I have competed off and on in the figure division of bodybuilding since 2004. Through the years I battled with my negativity…negative self-talk and even self-punishment for not sticking to the ‘plan’ and continuously causing myself disappointment. You would think that with all my years of experience in nutrition and working out I would have this licked already. However, I constantly struggled to maintain healthy eating habits and enjoyment in my workouts.  Prepping for competitions became a looong process, starting months in advance, and I was starting from scratch every time.  It was an endless cycle of healthy eating, feeling deprived, binging on unhealthy foods, and then fighting to get back into competition shape.  This viscous cycle started to feel more like a ‘job’ than my passion. I would have days were I honestly did not want to work out, and felt like I was not getting what I really wanted out of it.  I actually considered giving it up!

A friend, who knew how much of a gym nut I was, suggested that I try Breakthrough Personal Coaching & Wellness telling me it was right up my alley.  Well, suffice to say, I was instantly hooked!  I started group training off and on at Breakthrough when work schedule allowed in 2013 to break up my routine at the time.  By the end of that year I joined as a lifetime member.  I was convinced this was the change I needed.  Unfortunately, I still felt aggravated with myself; I was unmotivated and I would miss workouts because “I didn’t feel like it”……”it wasn’t working”, “I just need more sleep” i.e. Basically, making excuses for myself.  I finally got my nutrition under control in March of 2014 with a group 24 Day Challenge at the gym.  During the challenge I lost inches, pounds, and most importantly to me body fat!  The support system that was in place made all the difference!

I no longer had to ‘go it alone’.  My absolute LOVE for health and fitness was re-awakened big time!  Now I am excited every day to train. I am continuously pushing myself to achieve more and motivated by the amazing people around me at Breakthrough.  The energy and positive environment at Breakthrough is truly contagious and it feels like home!   I have the best cheerleaders, sounding boards, shoulders, and genuine people to keeping moving forward!

More and more I find myself taking better care of my mental health, along with my body’s health.  It is about longevity after all and I needed to close the gap between my physical changes and mental standstill.  I love the positivity and resilience I am discovering in myself and getting from everyone around me at Breakthrough!  Without a doubt, I love infecting those around me with a passion for their life, and have a drive to know how amazing they can feel too.

Krista Roosa

My name is Becky Towner and I am 53 years old.

My life has completely transformed in the past year and I’d like to share my story with you.

We all face challenges in life, and they say that’s what makes us stronger. But sometimes these challenges can be too overwhelming to handle by ourselves.

When I was hit with some pretty significant losses, at rapid fire, including my home, loved ones, and faith in family, it proved to be too much to bear.

And as a result, I became lost.

I felt like I was disappearing before my very eyes.

When I moved back to Delaware to take care of my dad who was battling Alzheimer’s, the strain was too much.

So here I was, overweight, unhealthy, lonely, depressed and afraid to look at myself in the mirror.

Then last January, my daughter gave me a gift card to try Breakthrough Personal Coaching & Wellness in Dover.

I’ve never been to a gym in my entire life, but the notion of giving this a try gave me hope.

When I arrived, I looked around at weights, ropes and kettlebells, and I was scared.

During my first meeting with Chris, some of the emotion I kept buried slipped out.

Admitting how disappointed I was in myself was hard to do.

I was afraid to try.

What if I was the only overweight, “mature” woman, in a sea of people that looked like they should be on a magazine cover?

I was too old to lift weights.

I couldn’t even do a single push up.

I was really nervous walking into the first session, but so relieved to see such a variety of people in different places in their journey to better health.

I’m pretty quiet in larger groups, but everyone greeted me so warmly, and we started our workout.

An hour later, I felt great. Chris and Karen patterned my workout based on my abilities.

Each week, I was so excited to see my accomplishments.

I can do this!

I learned to focus on proper technique and not speed or numbers. This would minimize any potential injuries and provide the best experience.

