It almost feels like I can’t remember life before I joined Imago. It’s been two and a half years and so much has changed in my life: two new jobs, surviving 1.5 years of long distance, and now I’m getting married to the man I’ve loved for the last ten years!

Throughout these periods of stress and joy, I’ve been so grateful to have something constant in my life to come back to. I wasn’t always 100% on my meal plan or workouts, but they were there whenever I needed them and I knew what to do. It’s so empowering to be in control of my weight and body image: I finally have the recipe for success.

Beyond the workouts and meal plans, I have a solid group of women who I know will be my life long friends. We laugh together, we cry together, and we support each other through life’s ups and downs. I love that we all share our expertise with one another: combined, we can do anything! I can’t thank Imago enough for bringing these fabulous humans into my world.

Next time you see me, I’ll be a married woman, but I wouldn’t be the “me” I am today without Imago. Thank you to all the babes who make this community such a special place, and to Sarah and Huong for creating this space for us.

For the last seven years, I found myself keeping up with the Silicon Valley hustle. As I pause and reflect, I realize now that I quickly forgot who I was and where I came from. I lost sight of the fact that I was an athlete —I played basketball and used to wake up at 6:00 am for water polo practice. Over time, I didn’t prioritize physical care and instead always had an excuse for not working out. I continued to complain about my weight gain and always being tired during the day.

“I found myself keeping up with the Silicon Valley hustle. As I pause and reflect, I realize now that I quickly forgot who I was and where I came from.”

During the 12-week program with IMAGO I remembered how much physical activity not only helped me lose weight but also brought out my fearless spirit. Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s satisfying setting a fitness goal and accomplishing it. But it’s even better when you and your loved ones recognize your energy level and zest for life is back. Before this transformation journey, I was hesitant to go beyond my comfort zone and pursue new challenges. I realize my resistance was from feeling uncomfortable in my own body —the body I knew was strong, didn’t always have back pain, and was willing to try new activities. 

“…it’s satisfying setting a fitness goal and accomplishing it. But it’s even better when you and your loved ones recognize your energy level and zest for life is back.”

I’m forever grateful for my trainer Sarah for encouraging me throughout the sessions. She always explained the workouts well and helped me build my strength. I have a new love for weightlifting and feel motivated to push myself beyond what I think I’m capable of. You’d be amazed at how those endorphins not only make you feel happy but also more available to be there for others.  I’ve also loved meeting women with different backgrounds —especially the working mamas who still make time to get to the gym! It’s inspiring as I want to be a parent someday and keep these habits.  

As for the food journey, it can be emotional because sharing a meal can bring joy to our lives. I wanted to find the right balance for learning how to eat well while still maintaining some flexibility. The beauty of the IMAGO program is you have a chance to incorporate long-lasting eating habits that go beyond a temporary diet. By the right habits, I mean not only grabbing cocktails or dessert with your friends (because, yes, that’s important and fun too!) but also balancing it with taking care of your health. My husband and I love visiting new restaurants and I thought this program was going to interrupt our fancy dinner dates. We ended up cooking more together, which has given us a new way to enjoy our favorite food. IMAGO was also flexible with modifying the meals depending on my preferences. I loved learning about the optimal foods and vitamins to fuel my body before and after a workout. IMAGO is one of the few programs I’ve found that integrates a workout routine and nutrition to feel strong and see a physical change. 

I encourage you to think about why you want to pursue your own goals. I’ve learned everyone is different and you can’t always compare your journey to others. If you feel that your health or body-consciousness is getting in the way of pursuing relationships and being fully present in life than try out IMAGO. I promise it’s more than losing weight and will impact you and others more than you expected.

“I encourage you to think about why you want to pursue your own goals. I promise it’s more than losing weight and will impact you and others more than you expected.”

NEVELLE

OVERALL INCHES LOST: 16”

OVERALL WEIGHT LOST: 17 LBS

“Where did my confidence go?” is what I used to ask myself every day before I decided to make a change.

Confidence was something I lost a few years ago. I used to be the type of person that would actively exercise every day for stress relief, but as life moved forward, it became more and more challenging to maintain that habit. Instead of making sure my health came first, I began eating unhealthily. I would have at most two meals a day, if I was lucky. It was difficult for me to eat meals every day, and when I did eat, I always ate more than I should. Developing this bad habit eventually caught up with me and I started gaining weight. When I started to gain weight, that’s when I noticed how low my self esteem was. I hit a low point in my life where I couldn’t even look at myself in the mirror. It was a difficult time trying to figure out what direction I wanted my life to go and how I wanted to move forward. I tried to do my own research to try and lose weight but I felt very overwhelmed. As a commuter student AND working at my job over 20 hours a week, I couldn’t figure out what was best for me or how to properly meal prep.

Instead of making sure my health came first, I began eating unhealthily. […] this bad habit eventually caught up with me and I started gaining weight. I hit a low point in my life where I couldn’t even look at myself in the mirror.

I wanted to gain my confidence back and feel better about myself, and that’s when I came across Imago Fitness. I was browsing through Instagram when I saw a transformation image. I was blown away with how much this person lost, and that maybe I should see how their gym was. I knew I had to make a change for myself in order to gain back my confidence and I was hoping this gym could help me achieve my goals. I didn’t want to just be skinny, I wanted to lose weight to make myself more confident again. At first, I was discouraged and nervous about going in and speaking to someone about my insecurities, but I wanted to make a change.

When I entered the program, it was mentally and physically straining. I’ve had plantar fasciitis for 4 years and had issues with my right knee. At the beginning of the program, I was struggling to do the workouts because of my feet and knee, but as I kept progressing, my body started to feel better. My plantar fasciitis was finally going away and my knee wasn’t aching so much. I couldn’t believe it! I thought I would just be happy knowing I lost 5 pounds, but I surpassed that goal and started to gain my confidence back.

My Imago journey was emotional for me. I started to learn aspects of myself that I wasn’t aware of before. There were times when I had small setbacks, but I persevered. I never realized what I was capable of until I entered this program. I was able to learn how to prep meals to my taste, get back into exercising, and eating 3 meals a day.

I started to learn aspects of myself that I wasn’t aware of before. […] I never realized what I was capable of until I entered this program.

When the program ended, I couldn’t believe my results! Even losing just a small amount of weight gave me more confidence in myself. The choice to join Imago was the best choice I’ve made in 2018!

RENA

OVERALL INCHES LOST: 10″