like to compliment Melissa.; I am timid and nervous about some exercise. She has been willing to work around some physical challenges and come up with alternate plans. When I have felt vulnerable about how out of shape I am, she has given me unexpected compliments about strength. She makes me believe in myself." - Julie Lambeth
"Over the last two years, I have had the opportunity to start working from home. I do software installation, and this seemed like the best thing to happen to me in some time. All of the travel time and gas I could save, it was great! Also, over the last few years, I had drifted towards living a sedentary lifestyle, sitting in front of a computer in the evenings. The result: I got up in the morning, sat down at the computer, and pretty much stayed there till I went to bed. Last January, I came to the stark realization that I had a problem. I was consistently having to buy new clothes because my waist was growing. Bending over to tie my shoes was a challenge. Walking up one flight of stairs winded me. I was overweight and out of shape.
At the age of 56, I knew I had to do something about my weight and overall health. New Year’s resolutions never worked for me. I had seen friends and family start on diets and lose weight only to gain it back. How was I going to tackle this challenge to lose weight and get in shape? I had taken a class at my church on healthy eating a few months prior. From what I remembered, it would help, but I needed more information and guidance. Also, I knew I had to get up off my bottom and move. But it was winter, who wants to go outside and exercise in the winter? Luckily, I had a treadmill from a previous attempt to get in shape. If I began using it, would I stay with it? Would that be enough?
In mid-January I started walking on the treadmill every morning. After 2 weeks, I decided I was serious about keeping this up, but once again just walking wasn’t going to be enough. I needed to join a gym, but which one? My daughter-in-law had a membership at Legacy Park Community Center. I looked at it and at other gyms. One thing caught my eye that was different than the other facilities: the RevUp Program. It sounded like exactly what I needed: gym access; access to a personal trainer; and nutrition classes. I had my first nutrition class and meeting with the personal trainer on February 16. At that point, I had been on the treadmill 5 days a week for almost a month, but the small-group exercise session really pushed me, and it continued to as the program progressed. I started coming to the gym in the morning, forcing myself to be there early so I had time to workout before work. After one week, it was the beginning of daylight savings, so I had to get up an hour earlier. Ouch! But I did it. I was going to get in shape. I had lost some weight by just walking on the treadmill, through the RevUp program I managed to lose another 25 lb, and since then, thanks to what I learned through the program, I have lost a total of 75 lb. 75 lb and at least 10" in waist size, these are the easy-to-record methods of measurement. What can't be measured is the overall improvement to my health and quality of life.
There was no magic diet, no special diet pill. It was simply a balanced approach with eating properly and exercise. Recording what I ate and keeping the balance of energy used > food eaten was the biggest factor. Cutting out processed foods, and foods high in carbs and fats helped a lot. Concentrating on increasing vegetables and fruits helped fill the gap. However, I did not tell myself there was something that I couldn't eat. I could have a soft drink if I wanted. I could have that big plate of BBQ. If I did have one of "those foods" though, I had to make up for it in exercise or by cutting back in other meals. If you tell yourself you "can't have something" you will just want it more.
I am currently working on my long-term, steady-state weight. I know that I will have to work to maintain this state for the rest of my life. That's ok though. Before I started, I was taking Ibuprofen daily for misc aches and pains and Tums for heartburn. Now, I hardly ever have to take those. Between the assorted strength, flexibility and cardio workouts, I feel great. I look at myself and say "I never thought I would be going to the gym 6 days a week, let alone taking Pilates or Yoga classes."
Why do I say all of this? First, yes I want to brag. I have done something I didn't think I could/would be able to do. But also, to encourage those who feel they need to improve their health but don't. It is all too easy to say “I can't do that” or “It is just too hard!” or even “I am too busy.” Ever heard that one? Or how about, “I just am not able to do the exercise.” One of my instructors broke her back 9 years ago, spent 3 months in the hospital and 6 months unable to walk. There is no way I can keep up with her in Pilates. Another gym patron has 9 bad vertebrae. She has chosen to keep her back in check by using muscle instead of surgery. If you put your mind to it, you CAN do it.
Is it easy? No. Each person will have their own barriers to overcome. Each person will have their own goals to hit. The end result is well worth the effort though. And it is not just about weight. Improved sleep, improved strength and energy and several other health benefits. I ask each person who reads this, when are you going to start improving your health?" - Carl Grabiel
