ONE YEAR LATER...

I had a goal.  

He had a goal.

One year later...

Mr. B.T.C and I hired a personal trainer as our Anniversary gift to each other on March 18, 2012.

We had goals for ourselves.  His was to be in the best shape of his life by the time he turned 40. He had one year (May 16, 2013) to accomplish this. Mine was to tone up.

Our one year photos prove that we are well on our way to accomplishing our goals but we are far from finished.  

We have loved every day(with the exception of the first two weeks. The "new" food plan was an adjustment) of this journey.   We hired Justin Mason as our trainer.  This proved to be a step in the right direction.

I've hired trainers from L.A. Fitness and LifeTime in the past. I worked my butt off during those 3o minute sessions! Unfortunately after months of training I never really saw the kind of change I was looking for in my body other than getting a little stronger.  This wasn't enough to keep me going!  

I thought I ate pretty darn healthy until this new trainer of ours (Mason) emailed me my first food plan. 

I looked at it and thought no biggie! I got this. 

I'm not gonna lie, those first two weeks were much harder than I anticipated.  I quickly learned what clean eating really meant. 

As we began to eat healthy we began to notice changes.  First of all, our flabby figures began to take shape.  Secondly and most importantly for ME was my health issues began to diminish COMPLETELY!!! I no longer had bladder infections or bladder like symptoms.  This was huge as I had suffered for 6 years with chronic pain.  I had every test done known to man and no one could come up with answers.  It had to be related to the food that I was putting in my mouth!  Part of the food plan includes a gluten free diet. I believe this is what improved my health. 

I've always been committed to being healthy. After giving birth to five children and noticing my waistband began to get a bit wider I acted immediately! I hired gym trainers(as stated above).  When this failed, I attended gym classes and I mean I ATTENDED GYM CLASSES faithfully!  When I didn't get the results I wanted, I turned to workout videos.

DON'T JUDGE! I was doing the best I knew at the time. I mean after all,  I thought I would see huge changes when I purchased Jillian Michaels 30 day shred and Jackie Warners power circuit training. Those video's kicked my butt BUT just look at the "before" picture above. I needed something more.

My Hubby also worked out daily at the gym but clearly we were missing something. 

We were ready to get committed at a whole new level.  After hiring Mason I feel like my workouts weren't as miserable as my previous attempts(gym trainers, videos, gym classes).  Don't get me wrong, we still work hard but it's a different kind of hard.   It's actually enjoyable.  I love it!  I never thought I would say that! 

Mason holds me accountable(we send him pictures every 6 weeks).   He has taught me clean eating and proper portion size.  He's also taught me the importance of daily cardio and what vitamins I need to be taking.  These are just a few of the many things I've learned.  This is what causes a body to REALLY change.

Thank you Mason for being there every step of the way as a dedicated trainer and friend. You have been an inspiration to many! 

*If any of my local friends are interested in training with Mason, I'd be happy to share his contact info.