Joining Culver's Culture of Fitness

Susan Freymiller, Oct. 2014

  
When I first started working at Culver over six years ago, I considered myself to be in decent shape.  I liked to run a couple miles on the weekends every so often and though I did not have the greatest of eating habits and weighed a few more pounds than I should, I considered myself pretty average and doing the best I could.  After all, I had given birth to four kids (!) and had talked myself into accepting my extra 20 pounds.  I had been off and on diets, lost pounds here and there and had gained them back.  So I just figured I had to accept my situation and just be happy I wasn’t in worse shape.
But when I saw my wellness screening results in November 2010, I was a little shocked.  I had a number of areas that had red indicators (not good) and I was listed as overweight.  It was a wakeup call for me.  As someone who was a 3- season athlete in high school and had competed in several intramural sports in college, I realized I could do better.  And since I’m a bit of a competitive person, I decided to get all green indicators and started working out more often at the fitness center.  However, I still did not lose any weight until I had a checkup with Dr. Johnson at the clinic and he suggested MyFitnessPal.  I was discouraged with my lack of progress using my previous unsuccessful methods so I committed to try MyFitnessPal that summer and scheduled to do a weight check each week at the clinic for accountability.  
That summer, I logged into MyFitnessPal each day, weighed in each week, rode my bike to work and to the fitness center to work toward my goal.  After 10 weeks, I was excited to hit my goal of 20 pounds and had dropped two dress sizes in the process.  I was determined to keep it off so I signed up for the fitness center challenge to help me work out each week.  In addition, yoga classes with Sam Boys helped to keep me positive and nonjudgmental of my occasional lapses.  
For the past three years, I have kept off most of the weight and have run the LakeMax triathlon each year.  I feel strong and healthy and am no longer taking cholesterol medication.  I still need to work on my eating habits but am encouraged each time I go to the fitness center that there are others working towards their goals and reaching them. I am so grateful for the fitness center classes and the yearly challenges to be healthy.  Culver is truly a wonderful community for encouraging fitness and healthier living!