Maria Bushman knew she wasn’t fit nor healthy. But when, at 46 years old, she struggled to keep up in a Senior Sneakers class, she realized she couldn’t put it off any longer, she had to lose weight.
“I couldn’t believe how hard it was,” Maria said. “I knew that was my last try. If it didn’t happen then, I was going to look at surgery.”
Maria, who struggled with her weight her entire life, had accompanied her mother to the class at HNH Fitness. She immediately felt at ease with both the staff and the people working out at the gym. Her comfort level encouraged her to keep returning, taking more classes and walking on weekends.
At the time, she had chronic back pain, high cholesterol and pre-diabetes. Her back pain was becoming so severe it was starting to interfere with her daily activities.
“I went from helping everyone else – my kids, the dog, my husband – to them having to help me,” Maria said. “I was struggling just to get through my day. I knew I needed intervention.”
As an accountant, Maria spends most of her day sitting down and knew she couldn’t lose much weight just by exercising. She needed to change her eating habits. It wasn’t as hard as she thought it would be; she stopped dieting, and instead, changed her outlook on food.
“I started looking at food as fuel,” Maria said. “As the saying goes, ‘You can’t outrun your fork’ so when I still felt hungry, I would allow myself to eat extra healthy things, like another apple.”
Today, she still eats in moderation, limiting birthday cake to one slice and not bringing junk food into the house. Most importantly, if she does give in to temptation, she doesn’t berate herself and give up. Rather, she just starts eating healthy again at her next meal.
Slowly and steadily over a two-year period, the weight came off until Maria lost 90 pounds. Eight years later, she hasn’t regained the weight. She credits HNH Fitness with playing a huge role in her healthy lifestyle. She goes to classes four days a week, and stays active on weekends.
“HNH has phenomenal teachers – the classes they create, helping me with my form – they’re so professional,” Maria said. “I feel very welcome and safe there and I would encourage anyone wanting to get healthy to try it. It’s a very supportive environment.”
