How I transformed my body and reignited my life
NOTE: This past weekend I celebrated my personal transformation - a journey to put myself back in the equation of my life and be happy. I lost 200+ lbs, 43% body fat and 10 dress sizes in 16 months. But the real transformation has been how I feel on the inside. This is my story as published in my self-documentary book titled: She Climbed Until She Saw, A personal journey to climb a mountain.
I am a very different person today than I was just over a year
ago. My life is full and happy. I smile more. Laugh more. Play more. Give more.
And do more. I also weigh more than 200 pounds less and wear 10 dress sizes smaller. Yes, dresses. I’m actually wearing clothes that show off my style and a
little leg – something I haven’t done since high school!
What inspired this transformation? I made a choice. A choice that
would forever change the course of my life: I chose to put myself back into the
equation of my life.
A
history of imbalance
In the years leading up to that moment of decision, my life was busy
but empty. I struggled to find hope. I had left “me” behind long ago. My start-up
marketing firm called Marketing that Matters was several years in the making
and I was working like a madwoman to serve clients literally day and night. I
sat in an office chair 12-18 hours a day, six to seven days a week, starting work
well before my colleagues and finishing long after most went to sleep.
My aggressive can-do attitude didn’t stop at my job. If a friend needed
support, I was there. Worthy volunteer projects? No problem, I’d take them on. I
was driven and quick to solve every problem and meet everyone’s needs...but
mine. Some even called me Superwoman. But here’s what they didn’t know: While I
felt satisfied by my ability to crank out the work and help so many people, I
was slowly dying inside. As I tried to please everyone else, I was continually
failing in one critical area: Me. I was not in the equation.
Already depleted from my work and lack of sleep, I was living a
sedentary lifestyle on a diet of processed and fast food. My emotional and
stress levels were out of control. My relationships suffered. I was crabby and
stressed. And, I ate to fill myself. As someone who had struggled with obesity
her entire life and with a family history of heart disease, this was not a good
path. It was slowly killing me.
In the five years I spent building my business, I grew to my
heaviest weight on record: 381 pounds. Yes, a whopping 381 – bigger than most
linebackers! I simply wasn’t making any time for myself—not even for my most
basic needs. I wasn’t on my “to do” list – much less at the top of it – and as
a result, I had turned from a positive person into someone whose glass was half
empty.
Perhaps worst of all, I lost hope for a different life. Everything
seemed too difficult. Worried that I would suffer a heart attack before age 50,
my friend Jimbo would urge me, “Just walk to the end of your block, Lor. And the
next day try to walk around the block.” But I always had an excuse. It felt too
hard. I was too tired. The pressure was great, and the excuses came easy.
Recognizing
the need for change
In 2010, after suffering a serious business setback due a betrayal
of trust with a colleague and friend, I hit bottom. I couldn’t remember any
goal beyond my dream to build a business, so Marketing that Matters became my
sole focus. But as each work day passed, I feared for its success and,
secretly, for my life. I didn’t know how to change the equation, and I certainly didn't know what kind
of future was possible.
Then I got a phone call that set in motion a series of events that
would change my life forever. And of course, it came through work.
My client Dennis Rysdahl at the Bluefin Bay Family of Resorts had
met O’Neal Hampton from NBC’s reality TV show The Biggest Loser and called to ask if I was aware of the program. Of
course I was! Dennis explained that O’Neal co-owned a company called Fitness
North that was coming to one of his resorts, Surfside on Lake Superior, to host
fitness boot camps throughout the year. The camps needed some brand and
marketing muscle, so Dennis arranged a meeting with O’Neal and his business
partner in the Twin Cities.
I will never forget the day I first met O’Neal Hampton. We spent
hours sharing our personal stories, and when it came time for O’Neal to share
his, we locked eyes and he assured me we could indeed do this together. “We’ve
got this,” he said, and he didn’t take his eyes or his focus off me until my
eyes welled up with tears. O’Neal made me believe again. He gave me hope…for
the first time in a very long time. It was in that moment that I knew my life was
about to change forever. I was ready.
As I walked to my car after that meeting, I cried. I cried because
I had found a nugget of hope in I O’Neal’s belief in me. I cried because I knew
deep in my heart that I would be successful and that meant the course of my
life was about to change. And I cried because I was scared...no, terrified.
Not only did I leave the meeting with a new marketing client, but
I had also committed to attending the Fitness North live-in boot camp, taking what
would become my first steps toward a different life. With O’Neal as my
inspiration and mentor, life would never be the same. I was going to put myself
back into the equation and drop this weight that was sheltering me from the
life I wanted.
Pushing
the limits
How many of us
really know what we are
physically and mentally capable of? Marathon runners, strength and endurance athletes,
sure. Those who fight and survive a terminal illness, certainly. Soldiers, fire
fighters, police officers, of course. But not Lori Schaefer!