After a few weeks of encouragement from the group, giggling at Karen’s tutu workout clothes, and Chris’s insistence that I get uncomfortable, I felt my security walls come crumbling down.

I cried all the way home after one class in particular.

Everything that had caused me so much pain had disappeared.

I was happy, and I never looked back again.

I learned that being surrounded by a good support group is the key to getting through those ups and downs in life.

Everyone encouraged me during a difficult workout, and I encouraged them.

I looked forward to the positive thoughts posted every day on our Secret Facebook page.

I was surrounded with positivity.

Then, members from the group started friending me on Facebook.

Oh my goodness, I had new friends!

They are such a wonderful blessing and I love to witness the support they give one another.

I also learned the importance of healthy eating.

Chris worked with me, stressing the importance of nutritional balance.

I wasn’t going hungry. I just needed to pay attention to the intervals, portion size, and make sure I get the right balance of protein, fruits and vegetables.

It takes courage to overcome your fears, recognize that you need to change, and walk through those doors.

And who knows what excitement is on the other side?

When I get discouraged, I just remember why I joined in the first place.

For me, it’s one step at a time.

I learned that “Progress Equals Happiness”, and that progress can be the tiniest steps in the right direction.

Today, I am active, healthy, and love who I see in the mirror.

I lift weights; I am confident; I am happy!

Becky Towner

 

I’ve struggled with my weight all of my life. I went through Long periods of depression, low self esteem, lack of believing  in myself. When my wife, Virginia asked me to do this 24 day challenge with her, it was mainly to support her. I knew I wouldn’t accomplish it, but knew she needed my support. I’ve lived most of my life being told ‘you can’t’ so much I actually started to believe it. Never realizing Virginia always believed in me.

I had gastric bypass back in 2003 because I was 330 lbs, and on the verge of a heart attack at any moment. Although I lost 130 pounds with the surgery, I went right back to my old habits, and my self esteem was still a huge issue. Depression was a very big part of my personality. Had no friends for support, so I reverted back to the old me cause that’s who and what I knew.

Since the 24day challenge started, and meeting with Chris and Karen at Breakthrough I’ve had my eyes opened and opened wide. The challenge has changed my eating style my emotional status, and most of all my will to live. I’m eating five to six times a day and eating clean and healthy. I’ve gone from drinking six – 20oz diet Pepsi Maxx a day, to as of today, 30 some days with out a soda of any kind. I have drank more water than I have my whole life! I don’t even want a soda and crave water now, which is awesome. My energy level is off the hook.

My outlook on life is much better. My relationship with my wife and family is fun again. The motivation and support I have gotten from everyone at Breakthrough, (WOW) has been phenomenal! We have found a family and friends that have welcomed us with open arms and have never looked back.

Virginia and I have been together 24 years and have not had many friends, and the ones we have had are really just acquaintances. Chris and Karen, and everyone at Breakthrough, is family and that is so amazing. I found my best friend again. She has been there for 24 years, and I didn’t realize it. My wife, Virginia is my best friend and my soul mate and I love her with all my heart.

The journey I have been on this last year hasn’t really been about weight loss, although it does feel good, but it has been about all that I have gained. My self esteem, my ability to choose, my friendships, finding my best friend, my children, people believing in me and giving me the the trust to believe in my self. I now look to the future with a positive attitude. I’ve lived life thinking I would never see Fifty, and really didn’t want to, but that’s the old Vance. The new knows life is beyond fifty I want to live. I know I’m gonna live. I WILL LIVE.

This past year has been truly amazing with the knowledge and the support that has come my way at Breakthrough. Even with an injury, and impending surgery not once have I been labeled, but supported. I know I will get through it with the help and support from my new found family. I truly am GRATEFUL for what I have accomplished, and the family I have gained.

