My Success Story

"You are so much stronger than you think you are." ... words that have resonated with me since my 5th session at Training Pad. I had spent most of my adult life paralyzed by depression and eating disorders, and I had let myself become a shadow of who I wanted to be. I stopped going out. I pushed my family and friends away. I had hit rock bottom, and I knew that something had to give, but I was so overwhelmed and I didn't know where to start. I had spent the last decade of my life convincing myself that I wasn't good enough, and honestly, when I joined Training Pad, I had bet myself that I would give up after my first ten sessions. I signed up, to begin with, because I thought I needed someone to whip me into shape, someone to keep me accountable and to (essentially) do the work for me. I knew that I needed a complete physical overhaul, and that I needed to lose weight, but what I ended up getting out of it was so much more. I started slow. I was ashamed of how bad I had let myself get. I had panic attacks every time I got my heart rate up, I felt like I couldn't breathe, I cried at least once every time I worked out because I couldn't remember the last time I actually pushed myself, and that was terrifying. I didn't know what my body could do. The trainers - and I can't stress this enough - I am SO grateful for these people. They stood by me during all the meltdowns and the temper tantrums, they helped me modify exercises when something hurt, they taught me how to read and understand my body instead of letting me get away with "This hurts, I suck at this, so I won't do it."

And most of all, they were so patient. I spent almost a year with them without seeing any actual weight loss, because I was reluctant to change my terrible eating habits. Not once did anyone make me feel ashamed about that. Not once did I feel unworthy, or ugly, or like I had failed. No matter how many times I beat myself down, I could count on them to help pull me back up, and I can't thank you guys enough for that. You guys never gave up on me. You believed in me when I didn't.

Finally, a year in, something clicked. I started using the lessons learned at the gym to develop techniques to overcome the worst moments in my food addiction. The whole "this hurts, I suck, so I won't do it" thing was a major theme in my life, and any time I was uncomfortable or bored or lonely, I would turn to food. Learning at the gym that I COULD get through those moments taught me that I could actually make it through those moments if I worked through them, and that's been life changing for me. I'm immensely proud to say that in the last three months, I'm down almost twenty pounds, but more importantly, I am HAPPY. I know I have a ways to go, but it finally feels attainable. I am so much stronger than I think I am. I can do this. Thank you, T.P for believing in me and for supporting me unconditionally.

Image on left: January 2020

Image on right: March 2020

Lost: 20 lbs

Gained: Health, confidence, happiness.