When the
Fitness North boot camp finally arrived on Nov. 28, 2010, I was quick to find
out just exactly what I was made of. The experience was indeed one of the most
challenging, yet rewarding and influential experiences of my life. Every day I
had to force myself out of bed—aches, pains, and emotions in tow – knowing that
I would push my body, mind and spirit further than I had ever imagined possible.
The program was much like that of NBC’s Biggest Loser – it was
intense. We worked out six to seven hours per day, every day – challenging cardio
circuits, strenuous pool cardio, intense
workouts in the gym, long hikes on area trails and, yes, lots of mountain
climbs – all while being encouraged and pushed by our skilled trainers past what
we thought were our limits. I had to dig deep. It was tough, perhaps the toughest
thing I will ever do. But each time I accomplished something I had previously
thought I could not do, I felt more alive and on fire than ever in my life.
But it wasn’t
just the workouts. At Fitness North, I had the opportunity to focus on myself
every day for two full weeks. For some of us in the camp – certainly for me –
it was the first time we had put ourselves first. We learned how to eat to
support our bodies. We learned how we react to the tough stuff: to pain, to
stress, to self-doubt and to heartache. But we also learned how to push through
the pain and come out on the other side a stronger person. Ultimately, Fitness
North gave us the tools and support we needed to succeed at home, where the
hard work would continue.
At the end of the two week live-in boot camp, some of my new
friends were understandably nervous to leave. But I left with hope and the
confidence that if I did exactly what
I was told to every day in the plan laid out for me, I would reach my goal
weight and achieve my dreams.
A
path forward
For me, the first and most important step toward changing my life
was to decide what future I wanted to create for myself and then to resolve to achieve
it. I would tackle my dream one day at a time, day after day after day. There
was no stopping now.
Establishing
a plan at the beginning of my
journey was key. I defined what it meant to put myself back into the equation
by establishing a checklist of non-negotiables. Working the customized nutritional
and fitness program laid out for me by Leif Anderson of Leif Anderson Fitness became
my top priority. I would also need to get enough
sleep, limit my work hours, and ask for help when I needed it. Faced with tough
decisions without obvious answers, I referred to this checklist of priorities, stuck
by it, and sought counsel from my support team.
Of
course I had to make sacrifices along the way. As I neared my goal weight, for
example, I had to eat less food and workout more. I remember a particular time
when one of these plans coincided with my company’s Christmas party, where I
wanted nothing more than to toast my amazing new colleagues with a glass of my
favorite wine. But, with my eye on the prize, I toasted my team with water while they
enjoyed the Pinot Noir. And the truth is, I had a ball anyway. Inside, it felt good
to choose me and make my goals the priority over indulging in the moment. I had
rarely made that kind of choice in the past.
A brand new book
I’m proud to
say that the plan worked brilliantly. I did it! We did it! My goal was to create a life where I exist at the center
of the equation, and I’ve been successful because I
made every decision over the past year and a half with that in mind. I committed
myself 100% to my goal. I followed a customized nutritional and exercise
strategy carefully laid out by my amazing transformation coach Leif Anderson. And
day by day, week by week, I worked the plan.
It
was not always a straight line. There were some real rough patches, and in
those tough moments I sought support from O’Neal and my amazing support system,
and kept myself accountable. I made no excuses. I persevered. And I celebrated successes
along the way with friends and family.
Now as I
continue to put myself first and focus on my overall health and happiness, everything is
better. I am surrounded by friends and family who support me. I laugh and play
and have fun every day. I attract positive new people and new opportunities. Marketing
That Matters is thriving as a result of my team, not just me. And, unlike the
days and weeks leading up to that fateful meeting with O’Neal, I smile
constantly. Oh, and yes, I climb mountains.
Sixteen
months after starting this journey, I weigh 200 pounds less, have 43% less body fat, and have lost more than 77 inches and
10 dress sizes. The hard results are impressive. But the unbelievable gift in
all of this is how I have changed on the inside. Look at me! I am a brand new
book. I have climbed the mountain, literally and figuratively, and I can see
all the new possibilities for the new me.
Today,
I am a fit and active girl who
holds herself at the center of the equation. That means being true to both myself
and to others. My glass is definitely half full. I seize opportunities
fearlessly. I’m fun and fun loving. And I not only have hope…now I give hope. I inspire. I live in the moment
and love every minute of it. My heart is overflowing. And I simply can’t wait
to see what’s next!
What next?
Upon
completing this leg of the journey, one of my goals is to share my story to
inspire you to claim the life you’re meant to live. Just the way O’Neal Hampton
inspired me.
I
hope my journey serves as an example for how you too can put yourself back into the
equation of your life. Only you can take those critical first steps toward
change. But I am here to tell you, “we’ve totally
got this!”
Today, my heart is full beyond compare. The warmth and gratitude that I feel for everyone who was there to celebrate with me - to those who have loved me at +200 lbs and throughout this life-changing journey - is simply beyond words.