I know I will have bad days, but I know I have the support and friendships I can turn to now. When I do come across those days, I will not dwell on them, I will move forward and I will learn from it. For all of this I thank my wife for believing and trusting in me. I thank Chris and Karen for their support and trust in me and welcoming me into their family. They to truly are Angels in my heart. To the Breakthrough Members, you’re amazing people and all are beautiful, supportive and loving friends to me for a life time.  Thank You.

Vance Gaschler

Prior to working out at Breakthrough, I had a really bad attitude at work and home.

I would play anger music in my office behind closed doors.

I actually got in trouble for playing music like Linkin Park and Korn, just to name a few.

I stayed behind closed doors because of personality conflicts.

That changed when I started going to Breakthrough and listening to the training sessions.

I realized I had allowed the negative environment to take control of me. I’m learning how to build self respect. I’ve made a lot of changes.

First, I don’t play angry music in my office. My door is always open, unless I’m on a personal call.

I wear my “Be a Champion” wristband all the time. It keeps me on track, and I wear it with pride.

I was never a morning person, but I am today.

I love getting up in the morning and getting my workout in at Breakthrough!

I’ve changed my mindset to become a morning person instead of staying in bed.

It’s my time to face the day, and start off with a positive environment with some great people.

By changing my lifestyle, and eliminating negative attitudes and ways, I have more energy and less stress at work.

I have a more positive attitude at work, and I stay motivated and focused on my goals.

Don’t get me wrong, I still have my moments. But instead of shutting my door and listening to “Angry music,” I’ll just take a walk around the office and ask a coworker how their day is going.

I’m more approachable and less abrasive, argumentative, and boisterous.(Those were adjectives given by my coworkers that described me I’ve always felt like I don’t fit in but I’m good with that now.)

Recently, I was nominated by co workers for Employee of the Month!

It has been several years, since that occurred.

The office manager told me that she was told I was approachable, easy to work with amd I’m always willing to help!

I know I’ve adopted changes in my life for the better.

I know a great deal of my attitude change is because of the staff and members at Breakthrough.

I know I’m not alone in this journey.

I’ve actually witnessed people cry, laugh, give hugs and say “Good job!”, “You got this”, or “WE’VE got this!”.

I have never been apart of something, or worked out somewhere, that I have been accepted for who I am.

My philosophy is “How can you feel like a loser when your surrounded by champions?”

I truly feel this way. I feel accepted and love the positive feedback from the Breakthrough family.

Sue Balik

My name is Lisa Tull and I am 52.  I have always been a confident person but one area of my life that I have struggled with was my self-image.

I have never been grossly overweight but not been a healthy weight for many years.

I was diagnosed with poly-cystic kidney disease in 2012.

It is a hereditary disease and my mother died from it in 1999 at the age of 69.

My father died 4 years later from cancer and I have lost 2 sisters, one in 2007 from complications from a stroke and one in 2011 from lung cancer.  They were 55 and 54.

My kidney doctor told me in 2013 that he wanted me to lose some weight and basically live a healthy lifestyle.

“It’s what everyone should do”.

I knew he was right but did not do it and when I saw him in January 2014, he once again stressed the importance of a lifestyle change.

I was on a low dose blood pressure medicine for about 4 years also.

In April 2014, I was at work and started feeling pressure in my chest and jaw pain.

I got scared and called my husband.

He rushed me to the ER and I was kept overnight and had many tests run.

It wasn’t a heart attack but it really scared me, especially with my family history.

My weight was not far from my full term pregnancy weight and I felt sluggish and disappointed with myself.

I knew I needed to make a change.

I had seen a friend from high school, Jeannette Berry, who had joined Breakthrough and totally changed her body.

She looked (and still looks) amazing!

Another friend of ours, Mike Nichols, had come over for dinner and was telling me about how he had trimmed inches off his waist, and was also working out at Breakthrough.

So in June 2014, I decided to check it out.

I went on a Saturday at Brecknock Park.

It was hard for me but fun at the same time.

I wanted to see a “Regular” workout before I made any commitment, so I went to the gym to see what it was all about.

