Susan
Exercise has always come in a series of starts and stops for Susan. She readily admits that in the past she was rarely consistent when it came to her exercise routine. But today she has changed her life—in many ways.Over the last year Susan has re-evaluated her outlook on life. Spurred on by personal changes, she came to realize that she could take control of her life. Susan acknowledged that she wanted to look and feel healthy. “As you get into your 60s, you see many friends and family begin to deteriorate. I was determined not to be like that!” Applying this new philosophy she focused on her diet and made a conscious effort to exercise regularly. All this dedication paid off as Susan reduced her body weight by 30 pounds and is in better shape than ever today.
Creating change in your life doesn’t happen overnight. For Susan it was a matter of setting small goals and realizing that her body has limits. “It’s an age thing…I am not able to push as hard as I want to.” However once she began to see results, she was hooked and her confidence increased. As a self-motivated person, she was at the gym five mornings a week and started an aggressive walking program. Susan works three days a week so finding time for exercise was not a big problem; the key to her success was committing to a consistent schedule. Susan sums it up by saying, "I just made more time for exercise in my life."
Susan has been a member at the YWCA Health & Fitness Centre for 13 years and thinks it is an excellent facility. The YWCA offers a variety of equipment and programs, and there is always something to do. Susan likes it so much that she makes the trip downtown even on the days she is not working. Susan attributing much of the ambiance at the YWCA to the great people she has met. As part of the dedicated group of members who open the YWCA at 6am every morning, if she wasn’t there, she would be missed.
So what is next on the horizon for Susan? Look for her hiking up the local mountains as she is determined to pull off a better time on the Grouse Grind.
