April lost 48 pounds

Transformation of the Day: April lost 48 pounds. This Alpha Kappa Alpha soror and her husband lost over 100 pounds combined. They were on a mission to improve their health, so they enlisted the help of a coach and began to take action by eating right and exercising.

Height: 5’8″
Weight Loss: 48 pounds
Starting Weight: 207 pounds
Current Weight: 159 pounds

What was your motivation? What kept you going when you wanted to give up?
My motivation was to help my husband, Lamara, lose weight and get off a lot of medications he was taking. A lot of his health issues were related to his weight and I thought it would be better if we did it together. It was a team effort. He was my supporter and my encourager.

The real wakeup call for me was when I did my body scan and found out that I had over 40% total body fat. That was my true wake-up call. I knew that I needed to do something and do it right now!

My husband and I worked with Kurt Dixon of Body Refined, Inc. His program is focused on  the whole body, not just losing weight. I enjoyed the personal check ups. Kurt will get you on the right track if you just follow what he suggests that you do to get you to your goal.

I really can’t say there was a time when I wanted to give up. There were times when I got discouraged and felt like nothing was going to change, but I had to trust the program and do everything I was supposed to do. When I did that, things started to get better. Having my husband to give me a pep talk every now and then also helped on those bad days/weeks.

How did you change your eating habits? 
My eating habits changed in the sense of when I ate. I ate on a schedule and still do. Stopped eating any fried foods, but we had already cut most of that out before we started this journey. I ate more vegetables and was introduced to foods that I would not have eaten unless I was told to try to eat them. Most, if not all, of the foods that were introduced I began to love and want to eat them all the time now. My husband cut out soda. He used to drink 2-4 Pepsis a day, but began to drink water instead. He also stopped eating late at night.

What did your workout routines look like?
In the beginning, all I was supposed to do was walk about 30 minutes a day. After more weight came off, Kurt gave me specific exercises to do in the gym, which I did for a minute but my work schedule as a night nurse made it hard to get in the gym consistently. My workout routine was 6 days a week, with a rest day on sunday. My husband also started exercising regularly. He would meet me at the gym after my shift ended in the morning.
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Starting weight/Current weight
I started at 207 pounds, but my heaviest weight had been 230 pounds. Now, my weight ranges between 159-162 pounds. My husband went from 250 pounds to 195 pounds, for a total of 55 pounds lost.

How long did your transformation take?
We started our journey in February 2016 and we are still transforming. It is an on going process.

What advice do you have for other people who want to lose weight?
You have to be ready mentally. You have to know how to say NO and mean it. Learn how to resist temptation, because it will be all around you. You have to prepare. If we did not meal prep, I would not have made it. I did not have any excuses about what I/we were going to eat because we prepped all our foods in advance. Also, be prepared to lose some friends. You will have good and bad days, but the end result is worth the sacrifice.

Trainer: Body Refined, Inc
@bodyrefinedinc