I struggled with the warm up exercises and was telling myself, “You can’t do this, you are too out of shape and too weak and it’s too hard!”

However, the others in the class rallied around me and totally encouraged me to believe in myself because they believed in me!

I had never experienced the camaraderie and celebration with each other, they were helping me and encouraging me to push myself to do better.

It was absolutely overwhelming!

I knew then that this was where I needed to be to make the changes that I needed to make.

I met with Chris and he was so understanding and supportive and committed to helping me change.

He gave me the confidence to make the decision to CHANGE MY LIFE!

I have learned so much about my body, my health but also my mind.  I have experienced a transformation from head to toe. 

I no longer take blood pressure medicine, I have lost 11% body fat so far, gained muscle, learned how to fuel my body, gone from a size 12 to a size 6 but more importantly I have learned that this is MY JOURNEY and no one can do it for me.

I’ve learned how to set goals and how totally awesome it is to meet a goal.

It’s not always easy, but it’s always worth the effort.

I have met the most incredible group of people who truly care about each other and support each other to become the best version of themselves.

It truly is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made for me.

I am a better person inside and out.

I am beyond grateful for Chris and Karen and the other members of Breakthrough.

All the tools and guidance are made available for all who want to change their life FOR GOOD!

It’s not a quick fix but a road map for permanent change.

There are some things in life that you can’t control, like my PKD, but I can control my weight and I can control how I think.

I choose to be thankful for what I do have and not focus on what I don’t.

Breakthrough is a place for change.

Lisa Tull

My story begins at the age of 19 in 1993.  That is when I realized that many years of unhealthy eating had caught up with me.

I began to put on weight after high school graduation.  At my heaviest I weighed over 230 pounds.

My bad habits began effecting my health.  I began to have knee and back pain.

I went on many different diets, and took all kinds of diet pills.

Some of the diets would work, but most did not.

If they did, I always put the weight back on, with extra to go with it.

My weight was like a yo-yo which made my life difficult, at times.

I’d be proud of myself for a little while then when the weight went back on it was so depressing I would just eat more.

My knee problems got worse and required surgery.

I lived with chronic back pain from degenerative discs, caused from the extra weight my body was carrying around.

My self esteem was so low it was virtually non-existent.

I had no confidence which effected my job and was effecting my marriage.

I always made excuses for why I wasn’t losing the weight.  I would say”I don’t have time”, “It’s my metabolism causing it”, “it’s too expensive to eat healthy” or I would blame it on pregnancy weight, just to name a few.

Being overweight kept me from doing so many things.

I couldn’t go out and play with my kids without getting winded and out of breath.

I would not go in swimming pools or the beach, because I would not wear a bathing suit in public.

I didn’t like getting on amusement rides, I never knew if I would fit in the seats.

Vacations were hard at times, because I slowed the family down when doing things, I just couldn’t keep up the pace walking.

I had gotten so out of breath during one of our vacations, I once almost passed out, while walking a path in the mountains.

I couldn’t even enjoy going shopping without thinking that people were looking down on me for my weight.

My children were battling with being overweight, as well due to my bad eating habits, which were becoming their habits.

In June 2013 I began having chest pains and blood pressure so high, I was taken to the hospital by ambulance from work.

It was then at that moment I decided it was time to make a change or else I would not see my kids grow up.

So after 20 years of fighting my body I began to take charge of my body instead.

At first it was little changes I did on my own.  It worked, I did lose weight but like in my past I knew that it would not last without some help.

It was when I found Breakthrough, that I knew my life was going to change.

In the 6 months I have been at Breakthrough I have learned so much about clean eating and good exercise habits.

I have met so many wonderful friends. In the past I worried about how much I had lost in weight.

Now I know its about what I have GAINED, Such as: my husband…our marriage has never been better, communication skills by getting uncomfortable, my confidence, self esteem, leadership abilities, knowledge to help others, and self love.

I can say I truly love myself again.

