My name is Stacey and I’m writing to share my many failures and ultimate success with weight & healthy lifestyle management! 

I come from a family of European foodies…Food is not just a meal, it’s an event!  And when something tastes good, it tastes like more!  At my grandparent’s house, it was considered a sin to leave anything uneaten on your plate, and all family gatherings were structured around food.  My mother has always been obsessed about her body image and passed that along to me…I started “emotional eating” at a young age, and turned to Bulimia for a few years as a teen, to deal with the stresses of life.   I am a creative type, and not very athletic, so physical activity and weight maintenance occurred as a result of a busy work and school routine and 3 times a week at Lifestyle Fitness. 

Ironically, I was never overweight until after I started University. During this time, I put on about 25 pounds – a diet of stress and starvation with the occasional microwave or fast food meal thrown in. I did the occasional dance class and use the school gym on occasion but nothing consistent. I took the weight off about 1-1/2 years after graduating when I took a part time serving position in addition to a full time job. During this time, I was also experiencing some strange health problems that were misdiagnosed as severe allergies to multiple things, including red meat, dairy, processed foods, msg, etc. and cut many things from my diet.  I went back down to my high school weight and maintained it with a crazy, busy schedule and the occasional yoga class at a traditional gym.  

5 years after being diagnosed with severe allergies, my condition worsened – I was having reactions at least once a month, and ended up in emergency at least 6 times a year, with a treatment of steroids after every visit for 3 years.  Without increasing my eating, I started steady gaining weight.  I combatted this with trials of several weight loss supplement programs, bouts of starvation, yoga classes when I could afford them & walking.  After seeing zero result, I reluctantly joined a local gym with the express intention of using their treadmill.  ( I hate lifting weights and really don’t enjoy a traditional gym setting. I feel like I’m in a meat market and I don’t enjoy being approached all the time to refer my friends.  I like to sweat like a pig in private…)  I went everyday for 2 weeks and ran for 45 minutes to an hour, but hated having to wait for an available treadmill or rearranging my schedule to accommodate the gym’s hours.  So I bought a treadmill and started running from home.  I ran every single day for 2 years and didn’t lose a single pound.  In fact, I continued to gain.  I was miserable and depressed.  I was so tired of putting in the effort and NOT seeing the results.  

Around this time, Rob Santarossa of Punch Gym contacted me on a business-related matter, and we got chatting about his gym.  I told him a bit of my story and he offered me a complimentary week of classes to check it out.  I was skeptical and gun-shy…KETTLEBELLS??? ME?? Really?  Not only was I worried about looking stupid in front of fit, coordinated humans, I was positive I would be THAT person who broke a window – or a foot – on her first day because I dropped the kettlebell!!!  But I had tried other things that were just as far fetched, so I said “What have I got to lose?  It’s a 1/2 hour a day…I can do that!!”.  I went three days my first week – man was it challenging!!  A real stretch from anything I had EVER done before.  At the end of the week I decided I would invest in myself for 1 month, and make the commitment to go 5 days a week.  

At the end of that month, I had learned and accomplished things I never, in a million years, would have thought I could physically do!  I was proud of myself, felt stronger, really enjoyed the amazing instructors – Cary, Tiz, Juliette – who were un-intimidating,  extremely helpful, hands on, and REAL women who had the same struggles I did!!  And I got all of this for just a 1/2 hour each day!  

At the end of that 2nd month, even though I felt great, I hadn’t lost any weight.  I expressed my concerns to Rob, asking what I was doing wrong.  He set me up with one of my favorite trainers, Cary, at no cost.  She created a wonderful personalized meal plan for me, and suggested I try out their 21 Day Fat Loss Program.  I decided to commit to 1 more month, and if I didn’t see results, I would move on.  At the end of that month I had lost 12 pounds!!  What an amazing feeling, after so many years of putting in the work, to finally see visible results!!!  That gave me the motivation to keep moving forward.  I continued to attend 4-5 days a week, and was supported by Cary’s encouragement and meal plans. There was even a period of time where I was struggling to attend and Cary personally texted me each morning to invite me in!!  Talk about personal service!!   In just one year I lost 40 pounds, and am stronger now than I’ve ever been!  

I can’t say the task was an easy one.  Working out has never been a particularly enjoyable activity for me.  I chose to invest in myself, made the commitment to show up consistently, and put my pride and fears aside to challenge myself and try something new, in a supportive, encouraging, and pleasant environment. My experience at Punch Gym has been so rewarding, I became a Personal Trainer with plans to instruct kettlebell classes for Rob!!  

While working toward that goal, I ended up getting engaged and moved out of the area a few months later.  In my new home city, I have looked high and low for a similar program like Punch Gym to no avail.  I found one kettle bell studio that was similar, but the classes were an hour long, and it was a 40 minute drive from my new home.  I went to 4 different gyms that advertised Kettlebell classes only to discover they use a couple of kettlebell moves as part of a more traditional fitness class. 

It is a far cry from the comfort and support of Punch Gym.   ~Stacey