September 2013 Fitness Success Story

Kacy: I’m Kacy Littleton, Allen, Texas.

Bill: My name is Bill Littleton, living in Allen, Texas. Life was a little heavier, a little more sluggish. I’ve always been an active person my whole life. I’d say over the last 8 years or so I’ve slowed down; job stresses, things like that have slowed me down. I started getting tired and putting exercise to the back burner and really letting my nutrition go. It’s a drag on you mentally.

You find yourself not only sluggish, getting tired, difficult to bend over, tie your shoes, getting up in the morning, noticing, What the heck is this extra ache and pain from? Little things like that—I think that really contributes to some of the stresses you feel throughout the normal day and in your job.

Kacy: I didn’t wake up in the morning feeling as much energy, that’s for sure, and I didn’t feel the same energy throughout the day. I think my mind is even clearer. I just feel like my focus is a little different. So I think all of this combined—the fitness, along with nutrition—has helped all that.

Bill: You take that half attempt to try to lose weight. You say, “I’m going to cut back. Instead of eating two cheeseburgers, I’m going to have one.” You go from regular beer to light beer. Maybe you do an extra couple laps in the pool or something like that.

I know one thing that she’s always been good about is trying to get out and do some walking, and she’s always has to fight with me to get me to go out and do some walking with her. But quite honestly when you’re not in shape and you’re feeling sluggish anyway, you get out there and walk a mile and you feel like you’re completely out of breath and you just don’t want to do it.

Kacy: This fitness program with your organization keeps us focused; it keeps us on track.

Bill: When we made that decision, we really dedicated ourselves to this. Your program, with your trainers—they force that dedication on you. By having these guys here and pushing that, you know that three times a week is what we signed up for…

Kacy: There are no excuses.

Bill: No excuses, we’re going to be there. We’re there and we’re committed to make it work. I think the thing that keeps you coming back is the fact that very quickly you start to see the results.

I think for me, this has really been a big deal. Like I said, going back, I’ve always been a very athletic person and I’ve always had that discipline for athletics and I used to work out a lot. Like I said, I just let myself go and slip into this thing.

Once I rededicated myself and basically saw where I was in my weight, I was dedicated to get into this thing. As a result, within…when did we start the program? It was around March. To date I’ve lost 40 pounds, feeling a lot healthier…

Kacy: Your heart’s a lot better.

Bill: My heart’s a lot better. I’m talking to my cardiologist about coming off of the cholesterol medication—that’s another big one. There are actually two heart medications that I was taking. My cardiologist is absolutely thrilled with the results of this thing. In fact, he’s asked me for your name so that’s another thing that is a big kudos to you guys, because they can see the results.

Kacy: I’ve lost 10 pounds. I’m a much smaller person obviously, so for me losing 10 pounds and keeping it off is huge. Yeah, I might like to lose another 5 but it’s not something that has to happen, but I feel great with the 10 off and keeping it off.

Staying on a good fitness program and combining it with good eating and better nutrition over all has made me feel healthier, I have more energy, I don’t feel sick, I don’t get headaches. I just overall feel 100% better.

Bill: Nutrition is the big key, and I think that what it’s done for us (and you said this in the very beginning) is, it’s a lifestyle change. So it’s not just a commitment to working out; it’s a commitment to changing your lifestyle, changing how you eat. For the first couple months we had to report in what we were eating on a daily basis, so we were either praised or spanked for what we were doing.

Kacy: Harder workouts!

Bill: Part of that is the fact that as you start eating less and eating correctly and start feeling better, you really don’t want to eat that much anymore. It’s really true—your stomach starts to shrink a little bit and it gets smaller and smaller—so even when you do sit down, you say, “I’m going to go ahead and reward myself,” and have this steak dinner with a baked potato or something, the reality is, you can’t finish it. You’re just too full. So learning when you feel satisfied, that’s when you stop, and if you do that with the right foods along with the exercise, mentally you just feel so much better.

Kacy: I’ve always liked to eat healthy and I never was able to get him on board with that. It was just not his cup of tea. I always said if we could do it together, we’d be much more successful at it, because before I’d make things that he liked and of course I’d eat them because I could smell it and I’m preparing it and I’m going to eat it. I cooked differently. So it’s good that we’re both on board with it. It helps tremendously to have both of us doing the same thing.

The results—when I look in the mirror and I see more toned muscles and things lifting and not falling—it’s natural from just a regular workout. The next day I can see results, so that’s really rewarding.

Bill: I think the big reward for me is, we’ve got kids, they’re grown adults, and we’ve got grandkids, and they range from 3 to 22. The older ones are very active. Now being able to enjoy time with them, to spend time hiking and go up in the mountains and things like that, to be able to keep up with them, and in some cases excel, pass them up and say, “Come on, let’s go! What are you doing?” They’re going, “Papi, wait for us!” So that’s another big plus. That helps the mental psyche, if you will.

My advice to anybody that’s going to do this: You have to look in the mirror and say to yourself, “Am I committed to make this happen? Is this really what my objectives are? Is my end goal to lose weight, to get in shape, to feel good every day, to change my mental outlook in how I approach life, how I approach my job, what other people think of me? Something like that. You have to answer all those questions and then you put the value on it. If that’s worth it to you, then it’s money well spent.

Kacy: I’d have to say for me, the first thing I’d say to someone that was on the fence, “Well, are you comfortable in your own skin today?” Because I wasn’t comfortable in my own skin, and now I’m much more comfortable in my own skin, and that to me is just leaps and bounds.

Enjoy two more videos featuring the Littletons:

Meet Tallulah

Do I need a home gym to be able to work out with my Personal Trainer?