Client Success Story: Ann M.

Ann struggled to lose weight for years, and in December 2020, her life took a turn for the worse, leaving her in a COVID coma for a month with her daughter and husband wondering if she would make it out alive…

Spoiler alert: At Ann’s one-year anniversary of starting with the program with us here at Bent On Better, she lost a staggering 30 pounds of body fat while getting stronger, improving her health, lowering her resting heart rate, improving her hydration and blood levels, eating more intuitively instead of restrictively, and stronger than ever…

“I barely made it out & back, my legs were shaking… Learning to walk & do steps was very frustrating. Having to relearn everything you thought you already knew. Fast forward to TODAY…I feel so much better, I’m learning new stuff, getting stronger & I actually LIKE IT!” – Ann M.

In December 2020, Ann contracted COVID-19 and was rushed to the hospital. She spent an entire month in a coma, fighting for her life under constant supervision and attached to life-support machines.

During that time, Ann’s body atrophied, losing muscle and de-conditioning her body, all while fighting for her life. She eventually came out of the coma in January 2021.

And thus began a brand new journey to recovery for Ann and her family.

But before this life-altering event, Ann’s story was just like most others of women in their early 50s. As a West Chester area (Downingtown) resident and busy mom, real estate agent, spouse, caregiver, and budding entrepreneur, her time was extremely limited.

In 2018, she decided to change her health and invested in a spot in our personal training program here at Bent On Better.

One month into her journey, she faced a time dilemma, so she did not make the time to care for herself… and we decided to part ways as friends while she continued working out without our help.

Fast forward one year after spending months in rehab to regain the strength that she lost in her month-long hospital stay, fighting for her life, using a walker to get around (show a picture of her with her walker), and struggling to regain her strength, Ann eventually graduated from her therapies and had a new outlook on life.

In 2021, Ann reached out to us here at Bent On Better and decided there was no better time than now to refocus her efforts and attention on her life. Even with the same circumstances as before, Ann made the time to take care of herself.

She started by showing up just three days a week for one hour each day. She slowly started to take notice of her eating habits, and with the coaching and guidance from our program, she began taking baby steps toward an amazing future.

Ann became a student of her own health. Asking questions, taking notes (show a picture of her binder), being more and more mindful about how she spoke to herself, treated her body, made her food choices, and what she did with her time.

In her first couple of weeks on her new journey, she felt like she made very little progress and was starting to feel sad, disheartened, frustrated, and confused. She would meet with me and say, “I’m doing all the right things. Why am I not seeing any results?”

To that, I would say, “You are doing the right things, but just as your body took time to heal from COVID, your body will take time to adjust to your new lifestyle changes. Trust the process and stay the course.”

With slight hesitation but trust in the intentions of her coaches and our program, she focused less on the results and more on the journey.

She started taking more notes, listening to helpful resources (such as the Bent On Better podcast), reading articles on the benefits of strength training and proper nutrition, and posts related to her goals. She stopped focusing on the short-term “results” and started looking at a big-picture journey.

Just a couple of months later into her journey, with slow and steady progress, she finally hit her first benchmark and lost 5 pounds of body fat. It was a big milestone; she lost one big chunk!

At that moment, I could see it in her eyes; she had the ‘aha moment.’ The moment when you realize that what you’re doing really does work.

She realized that it was no longer a question of whether it will work, but WHEN it will work. And now that it was working, she didn’t have to focus as much on being goal-oriented.

Rather, she could enjoy the journey and continue to learn while making it a lifestyle change instead of quick fix changes to her routine that would end up failing when she quit out of frustration of lack of “should” goals (check out that video of my thoughts around “should” goals and why they hurt you more than help).

The months continued to roll by, and Ann continued to do check-ins, but instead of doing weekly check-ins with concerns and doubts, she started to do monthly check-ins with excitement and perseverance.

At Ann’s one-year anniversary of starting with the program with us here at Bent On Better, she lost a staggering 30 pounds of body fat while getting stronger, improving her health, lowering her resting heart rate, improving her hydration and blood levels, eating more intuitively instead of restrictively, and stronger than ever.

After 2 years of consistency, her second anniversary here at Bent On Better marked a whopping progress update of 40+ pounds of body fat down (and kept off!) and strengthened her lean muscle mass.

Look how amazingly beautiful and strong this woman is! We’re so proud of you, Ann. Cheers to your continued success in this forever journey! You inspire us all, Ann!