4
min read
Shelton Power Couple Takes The Win
"Meet Sue and her husband Steve, they just completed our most recent Edge Challenge. Sue was Shelton's overall and female winner dropping 9.02 % body fat and Steve took first place for the men with a 7.08% drop. They are dynamite -- journaling, mindful and creative eating, consistency with workouts (in and outside the gym) and making small, sustainable changes that will last them a lifetime. I consider it a privilege to be their trainer. Here is their story." - Therese Jositas
"The couple that loses together -- wins…
Our story is a rather simple one, there is no secret pill or secret anything, good old fashioned hard work and commitment was all we needed. Being serious about our health and our fitness. My husband, Steve (53) and I (52) both have some pretty significant back issues. I have degenerative back issues going on in my lower back on both sides that I have been trying to work through. Steve had major back surgery in 2019. So having to deal with these issues has certainly made exercise difficult and let’s face it, when you are getting older your body just doesn’t respond like it used to either. Our amazing trainer, Therese Jositas, has been absolutely incredible about working around our issues so we don’t hurt ourselves and she has made me so strong. I’m going for the long haul here, what I decided to do today was to get me through old age later. Therese has challenged me and pushed me and it wasn’t easy on some days but you have to look at your end goal, whatever that is. I finally convinced Steve to join me and get stronger too. Then came all the hype about the winter Edge Challenge kicking off in mid February, I have been part of previous challenges but never gave it my all because of my back issues, or maybe that was even an excuse to some degree who knows. Well this time I was mentally ready and this time I had a partner!
Once you get into the mindset of a healthier lifestyle then it is much easier than you think, trust me! I hate the word “diet” because that makes you feel like you are depriving yourself of foods you love. It’s really just about a little food and nutrition knowledge that makes it easier to make better choices. For example, getting salad dressing on the side allows you to control how much goes on, seems so simple but those little changes matter. Every restaurant offers healthier options and if you are at the grocery store, look for low fat cheese or lite mayo, cut the calories wherever you can – they add up! This challenge kicked off right after Superbowl, so I practiced this way of thinking with one of our all time favorites….Nachos! We used roasted chicken instead of beef or pulled pork, and I made a very simple but flavorful roasted tomatillo sauce instead of sour cream, I even made my own nacho chips by baking whole wheat tortillas myself which was super simple. I think they were even better this way! There are so many ways to swap out calories for flavor to make healthier choices. I have never logged food or counted calories, the Myfitnesspal program really takes the guesswork out of it. I highly recommend it. If you were on a budget you would have to track your spending right? Same idea if you want it to work.
So the bottom line here is that you have two people who are not teenagers anymore and who have significant back issues that made a smart decision, made a commitment, did it together and took home the win for both men, women and the overall club!" - Sue
