If you’d have met Grace Goodman just a couple years ago, you would have encountered a completely different person than who she is today. In a matter of months, Grace has managed to completely transform herself from the inside out, and not just from a physical standpoint, but from an emotional and mental standpoint as well.
Grace, who is 25 and lives in Overland Park, Kansas, spends her days working as a social media and marketing specialist. But when she’s not at the office, her life revolves around another love and passion: her personal health and fitness.
Growing up, Grace was seemingly always off and on a diet and had been overweight her entire life. “Ever since I was little, it felt like someone was putting me on a diet,” she said. And she continued to struggle with her weight through college, trying different programs a few times but never quite sticking to it.
She reached a low point when she weighed 290 pounds at the age of 22. Grace was suffering from many health issues and wanted a way out. And she thought that the solution was Lap-Band surgery.
But after consulting her doctor about the procedure, she not only found out that it wasn’t covered by insurance, putting it out of reach financially, but also that she was so young that healthy eating and exercise were a better alternative to achieving her healthy weight.
Grace said something clicked and she left the doctor that day with a new attitude and perspective, admitting that no one had ever told her she was capable of getting healthy through diet and exercise alone.
So instead of Lap-Band, Grace joined Weight Watchers and truly committed herself to the program, believing in herself for perhaps the first time ever. And to help reach her goals, she was also paired with a trainer – Chris Hemmen of Prairie Life Fitness – who was a major motivator and support throughout her weight loss journey. (more…)