I could go on and on with what I have gained during my journey.

I now know what its like to make goals and work hard to achieve those goals!

I will continue to make goals each and everyday to continue my success.

I can now run, play, and the kids have to keep up with me. I love to go shopping again. I can hold my head high while in public places.

I can truly say, if it weren’t for Breakthrough I would not be where I am today.

Thank you to Chris, Karen, Vance and all the Breakthrough Members who have kept me accountable and going strong, when I was down, and acknowledged when I was doing good. I love you all.

 

Virginia Gaschler

I’ve always been a pretty active person who really enjoys exercising.

After being a competitive gymnast for 10 years, I know the value of strength and flexibility and feel that it’s so important in lifelong health.

Over the years I’ve tried to maintain my fitness through various activities including walking, running, yoga, kickboxing and other exercise classes.

However, over the last three years, I put my energy into obtaining my Master’s degree rather than focusing on my health.

I made excuses for why I didn’t make it to the gym and found myself eating convenience foods between work and class.

I remember one morning that I stepped on the scale and began to cry.

I was close to 200 pounds. I knew that I didn’t like the way I looked, but I didn’t feel that overweight.

It didn’t help that I had been to the doctor who told me that I needed to lower my cholesterol.

I was scared that I would be on track for developing Type II diabetes like others in my family.

My husband Mark and I both decided that we were going to put a focus on our health.

We started eating better and became more consistent with working out.

Mark began losing weight but I just wasn’t having the same success.

After a few months, I had only lost 5 pounds.

Needless to say, I was discouraged.

I started believing that I was just not destined to lose weight.

My friend Adriene Lopez told me that Breakthrough Personal Coaching & Wellness was having a 21-Day Challenge.

She had had some success with Breakthough in the past and wanted me to come with her.

I was cautiously optimistic and told myself that at least I could improve my strength if nothing else.

So, in February of this year, without ever checking out the website, I called and registered for the challenge.

During my first day of orientation, I was absolutely astounded at the look and feel of the gym.

Ropes? Chains?? Are those kettlebells? What, no machines?!

What a different environment from a typical gym!

I began to feel excitement for what was to come.

After completing the 21-Day Challenge, I was hooked.

I loved the vibe I got from the trainers and other clients in the F1 class.

Each workout was new, and I never felt like I did the same exercise twice.

It sure kept me interested and motivated!

After talking with Chris, I decided to make a 6-month commitment to the program.

At my first weigh-in and measurements, I cringed at the numbers and was determined to give 100% to the 24-Day Challenge.

I stuck to the nutrition aspect and learned to eat every 3 hours and combine proteins with carbohydrates at mealtimes.

I was getting at least 3 days of cardio in each week and working out 3 to 4 days a week.

At the end of the month…SUCCESS!

I had lost 10 pounds of fat. I couldn’t believe it!

I was even more motivated to stay on track and keep my momentum going.

The best thing was that I started getting compliments at work.

People were noticing my success and it made me feel so good about myself.

In the gym, I kept working hard.

Moving up in weights and attempting more advanced moves, the trainers were challenging me each workout and I was psyched when I was asked to take the test to move up to F2.

Boy was it challenging!

So much that, at first, I didn’t succeed.

I practiced the Art of Strength moves at home with the help of the video Chris made and posted online.

Two weeks later, I tested again and was thrilled to find out that I passed!

I moved into the F2 class the next week and found that when I thought I was being challenged before, it was only the beginning.

I have worked harder these last two months than I ever have before and I’ve found strength that I didn’t know I possessed.

Even going through a surgery, experiencing shoulder pain, and working through a sprained ankle, the trainers have done everything they can to work with me as I continue down my path to success without compromise.

I’ve now lost over 50 pounds, but what I’ve gained is even more: The friends I’ve made who encourage me to work hard, the lifelong habits which lead to better health and nutrition, confidence in myself, and an attitude of “No Excuses!”.

Gillian Sessler