Lisa Hamilton

Profile

	Age:	45
	Height:	5-9
	Weight:	205.6 pounds
	Body Fat%:	36.4 Poor
	Flexibility:	18 inches Average
	Sit-ups:	36 reps Excellent
	Bench Press (35lbs.):	39 reps Excellent
	Wall Sit:	21.76 seconds
	3-minute Step Test:	133 beats Poor

Lisa's letter:
I would be a great candidate for your Fitness Challenge. I have clear realistic goals and I’m bordering on desperate to meet them. Motivation is no problem. I want to move fluidly again. I want to fit into my size 12 clothing again.

I’m going to be 46 soon. After 30 years of dance, including a stint in my 20’s with Alvin Ailey’s third touring company, and a habit of fitness, I have fallen unbelievably far. I’m a couch potato! My once sculpted muscles are coated by a thick layer of fat. At 5’9” I weigh over 200 lbs. My waist is bigger than my boobs: I am a sphere with arms and legs—and worst—a double chin. Who is this “big girl” in the mirror? I don’t care. I want her, and the health problems she developed from being obese, to go away.

I spent time in the gym or studio everyday from age 2-38. It was “me” time, my favorite part of the day. I want that habit back. My body is programmed to be in graceful perpetual motion, not to be still and slow and lumbering. Now, when it’s extra important to be fit to ensure a healthier old age, I’m doing everything backwards, gaining weight and losing tone. It’s led to a depression, which makes me isolate alone at home even more. I don’t even want to date anyone, looking like this.

I tried to turn this around on my own. But I felt out of place at the gym, unable to do what I once did, and self-conscious about my shape. Without
support, I stopped going. I returned to martial arts, but got injured the first week because I don’t know my new limits. I don’t know how to start
over again.

I’m ready for the hard work. I have good clothing and the rest of my life waiting for me. I don’t want to wait any longer.

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