Wheelchair to running coach. In 28 months. 100lbs lost.

BevBasil

I am at a loss for words.......incredible!!!

saugonda1

You Look Great

karolinacorrea

What an amazing story!!!

fpelletier

Amazing! You are amazing & congrats on your new job!

niricava

You brought tears to my eyes. What an amazing journey and gift to yourself, your family and your friends that you are now healthy! WTG!

I write this post on the eve of my first official day as a group exercise instructor at the YMCA. My new program starts tomorrow, a class for beginner runners called "Moving with Joy."

Hi, my name is Joy and I'm a 33 year old, 5'8" mom of three girls, ages 3, 5, and 7. Just over two years ago I weighed 270 pounds and was in a wheelchair, temporarily paralyzed from the waist down due to a herniated disc caused by a combination of genetics, and being significantly overweight.




It took me one year of daily exercise (walking, then running) and using MFP religiously, to lose 100+ pounds.




In the past 28 months not only have I lost 100+lbs, but I've added years to my life and discovered a true passion for running. Since I began running 21 months ago, I've run over 2300 miles. I've run 2 half marathon races and I'm currently approaching my first full marathon, the Philadelphia marathon in 5.5 weeks. My longest training run so far was 18 miles.

I am not fast. But my endurance is really coming along. My best half marathon race time was 2:19:02. If my teammates and I can finish the Philly full marathon in under 5 hours, I'll be a happy camper.

So now I look something like this:


And tomorrow at work I'll be wearing this:


My class is for people truly at the beginning of their fitness journey. It's a 9 week program with the goal of being able to run or walk a 5k at the end of the session. I'm going to show them that with true dedication you can make BIG changes in your life.

I've also been volunteer coaching the boys' running club at the local elementary school, and wow, what a rewarding experience!

Thanks for reading. :-)



Joyzy

ShannonKelliG

Wow! Amazing! Just . . . amazing!

provence9

Wow. This is one of the best Success Stories that I have ever read, Truly Inspiring.

BeefyBFit

You are truly AMAZING Joy! Such an inspiration! Go you!

sydneytomunich

Incredible story!! Well done to you!!

DiaryofaMadFatMan

Amazing! You go, Joy! :flowerforyou:

themmbar

Way to go - and thanks for inspiring the rest of us!

stephenson2012

You definitely are amazing. I am hoping you beat your time for the Philly marathon.

mkcmurphy

Wow! You have done so much! Your students will appreciate where you've been and how far you've come. Good luick in Philly!

SuperSexyDork

That's so fantastic!

nickalow11

Fantastic! Thank you so much for the inspiration and motivation to keep at it!:flowerforyou:

carrotsaregood

Holy. Cow.

I would hug you and then start applauding if I ever met you. You are amazing and I'm BEYOND impressed and inspired.

Well said.

kathleenjoyful

You are such an inspiration. I love that you're taking your learnings to others who need them, I love the name of your class! I think it's so important to teach how to start, and how to keep going.

massage_gal

Fantastic! You are one to jump up and down about!!!

annakow

thanks for sharing, you are a star
I am going to run half marathon in march 2014, Hastings, UK

Hildy_J

OMG this has brought tears to my eyes.

You're amazing and I think you won MFP.