Linda's Weight Loss Journey

[caption id="attachment_773" align="alignleft" width="238"] Before[/caption] [caption id="attachment_772" align="alignleft" width="140"] After[/caption]    

Hi everyone. My name is Linda and I just turned 43 in April. I moved to New Jersey almost 2 years ago from Hawaii. I know what some of you may be thinking…”Why would I leave beautiful warm Hawaii and move to New Jersey?” The answer is simple…God blessed me with the best job in the whole world. I get to be the caregiver to the best mom and the nanny to my brother’s adorable children. My nephew is 3 years old and my niece is 19 months old.

My brother and his wife work long hours so my schedule can be crazy at times. I felt exhausted most of the time because of the lack of rest due to potty training, someone was sick or the baby was teething, etc. I would drink a lot of sugary coffee drinks for the caffeine in order to get some energy. It didn’t help that I was overweight and didn’t exercise. I kept getting heavier because of all those unhealthy sugary drinks but I needed the caffeine so I kept drinking them. I was in a cycle of insanity and knew something had to change. Sometimes when you take care of others, you forget to take care of yourself. I’m learning that I need to take care of myself so that I’ll be healthy enough to care for the ones I love. I’m reminded that the important things in life are not always convenient and require preparation and organization. A lot of times I get stuck in the paralysis of analysis. I tend to over think things so much that I get overwhelmed and don’t take action on them.Cris and Yvette are constantly helping me to overcome those mental barriers. They constantly help me to set realistic goals, encourage me to journal what I eat, drink & did for exercise and be accountable. I call them the Dynamic Duo. God gave me a double blessing by bringing these wonderful mentors into my life! You are truly priceless to me!!! Cris has been such an inspiration to me. It’s not very common to watch your trainer lose weight and transform in front of you. Cris has children that are close in age to my brother’s children so we are usually experiencing the same issues on a weekly basis. Cris, I truly believe God hand picked you to train me. You truly lead by example!!! You are always there to encourage me! You have been an awesome mentor and a great friend to me! Yvette, you’ve got a big heart and it shows through you and your business!!! Thank you for reaching out to me. Your constant encouragement and tough love have meant so much to me. Your 10 minute workouts,  “10 in 10 with Yvette” on youtube gave me hope about working out. I work extremely long hours during the weekdays so these 10 minute workouts were something I could make time for. Your Sunday classes have really helped my prayer life and my body. I find myself getting closer to God because I’m constantly praying to make it through the class. I’m so grateful for the wonderful community of people in the Sunday classes. I’m so out of shape that I can barely keep up but your encouragement keeps me going. My heartfelt thanks goes out to all of you!!!