Linda R.

Success Story

Formerly obese woman becomes an athlete at age 64 with help of Isagenix

I was 62 before I could entertain the word “athlete” as part of my identity. I was raised in the 50’s by a 5’2” mom who never weighed more than 110 lbs. in a neighborhood filled with stick-thin children. By these standards, I was viewed as “chunky”. I remember the day I weighed myself at 110 lbs.(12 yo) and decided that if I could just grow upwards, I would grow into my weight. Sadly, I did not grow taller, I only gained weight. Like many, my weight went up and down, seemingly of its own volition. Eventually, it ballooned to a high of 185 for my son’s wedding. Uggh! There were upsides…a kind of invisible wall…that accompanied more prevalent downsides…not having any energy and feeling really bad about myself.

At age 56, I was in Moab with my kids and my toddler grandson. One son, Kenyon, was jumping off cliffs (base jumping) and the other, Michael, was climbing up cliffs. Climbing was captivating. I made one of those empty assertions “I’d like to learn how to do that” and somehow, it became a goal. I went home to get lighter and stronger and came back 6 months later at about 160 to climb with Michael. One rappel and 40 foot climb was all I could manage, but I was really hooked! I started climbing frequently 6 months later and lost a few more lbs. When Kenyon started with Isagenix, being a good supportive Mom, I enrolled, used it, lost a few more pounds and settled around 150. However, I never really committed to the program even though I used a lot of product. Consequently, I never lost and kept those extra pounds off. I was still solidly in the “over-weight” BMI category. I talked about it, but failed to commit. I hit a ceiling in climbing, totally stuck at 5.7, considered by most as easy. I knew that climbing ability is dictated by “strength to weight ratio” and I had too little strength and way too much weight.

Kenyon started talking about the Challenge again and this time it clicked. This time, I really thought about what I was committing to: daily exercise, staying on program, eliminating caffeine, releasing the wall that extra weight confers, cleansing. The phrase “not for me” became a mantra through Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s, a 7 day cruise and a variety of other eating-based events. I learned perseverance and self- discipline, both of which I was never good at. I had a lot of surprises. I learned that the world didn’t fall apart if I went to dinner and had steamed veggies, my friends didn’t make fun of me for being healthy even when they were not, and expecting my partner to make his own meals did not result in the dissolution of our relationship. I realized how many of these imaginary barriers I had put in my own way for so many years. Oh, and the loss of invisibility resulted in more positives than negatives. Who would have thought?

Now at 123, I have lost 30.75 inches, 18% of my body weight, have a BMI of 22.5 and am climbing 5.9 (moderate to almost difficult) with more ease and pride. I feel good and have energy. Next effort? Scuba!!