Lenisa O'Dwyer defines the word INSPIRATION! I get the privilege of working with this strong and determined lady twice a week at 5:30 am---that's right---you didn't misread anything, 5:30am. Through sleep deprivation, illness, busy life with work and children, and those days where she "just doesn't wanna" (we all know that feeling)----SHE STILL DOES. As you read her story, her journey to this lifestyle we call health and fitness, you will see that she lets nothing get in the way of her workouts and healthy habits. She has been though A LOT of "fitness obstacles" that could have easily derailed her. But she never quit! NO EXCUSES is the motto I think of when I work with Lenisa. She inspires me every day and I know you will feel the same!
LENISA'S JOURNEY
My journey to fitness and a healthy lifestyle really didn't start until after the birth of my first set of twins in 2003. I was 31 years old. Up until that point in my life, I had always been thin( 5'7 and a size 4 or 6) and if I needed to drop a few pounds I could just cut out this or that from my diet for a couple of weeks and the weight would fall right off. Things weren't really any different after the birth of even my first child in 2000, I got back down to my pre-pregnancy weight rapidly, so I didn't feel like I "needed" to exercise. BUT, a subsequent miscarriage, fertility treatments, and this set of twins later......well, my body became a whole different story! I had about 15lbs of weight hanging around that just wouldn't disappear like it had before. So, when the twins were about 5 months old I started running with a friend around the neighborhood at night. I joined the Women Can Run Clinic the following year and continued to be motivated by the other women, their stories, and encouragement. I completed two 5K races and a half-marathon that year. I had lost all the baby weight plus some and felt healthy , alive and empowered by all that I had been able to accomplish while working full-time and managing life with three small children!
LIFE THROWS A CURVE
Life was good; however, life had other plans for me. In 2006, I found myself the single mother of three children under the age of 5, working full-time, and with a diagnosis of Sarcoidosis (an autoimmune disorder). Who has the time or energy to work out?? I look back and really don't know how I did it but am very glad I kept running, because it was during my runs that I was able to be quiet, reflect, and enjoy some "me time". It was also a period of time that I dropped a LOT of weight. Stress, poor diet, and chasing after the kids caused me to lose 20lbs, but I continued running 4-5 days a week. Outside of work and home, I didn't have a life, so I made sure those runs happened!
MORE CHANGES, BUT WITH BLESSINGS!
I started dating again and then once I met my now husband, exercise took a back seat to dinners out and movies! By the time we married in August 2007, I had regained almost all of the 20lbs I had lost and then promptly became pregnant with my second set of twins!! Our family joined the gym and I tried to work out 2-3 days a week during the pregnancy to help increase my endurance for the pregnancy---I was 37 years old. I was able to return to my evening workouts about 6 months after delivery and boy did I need them!! The time at the gym was as much for my mental health as it was for my physical health. By combining exercise with a healthy diet, I dropped all 45 lbs I had gained with the twins and fit back into my size 6 clothes, at least for a few months, because then I became pregnant with baby number 6!! I was now 38 years old.
THE HARD WORK AHEAD
My workouts resumed just 3 months after my 6th baby was born BECAUSE I WAS DETERMINED TO GET BACK INTO MY CLOTHES! The problem was, I was the largest I had ever been and was working out, but this time the pounds weren't dropping. I thought maybe another "goal" would motivate me so a friend and I trained for and ran a half-marathon. But even with all the extra miles I was putting in, the weight wasn't coming off!!!
ACHIEVING HER GOALS/HOW SHE DID IT
It was during this time I started small group personal (three other girls and I) training with Robin---at 5:30 am. It was HARD to get up at that hour, but it was some of the only hours in the day that I had available. Over a year went by that I trained with Robin in my group, two mornings a week--I even trained an additional two mornings a week with a friend---and my weight was still staying the same. I could feel changes in my body once I added in strength training with Robin and my group---my body was stronger, tighter, and I had more endurance, but there was definitely areas of my body that still needed work and EXERCISE ALONE WAS NOT DOING IT.
In August 2011, I started seeing a dietitian. I was quickly reminded that calories still count, even when you are working out 4 days a week!! Boy was I in for an eye opener! My caloric intake was averaging 2500 per day, which was almost 800 calories more than my body needed!! This was why the extra pounds weren't being lost!
Over the course of the past 8 months, I have modified my diet and kept a detailed daily record of my food using the "Lose It!" app on my iPhone. The diet changes paired with consistent 4 days a week of workouts have allowed me to drop 15lbs and now I can really see the muscles I have worked so hard on that were hidden underneath a layer of fat. I am now proud to say that I am comfortably back in my size 6 clothes again and getting closer to a size 4. Exercise alone was not the answer!
The journey started almost 10 years ago (yes I am now 40!) and it will never end. I have learned along the way to do what you can, when you can, and NEVER STOP GIVING YOURSELF THE GIFT OF A HEALTHY BODY!
UPDATE!! (These changes occurred in Lenisa in the time between her sending me this story and posting it. This is why it's called a journey.)
Since I wrote my story, I've lost additional weigght and surpassed my original weight loss goals. I currently weigh 131 lbs, have lost a total of 21.2lbs of FAT, and GAINED MORE MUSCLE than I ever thought possible for me! Another positive side effect has been a drop in my BMI by 3.3%, which is great for my long term health.
NONE of this would be possible without CONSISTENT AND INTENSE workouts with Robin and A HEALTHY, PORTION CONTROLLED DIET. This is a lifestyle I can maintain!
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