AJ

Before MyBodyTutor, I was exhausted and uncomfortable much of the time. I was carrying extra weight, my hips hurt, my blood pressure was high, and I no longer felt strong or comfortable in my body. I remembered how good I had felt years earlier when I was at a healthy weight and strength training regularly, and I knew I wanted to feel that way again.

Stress and emotional eating were also significant issues for me. Life had become increasingly busy and stressful over the years, and food and alcohol had gradually become my coping mechanisms. It felt like food controlled me.

I had lost some weight on my own before, but because I hadn’t addressed the underlying habits, my weight continued to fluctuate. I was tired of that cycle and increasingly concerned about my health as I got older. I didn’t want another temporary weight loss attempt. I wanted to feel healthy and strong again and make changes that were sustainable, long-term.

I was actually thin for most of my life (though not necessarily healthy in my younger years), and strength trained regularly from my late 20s through my mid-30s. Then life got incredibly busy with kids, graduate school, and work. I stopped working out and stopped prioritizing self-care. Increasingly, I turned to food to cope with my stress.

Around the time I turned 40, stress and emotional eating, hormonal changes, and an undiagnosed thyroid condition contributed to me gaining more than 75 pounds. I didn’t recognize myself anymore and I didn’t like it. I tried losing weight on my own, but I’d gain it back, plus more. I eventually lost around 20 pounds, but my weight continued to fluctuate.

A few years ago, I started working with a personal trainer for 1½ years, which gave me accountability and helped me get back into strength training twice a week. But I still hadn’t addressed the bigger issue, which was my relationship with food and how I managed stress. I knew what I “should” be doing; however, what I was doing on my own wasn’t working because I hadn’t addressed the habits behind the weight gain.

I was looking for support to make realistic, sustainable changes. I knew I needed something that would help me address the habits behind my eating, particularly stress and emotional eating, while also helping me build healthier routines I could realistically maintain.

I started searching online for programs using terms like “health coach,” and that’s how I found MyBodyTutor. I did some research and was surprised I had never heard of MyBodyTutor before, though the more I learned about the program, the more I understood why it was different. It wasn’t promoting a quick fix or simply focusing on losing weight. The emphasis was on ongoing support, realistic goals, changing habits, and building a healthier lifestyle that could actually be maintained long term. That was exactly what I was looking for.

I started with MyBodyTutor and my coach, Amy, in November of 2024, and I’m not exaggerating when I say it has changed my life.

Initially, I wanted to lose weight and get back to a healthy weight, but I knew I needed more than that. I had lost weight before and regained it, so my real goal was to make sustainable, long-term changes.

I wanted to address my stress and emotional eating, become more consistent with healthy choices, and feel strong, healthy, and comfortable in my body again. I remembered how I felt years ago when I strength trained regularly, and I wanted that version of myself back.

More than anything, I wanted to create a healthier lifestyle that fit into my existing life and that was sustainable. I didn’t want a short-term fix. What I wanted was a change in my habits and improved health. I also wanted a renewed feeling of confidence, both in myself and in the fact that I wouldn’t revert back to my old habits.

Frankly, my biggest hesitation was fear that I wouldn’t be able to sustain the changes, leading to me regaining the weight, plus more. I was afraid of putting in all the work again and eventually ending up right back where I started.

I also knew that making lasting changes would require much more than eating healthier, exercising, and losing weight. I would have to address my stress and emotions without relying on food to pacify myself. That meant being real with myself and confronting habits I had developed over many years and dealing with some things I hadn’t really dealt with before. It felt like a big undertaking, and I had doubts about whether I could actually do it.

Ultimately, my motivation became stronger than my fears. I knew I needed to prioritize my health and think about the “future me.” The choices I made now would affect my health and quality of life as I got older. I realized that if I wanted a different outcome this time, I couldn’t focus only on losing weight. I had to be willing to make holistic changes.

In a few months I’ll be turning 49, and I haven’t felt as good as I feel now in well over a decade. I’m also in a completely different headspace than I was nearly two years ago when I recognized I needed to make a change. This experience has been transformational, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally.

I’ve lost 35 pounds since starting with MyBodyTutor (60 pounds total since my heaviest), and I’m now back at a healthy weight. My blood pressure is normal, I rarely have joint pain, I sleep better, and I’m strong and confident. Regular walking and strength training have also become important ways I manage stress, so I’m so much less stressed than I was before.

Most importantly, I’ve addressed my stress and emotional eating and feel a freedom I didn’t have before. Food no longer controls me. The habits I’ve built around nutrition, movement, strength training, hydration, sleep, and gratitude are simply part of my life.

Many people have commented on how different I look (physically), but they’ve also noticed a difference in my entire presence. I feel like myself again, only healthier, stronger, and much more grounded.

For me, the biggest difference is that MyBodyTutor takes a holistic, long-term approach to health and well-being. Weight loss really hasn’t been the primary focus. Instead, the weight has come off as a result of changes I’ve made around protein and nutrient-rich foods, food balance, movement and strength training, sleep, hydration, gratitude, and healthier ways of managing stress.

Initially, I wondered how I was going to fit all of these changes into my already busy life. But MyBodyTutor doesn’t expect you to change everything overnight. The process was slow at first, which gave me time to gradually build new habits into my existing routine. I started meal planning and prepping food, which saved me time and helped keep me satiated. I put a note on my refrigerator that simply said, “remember to pause,” reminding me to check in with myself and ask whether I was actually hungry or using food to avoid or cope with something. I started walking regularly, using a balance board at my sit-stand desk, and even turned one of our rooms at home into a weight room.

None of these changes were temporary things I squeezed into my life as a short-term “fix.” Over time, I found realistic ways to make them part of the life I was already living. With my coach’s support and accountability, they eventually stopped feeling like anything “extra” and simply became what I do. That’s what makes MyBodyTutor different to me. I haven’t just lost weight, but I’ve built a healthier lifestyle that feels realistic and sustainable long term.

If you’re considering MyBodyTutor, I would say do not underestimate the effectiveness of support and accountability in this journey. In fact, I would say this is the key to sustainable weight loss and health improvement. You still have to make the choices and do the work, of course, but changing years of habits is hard, and you don’t have to do it alone. Frankly, you’ll be more successful if you get support. I know for a fact there were times along the way that I would have reverted to old patterns if my coach hadn’t been there to help me keep moving forward.

I also learned to be patient with the process and give myself grace. My transformation happened very gradually, which is exactly why I believe sustainability is possible. I wasn’t just losing weight, I was changing my relationship with food, learning healthier ways to manage my stress, rebuilding my strength, and creating habits that fit into my existing life and just became what I do.

I’ve exceeded what I thought was possible when I started. I feel healthy, strong, and confident. I am active and do things I was unable to do before. This has given me freedom. My life is so much different now, and I have hope for the “future me.”

I plan to continue with my coach and MyBodyTutor for the foreseeable future in the maintenance program because I know that support and accountability is an investment in myself and my health. In retrospect, I know without a doubt that asking for support was one of the best decisions I could have made for myself.