GHUTV Success Story: Jackie

We’re so inspired by our Get Healthy U TV members, and love when we hear from them with stories about their fitness journeys. If you have a story you’d like to share about how GHUTV has helped you stay fit, healthy, and motivated to work out, be sure to reach out and let us know!

I guess I was eating too many refined carbs, because the start of this journey is when I was diagnosed with Pre-Diabetes in mid-October 2015. I love sweets, especially chocolate sweets, and pretty much ate them whenever I felt like it. A lot of my carb choices were white: rice, potatoes, and bread, for example. Plus, I’ve always been a picky vegetable-eater.

I used to be pretty dedicated to regular exercise when I was younger, but the habit sort of drifted away in the past decade. I walked a lot in the summers, but that was about it. I thought a lot about exercising and getting fit, but it didn’t translate into much action.

Then a friend and colleague started posting workouts and recipes from Chris and Get Healthy U on Facebook. I was intrigued and knew it was time for me to make a change with the whole Diabetes thing. I was looking around for something fresh and contemporary and decided to give GHUTV a try. Chris seemed friendly and knowledgeable and I also liked that she was around my age!

Fast forward: I have completed three workout calendars as of today! I haven’t missed a day (although I sure appreciate the built-in days off!) In just three months, I have lost 15 pounds and have a lot more energy. My A1C (the main test that determines Diabetes) has dropped from 6.4 to 5.6, putting me just into the normal range. My triglycerides dropped from 250 to 76 and my cholesterol went from 231 to 172. How nice it is to go from doctor’s notes that say, “Jackie! High blood sugars!” to “All test results normal!”

I am so proud of myself and the main difference for me has been that all that destructive mental chatter that tells me to change, stop doing this, start doing that, has calmed down. I am doing what I know is good and feels good for me. My mood is lighter, and I think a lot of that has to do with simply doing what I know is right for my health. I will say that “the honeymoon is over” in that I have been challenged a lot to not workout, sleep in, eat what I feel like, etc. Chris frequently says you have to challenge your body to change your body, and I have held onto that saying to power me through the days I just want to give in to what is easier. I am learning that easier is not better and that when I do what is more challenging, I feel great!

I started with Move to Lose, and I like the low-impact moves and the fairly easy pacing of those workouts. (The Lower Body Shreds and Upper Body Tones are still challenging!) I added Walk & Tone workouts next and combined the two calendars while also increasing the size of my step height and the heaviness of my weights. The Walk & Tone to the Max workout is still a great challenge for me! After two months of that hybrid calendar, I am looking at Definitions as a way to ramp up my workouts without too much impact on my joints. My husband frequently tells me that the best workout is the one that makes you want to do it tomorrow, and I find that to be true!

One of my favorite things about GHUTV is that I have access to a variety of workouts that I can easily mix-and-match. I also like the choice of streaming videos or downloading them onto my iPad. Probably the main thing I like about GHUTV is that I can do the workouts I choose (they aren’t all beyond me) but there is more challenge to come when I am ready.

A big thank you to Jackie for sharing her story with us. Keep that motivation up! YES U CAN!