Carol Sikora dropped 55 pounds and dramatically improved her quality of life

When Carol Sikora retired and moved to the beach, it was a chance for her and her husband to live the good life. But when she rapidly gained more than 30 pounds, she knew she had to make a change.

Luckily, her doctor suggested she sign up for our 12-week body transformation program to help her get in shape. The rest is history.

Carol is now a fraction of the size she was upon starting our program, but the healthy benefits she received for her efforts are well worth documenting to inspire anyone considering a healthy lifestyle change in the future.

When Carol called me to inquire about personal training, it was obvious she had had enough of feeling sick, tired and out of shape.

“I was waking up in constant pain after consuming large amounts of sugar,” she said. “My back hurt constantly and my knee was swollen almost daily, so I was ready to do something about it.”

She was very motivated to get started, but she had several issues that we needed to consider before starting her program.

First, we had to modify a lot of the exercises due to her injuries and the fact that she was in poor shape. Initially, we believed we would have to permanently rule out a lot of things such as dumbbell squats, leg presses and lunges, because we didn’t think she would ever be able to do them. Carol quickly proved us wrong, and it wasn’t long before she was able to do all of the exercises as well as progress to more difficult programs.

This proved that her pain was due to weaknesses and could be fixed by strengthening opposing muscle groups, so we began to concentrate on her deficiencies, and the results were amazing. With every passing week, Carol’s pain began to go away and her performances improved dramatically. She never got complacent and kept on working hard. 

By the time Carol finished the program, she had lost a total of 55 pounds of pure fat, dropped five dress sizes and looked like a completely new person. Her back and knee pain went away, and she improved her health so dramatically that she no longer needed her blood pressure or cholesterol medicine. To put her results in perspective, Carol lost a total of 37 percent of her starting body fat and had to give away more than 40 pairs of jeans and shorts. The investment she made to get in shape and buy a new wardrobe was a small price to pay for the physical benefits she received during her transformation. 

Carol said there were many mental advantages as well: “I definitely benefited from increased self-esteem as a result of this program. When you’re overweight, you feel defeated, but dropping 55 pounds and physically feeling better has given me a more positive outlook on life.”

She has also learned to enjoy her workouts and doesn’t stress about going to the gym.

“Over the last few months, I have really come to look forward to the weightlifting and the energy it gives me,” she said. “That natural high from exercise I used to hear people talk about truly exists, because I feel it often.”

When asked what inspired her to make such a drastic lifestyle change, Carol didn’t have to think to answer the question.

“When I first moved here and started volunteering at the hospital, I saw a lot of people who were broken and overweight, and I felt like I was going down that same path, but much sooner, and I wanted to prevent it,” she said. “Due to participating in this program, I feel better, I look better, and people tell me I look 10 years younger, so the benefits I have received have been enormous.”

Congratulations, Carol, you are a true inspiration to others.