Fitspiration Friday: I Had Gained More Than 70 Pounds Thanks to Fertility Treatments and Hormone Swings

If you’ve tried a Beachbody program, you’ve probably had a goal in mind that you wanted to achieve. Maybe you wanted to lose weight. Maybe you wanted to get stronger. Maybe you wanted to improve your health. Maybe it was a mix of all three, or something else entirely. But, along the way, no matter what your goal, everyone needs a little inspiration. Every other Friday, the Beachbody Success Stories team will share inspirational fitness stories from some of the folks who have done Beachbody programs. Maybe one will inspire you!
Meet Sandra. After years of fertility treatments and miscarriages, Sandra had gained more than 70 pounds and couldn’t seem to shed it.

“At 35, I was very fit. But, in my 40s, I gained more than 70 pounds trying to have a baby. Five miscarriages and wild hormone swings from shots, pregnancies and IUI attempts, packed on the pounds. I worked out religiously, weight trained with a trainer twice a week and did 45 minutes to an hour of cardio three times a week. But nothing worked. Even though I was on a diet of 1200 calories (or fewer).

Every doctor I spoke with wanted to put me on diabetic medications or treat the symptoms, not find the cause. I looked for answers from every type of doctor and fitness specialist. I spent thousands on supplements and blood tests. Nothing helped.

Finally, in October 2014, I found a doctor that adjusted my hormones and the symptoms and illnesses went away. I finally felt like my body would meet me halfway, and I might see some results.

Despite the extra weight, I was in pretty good cardio health. My main issue was my back hurt from the excess weight in my chest, and my hips and knees ached from carrying it all. I was embarrassed when I saw pictures of myself because that was not how I saw myself and not how I wanted my daughter to know me. In December 2014 we took a family photo shoot in Cancun and I loved all the pictures of the family except for how large I looked. I was stunned. it was not who I saw in the mirror every day.

Last January, I met one of my best friends in Las Vegas for the weekend. She and her husband had done 21 Day Fix and were working on P90X3 with great results. She observed that I didn’t eat much and she knew I worked out all the time. She encouraged me to try 21 Day Fix because she knew the diet would fit my busy work schedule. I have to eat at my desk because I manage money and trade stocks, so I don’t leave my desk from market open to market close. The containers were a great way to get my eating organized and the program wasn’t intimidating. I’d prep food on Sunday for the week and fill my containers the night before so there was no excuse for not taking my lunch. For five weeks, I did 21 Day Fix and did an additional 45 minutes of cardio on the weekdays. I lost 15 pounds.

This encouraged me to step it up with 21 Day Fix Extreme. So, for the next 12 weeks, I committed to that program (along with additional cardio on the weekdays). I was down 44 pounds! My friend encouraged me to try P90X3. I loved it and finished that down 53 pounds. I am not yet at my goal weight, but my initial goal was to lose 50 pounds by my 50th birthday and I achieved that goal! I celebrated with a new bikini and a trip to Cancun with my best friend.

This past fall, I tried out new workouts in Beachbody On Demand. I started The Master’s Hammer & Chisel with my friend on December 14th together and every time we get together we work out in the mornings. It’s become our thing and it’s so much fun. Even though I have to get up at 4:15 AM to get my workouts in and get to the gym to do my 45 minutes of cardio, I fit it in. I am now down 58 pounds and wearing a size 10 Petite.

I have a beautiful 6-year-old daughter that we adopted at birth. She ‘works out’ with me every weekend, and on some weekdays she crawls out of bed and joins me, even if it is just to watch. She is a great comic relief and is quick to point out if my form is not quite as good as Autumn’s, Tony’s, or Sagi’s.

This month was my one year anniversary of starting this journey and I’ve been reflecting and celebrating the successes. I am so happy to have the old me back. I never thought of myself as fat, but pictures don’t lie. What is funny is that my lifelong friends look at pictures of me from two years ago and they say they don’t remember me that way either.”