For the last 12 weeks, you’ve been getting a training update from Linden. She’s been sharing her side of the story, opening up about what it’s like to start this journey.
I’ve remained quiet since introducing her to you. I wanted this to be her story, unfiltered and real. Now that she’s spreading her wings and going forward on her own I thought it would be okay to throw in my 2 cents.
With Linden’s permission, let me share how she fared on this first leg of the journey. Here are some basic stats:
Weight Lost: 13.4 lbs
Body Fat % Decreased: 2.3%
Fat Lost: 9.3 lbs
Inches off Waist: 3.5 inches
This in 12 weeks that included:
- One week of assessment sessions (very light workouts)
- One twisted ankle (jumping off a roof)
- Unable to run for 2 weeks after hurting knee
- Trips home to be with family, including one emergency trip due her grandmother’s illness.
My point is these weeks were not perfect. She had life coming at her from every direction. Obstacles presented themselves on almost a weekly basis. Sometimes we only got one session in. Sometimes runs had to be moved or abbreviated. Yet she persevered.
She knew that she had to take control of her health before it took control of her. I am so very proud of her for turning to me that morning last summer and saying I need to do something.
Something for many people can take a lot of forms: starvation diets, dangerous hormone injections, fads and gadgets. But she knew in her heart that something, if it was going to work and be lasting, had to be a permanent change in how she lived.
And it wasn’t easy. She pushed back on sugar. Her food journal had gaps and it was never perfect. But as she started to have more good days than bad and to treat her herself like the athlete she is things started to happen. She noticed, friends noticed. I saw her beam at the compliments at our Twitter meet up. I saw her confidence increase. I saw her grow strong-mentally and physically.
Perfection shouldn’t be the goal because, as you can see, it rarely happens. The goal should be do something real and sustainable, making changes that are both impactful and livable. Linden did this, bit by bit and week by week. She changed things that alone didn’t seem big, but when combined lead to some pretty satisfying results. As she continues down this road she will continue to transform. Perhaps if we are lucky she will continue to share her journey with us. After all she’s not really on her own. She has you, me, friends and family that want to see her succeed. She’ll never be alone on this journey again.
