90 lb Success Story with pics chosen for company website!

Hi!
I am just ecstatic and had to share! :happy: Back in April the large company that I work for launched a "Get Active" challenge that runs through the end of summer. To kick it off, we could submit our weight loss success stories and I was encouraged by a co-worker to do send in mine!
So I did, and heard nothing of it until last week when they sent me an email letting me know that they chose my story to publish on our large companies intranet for all the employees nationwide to see! I was thrilled and honored! This is my story below and the pics that were published with it, a couple not so lovely "before" pics and a pic that was taken of me last week.

I still have about 17 pounds to get to my goal, but I know I will do it. Since this story was written, my doctor has taken me off of another medication for high blood pressure and I am down to just one that I am being weaned off of slowly. My pressures have been excellent and I feel terrific! Nothing like seeing my story on our company intranet this morning to motivate me to get to my goal, that's for sure! Here is the article:

A Hundred Pound Weight-Loss Journey


Michele Johnson, an implementation manager from Florida, is on a journey to lose more than 100 pounds. Here, in recognition of the ongoing Get Active challenge, she talks about her weight-loss journey, how she got started and how she keeps motivated. She writes, "Three things I like to chant to myself when hard exercise starts to get tough: Make it count. Don't stop. And I can do it!"

Read her story

A Hundred Pound Weight-Loss Journey

Posted July 08, 2013

The following story is written by Michele Johnson, an implementation manager based in Florida, who in 2011 began a weight-loss journey to take off more than 100 pounds. It wasn’t easy. But as Michele says, it was worth it. Read her story, and then check out the tools and resources available to help you improve or maintain your health on the Wellness Works website. And don’t forget that you – and your family members – can always access this website from home or on your mobile devices.

In August of 2011, I made the decision to get healthy. I had 107 pounds to lose to get to a healthy weight for my height, and to date I have lost 90 pounds! This is by far the best thing I could have ever done for myself.

When I started my weight loss journey, I was on multiple blood pressure medications. With a family history of heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes, I knew I had to do something to minimize my risks. My husband gently reminded me that I needed to be around for our young daughters, and to be able to keep up with them now in their busy active lifestyles. So I joined a local gym and never looked back. I started going almost every day. My main exercise was using the elliptical machine. My first time on the machine, I thought I was going to die after only two minutes. But I built up over time and now I can easily do an hour. I have since moved on to using the Cross Ramp cardio machine because it really challenges me, and it is a great calorie burner.

My workout routine now consists of an hour-long spin class cycling – where I ride 20 miles in each class – which I take two to three times a week. I also do Zumba dance classes for an hour, two to three times a week. I go to aqua aerobics classes for an hour once-a-week, and I also do strength training/weight lifting three to four times each week. I eat healthy and know that all good things are fine in moderation.

My biggest accomplishment so far this year is that I completed my first 5K race in February. I am not a runner by any means, so I thought I would just jog and walk fast and take breaks when needed. Well, I ended up jogging the whole 3.1 miles and did it in 43 minutes! It felt amazing and as soon as I got home, I signed up for my next 5K which was the “Color Me Rad Race” in April.

I am happy to say that my doctor has totally eliminated one of my blood pressure medications, and has lowered the dosage of the other one drastically and is slowly weaning me off of it. He no longer needs to track my cholesterol and triglyceride or glucose levels, as they are all in the very healthy range. I saw my other doctor for an annual exam last week, and she was so proud of my weight loss! She told me at the end of the appointment to “please go out and motivate others to lose weight because obesity is such a big issue out there.”

So I motivate you to make a change for the better! Let there be no excuses, just go out and do it, tell yourself that you are worth it, every day. Three things I like to chant to myself when hard exercise starts to get tough: Make it count. Don’t stop. And I can do it!













Thanks for reading!!