Throughout my 26 years in the Army, I always managed to keep my weight in check and stay in athletic shape. In 2014 my luck ran out. I felt lost without a fitness program conducive to the “new me” and my diet resulted in steady weight gain. I retired from the Army in 2019 and my weight that had risen from 185 to 195 ballooned to 219 pounds after a year. I was 50 years old and disgusted with my appearance and level of fitness. I knew I had to make significant changes.
I am lucky enough to have a wife who is a healthcare professional and a great accountability partner. She convinced me that I had to treat the next phase of my life differently if I wanted to regain my form, fitness, and self-confidence. All diets preach proper exercise and nutrition, but I needed new coaches in both of those areas to educate me on what that meant to me personally. Betsy Johnson and her nutrition program were exactly what I needed. When I had a question Betsy was always a text or phone call away. At the same time, I was building new and better nutrition habits, Leah Braden and the team at Kinetic Performance Training in Oak Ridge began helping me re-learn how to exercise. After a number of personal training sessions with Leah learning her High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) programs and routines, I transitioned to group sessions. I felt my fitness level increasing week to week and formed some great friendships with my KPT teammates. In six months, my weight dropped from 219 to 190 pounds and my body fat percentage dropped from 26% to 19%. I have lost over three inches off both my waistline and hips and feel great. I am not done working and have goals that I still haven’t achieved; however, I wouldn’t be where I am now without the dynamic duo of Betsy and Leah. I owe them more than I can describe for the new habits I have formed.
