Since puberty, I have always been overweight. It was something I have always wanted to change, but never knew how to. When I had twin daughters in 2004, I lost the 50-plus pregnancy pounds I had gained pretty easy with breastfeeding two hungry babies. However, when I stopped breastfeeding nine months later, the weight slowly started coming back on, and I reached my highest non-pregnancy weight in 2008. I knew I had to do something. I have a high incidence of diabetes in my family and didn't want to go down that path if I could help it. I also found keeping up with my two 4-year-olds was getting harder. I just didn’t have the energy to run and play like they wanted me to do.

My physician recommended I join some type of program to lose weight. I decided to join Ways to Wellness in November of 2008. I liked the qualifications of the coaches being certified personal trainers and registered dieticians. That type of expertise appealed to me.

Going through the testing on the first visit proved to me that there was a lot I could change. I really liked the diet plan that was laid out for me on that first meeting. It was easy to see how the food portion sizes that I was eating were putting extra unwanted calories into my diet. By starting to keep track of what I was eating in my food log I learned to be more aware of my choices.

I made a commitment to exercise 20 minutes 3 times a week at the start of the program. We decided to buy a treadmill to help with the process and found myself doing 30 minutes every day once I started to get such great results.

I really liked working with my trainer, Rachel, at my sessions. We are the same age and it was nice to chat about life and family while getting a good workout. I told her I liked variety in my workouts and she delivered. I never had the same session twice. We did cardio and strengthening exercises, but there was always something new to try. We used Rachel's yoga training to work on balance issues which seemed to be an issue for me. I even did some boxing exercises — something I never thought I would do.

The Ways to Wellness program was easy. I could plan morning or evening sessions to work with my schedule. I also liked how it was us to me to determine what to work on at our meetings. While I mostly chose to get a full workout in, I liked having the option to discuss nutrition questions too.

Just over halfway through the program, I met the modest goal I had set for myself at the start. With Rachel cheering me on, I just kept going and have lost 30 lbs. It's great to have friends and family comment how great I look, and my self image has greatly improved. I have more energy (no more napping) which is good because I need it to go shopping for new clothes that fit me!