Kyle Furlow: My weight loss journey

Having a baby four months ago, I thought, "I'll have the baby weight off in a month!" That did not happen, but it's ok. I am not super woman. I am sure if I spent half my day working out and ate kale every meal then I could look like a fitness model. But that is not the way I want to live my life. I want balance. I want to spend time with my family and friends, enjoy my workouts and eat healthy (most of the time).


I want to be happy and to be free of the expectations set by society or other women. Life is too precious, so I will define my own success.

I am a wife, a mother, personal trainer, a boot camp company owner and full-time Wellness Specialist at the YMCA. Yes, some weeks I work 70 hours. I start my work day at 5:30 am and end at 7:30 pm. It's tiring, but it's awesome. I am the person that wants to help everyone. I want to help you. Do I have to work so much? No, but I love what I do and I thank God I have a family that supports me. I have the best husband in the world that takes on a lot, so my dreams can come true.

Do I make alot of money? Ha, No! But I run a company with my best friend (Boot Camp Moms) and I love my work at the Y. My boss at the Y is great and believes in family balance and work. Livestrong, Energize, and Team Approach are programs I am blessed to help run. Boot Camp has a community of women I look forward to seeing and helping with their journey. These girls are amazing. I grow strong bonds with my clients and we celebrate every little step in fitness level and weight loss goals. I get to help people every day.

I left a sales job seven years ago where I would be making six figures right now. But that was not my dream. It was not the plan God had for me. One day I realized I had to make a change. I had to follow my heart. Now, I get to help people lose weight and accomplish things they never thought possible.

Unfortunately, during all this I have not taking care of myself as well as I should. Yes, I am strong. I can bench press 135 pounds and leg press 540 pounds. My husband laughs about how he had to quit during one of my classes (he was a college athlete), but weight control has always been an issue for me. I do not think I am fat! I just know what I can be if I put my mind to it.

As a fitness teacher and personal trainer there is a lot of pressure to look a certain way. I am sure some people take my class and think, "she's not skinny ... the class can't be hard." But I sort of thrive on being doubted and enjoy handing out butt whippings to those who think my class will be easy.

I gained 22 pounds with this baby. I remember everyday someone at my work saying, "you look so great, you have not gained any weight," but I felt it. The best comment was from a older lady at work, "Kyle you look so good, you stopped gaining weight." Lets not say that to a pregant person with two months to go!

However, I never stopped working out. I even got certified to teach Insanity while I was seven months pregnant and then taught it until two weeks before I gave birth.

Now that I am back at work, I teach 10 classes a week, but I never give 100% because I get paid to make sure you are giving 100%. I can't help it. I want to take care of my clients. However, as of right now I am going to start taking better care of myself. So, I am starting my weight loss journey in front of everyone that wants to follow along.

I will workout for myself four times a week. I would say six, but lets be real. I still teach a lot of classes. I plan to track my food. I will even have my own personal trainer. Jennifer, my best best friend and business partner. Everyone needs a trainer. Even trainers need trainers. Everyone needs a push. WE love to train each other.

I am ready to embrace the next chapter in my life. I have my family of four! After having two miscarriages we finally got our baby girl. My son is seven years old and we are stopping with two kids. (I made sure no more, hahahaha.) I have a husband that supports me and we have strong faith in God.

Over the next few months I will go on a journey to change my life for good. In high school I was 5'6 weighing 115 pounds and I was the biggest of my friends. (No joke) I dont want to be that little again, but I want to be a healthy weight, not "skinny-fat." This will not be easy. I will see many ups and downs over the next few months, but I will lose the weight. I will prove to myself it can be done and hopefully I can inspire others to join me.

I plan to lose 20 pounds while having a balance of time for family, friends, work and myself. Each week I will update the world on my progress. I want my body to be a healthy, fighting machine. I want to look in the mirror and see the girl I have always wanted to be. Not skinny, not fat, but stong and fierce. This is my journey and I want you to share it with me.