Taking the first step

Meet Dorothy, one of Anytime Fitness Waunakee’s newest members.  After being inspired by her daughter, Dorothy came into the gym nervous, but ready to make a huge change in her life.  She has big goals, and reaching them won’t be easy, but Dorothy is motivated and is sure to succeed with the help of Anytime Fitness Waunakee and her personal trainer, Paul Marx.

To help keep her on track, and because she is sure to motivate so many others, Dorothy has agreed to my request to write about her weight loss journey each week.  Through this blog, you’ll get to hear how she is doing, what changes she is making, her struggles, and her smallest victories.  Her story is a great one, and there’s no doubt you’ll want to encourage her along the way.  Feel free to say hello, wish her luck, or just write her a message of reinforcement!   She’ll be a mainstay here at the gym, so you are bound to see her!

And if you have your own inspirational story, or working out has made a huge difference in your life, post about it, shoot us your story, or stop by the office and let us know.  We’d love to hear, and so would others that are just taking the first steps towards a new, healthier life!


So, that’s enough from me!  Here’s an introduction to Dorothy, in her own words! 

I am the youngest of six children; I had one sister and four brothers. My mother, father, and half of my siblings are overweight.  I always had a few extra lbs in high school and more as an adult.  At age 30 I got married and had a baby. I gained a lot of weight with my pregnancy, eventually weighing over 300 lbs.  When my daughter was 6 months old, I woke up and couldn’t get out of bed or walk. I somehow injured my back, they thought during childbirth.  I went through months of pain, lots of pain killers and muscle relaxers, physical therapy and nothing seemed to help.  I was in pain all the time. I finally saw a spine specialist who suggested I get an epidural shot in my back. At the time I could not stand the pain anymore and I tried it. It really did help, although I was concerned that these shots contained steroids. I ended up losing my job that I had had for about 6 years, because I couldn’t even walk. I was also gaining more weight because I was no longer active. I had to get shots in my back every 3 months and it started to help where I could get around with a walker. Finally being mobile, I was able to go back to college and get my accounting degree. The shots I had to get went to every 6 months.

I started to research having gastro bypass surgery in 2006, because I had hit my max weight of 480 lbs. Needless to say I was scared away from surgery when my sister had the same surgery and passed away after hers because of complications. I graduated from college in December of 2009 and was able to start working. I became more active, but at the time I was already diabetic and taking medication for cholesterol. I also had sleep apnea. I was just starting to be able to walk without a walker most of the time.

Although I was working I wasn’t able to keep a job for very long because I was still having problems walking and my health had declined so I was sick a lot!  I was considered disabled and felt like a failure because I couldn’t keep a job. 

In January of 2011 I lost my mother. They told us they thought her weight was the reason she passed away. By this time I was scared. I lost the two most important women in my life because of their health at early ages.


It made me start thinking about what am I doing to myself. I started to think about gastro bypass again. I felt like I needed to change things but wasn’t sure where to start. I knew I had to do something soon because I didn’t know what would happen to my daughter if I died. I started talking to my doctor and a dietitian. I was able to lose 110 lbs.

In October of last year my husband and I separated and are now going through a divorce. Because of this I was feeling even more pressure to get healthy because I was more convinced than ever that I need to be there for my daughter because I feel like her father cannot. After talking to my cousin Chris a lot, he convinced me to start watching the Biggest Loser on TV. After he pestered me relentlessly to watch the show I finally gave in. I thought it was wonderful that these people are really losing weight, but I could never do that. After a few weeks of me watching it my daughter got interested in it and wanted to watch it also. About two weeks ago she said “mommy I think you should go on the show.”  I asked her “Do you really think I could do that?”  She said “Yes mommy.  I want you to be healthy.” I can’t tell you what that did to me. I was actually thinking about doing it.

But that is just it. I do a lot of thinking and not acting. I want to get healthy but I am not doing anything about it. I was talking more to my cousin and blaming him for corrupting my daughter with The Biggest Loser!  He said “What is stopping you?” I responded, “I don’t want to go on the show and have someone yell at me all the time and let the whole world see me fat.”

Then he asked “Why don’t you join a gym? You know you won’t get what you need out of it unless you hire a trainer also?” I thought about it that day. Why not? I am starting a new chapter in my life and getting rid of excess baggage.  Why not get rid of all excess baggage (meaning my weight too)?

On Tuesday February 21 I called Anytime Fitness.  I asked all my questions and set up an appointment to visit the gym on Wednesday. Lindsay showed me around and explained everything to me. Lindsay was very friendly and supportive. She also set me up with Paul, a personal trainer. I was a little overwhelmed after leaving.  I was feeling good that I signed up, but afraid that I might not succeed.  But the most important feeling I had was that I need to change my future.

On Friday February 24^th I met Paul for the first time. I am really happy that Lindsay suggested him. I really wanted someone who would be aggressive but not in your face. I know I don’t do well with someone yelling at me. Paul was very nice and informative. He went over how dieting and working out needs to work together. He measured my body weight and body fat and asked me about my goals. Then we worked out and he assessed my abilities and physical level. I committed to training with him three days a week. I can say I was worried but somehow they had the perfect trainer for me that fits my needs well. This all went better than I had expected. I was very happy and felt excited with my decision to join.

So here is my goal. I will get down to 160 lbs. I believe I can do this in 2 years or less. I will not have diabetes, high cholesterol or sleep apnea when I am done! My biggest obstacle is myself, if I let myself be. Other obstacles will be finances (like being able to afford Paul) and time (I have a child that needs to be watched). But really all these are excuses….I need to do this for me, my daughter and our future!

I won’t lie, the first day (or three) I was really sore. I haven’t worked out in like 9 years. My legs did hurt. But it got better with time. I feel better a week later. I am happier and feel better and have been sleeping better. I feel good walking into the gym because staff is always greeting me with a smile and Paul always stops by to say hi.