Her “before and after” pictures show considerable weight loss and strength gain, but Stella Hastings’ real strength goes far beyond what you see in these pictures. If one were to look for the personification of dedication, resolve, and discipline … Stella would be it.
But it wasn’t always that way.
“I had yo-yo’d so many times before … and I had reached a point where I was uncomfortable in my own skin. I was angry that I had allowed myself, again, to get back to the swollen, lethargic, overweight, miserable place that I had experienced time and time again over the years.”
Like many, Stella would lose weight only to gain it back. It reached the point where she felt that any further attempts would be futile. But then something happened that got her to look differently at what her goal should be.
“At the ribbon cutting ceremony for the fitness center, Brian made the comment that he was committed to this community learning that fitness is a lifestyle. Something about his comment truly resonated with me. I wanted this for myself.”
At that moment Stella’s goal changed as did her reasons for, and excuses for not, reaching her goal.
“In the past I was lazy. I would also blame anything or anyone else for my failure. The first thing that I did differently this time around was that I accepted responsibility for the shape I was in and for what I needed to do improve myself. I said, out loud, to people around me, “Do not doubt me.” I said this to my husband. I said it to my private social group online where I posted daily for accountability. Sometimes my support group noticed changes in me before I did. This helped so much! I used to keep my ‘diets’ secret for fear of not succeeding. The best decision I made was to go public with the fact that I was working on myself. In addition, I tracked my progress.”
Tracking her progress was easy to do with the MyWellness app and the Technogym ecosystem.
“In November of 2014, I weighed 198 pounds and was 48% body fat. My goal had been to be between 25-27% body fat for 2015. By April 2015, I was at 17% body fat and had dropped 42 pounds! Today, I am between 18-20% body fat and am thriving by building muscle and enjoying every aspect of my newfound ambition to be the best version of myself each and every day!”
An important change from Stella’s prior attempts at weight loss was that weight loss, in and of itself, is a limited goal. When her goal changed to adopt something continuous, to adopt a new way of living, she removed the “end point”. When we reach an end point we often just stop what we were doing to get there. Exercising only to lose weight is a means to a limited end. But with a goal of maintaining wellness one can maintain a constant state of self-improvement.
“I no longer wish to reach a goal, celebrate, and undo all of the work that got me there. I now understand that it takes persistence to stay in a healthy state.”
(Image above: Left, Stella when she joined Pinamonti Fitness Center. Right, Stella today. Center, Stella working out to maintain a constant state of self-improvement.)
