History
1983 through 1987 – Carole tries her hand in a bodybuilding environment. Wanting big muscles like bodybuilding’s Bev Francis, she joins Nautilus, then Gold’s Gym followed by World Gym. Discouraged by critics and unsupported by friends, her interest diminishes.
September 1989 – Steve and Carole join a gym for the first time together. Finances don’t support continued membership and they move on.
April 1997 – Carole begins a daily at-home step exercise routine. After four months of no visible results, she quits.
March 2001 – Terribly out of shape, Steve and Carole join a local fitness center. Within a year, a serious disability prevented Steve from visiting often. Without a reliable workout partner, shortly after, Carole stopped going as well.
January 2004 – Steve and Carole try The Atkins’s Diet with a group of friends. An unrelated medical issue that summer derailed Carole from further participation. Steve fell off the wagon shortly thereafter.
January 2006 (ongoing) – Steve and Carole begin The South Beach Diet. Steve loses 100 pounds total and keeps 80 pounds off. Carole loses 33 pounds total and keeps 20 pounds off.
June 2010 – Steve and Carole begin Jillian Michaels’ 30-Day “Making The Cut” fitness and diet program. Steve loses 10 pounds and Carole loses 9 pounds. They have both kept it off. At the end of 30 days, Carole likes it so much; she starts another round of the program for the next month.
July 2010 – Steve works out with Jillian Michaels’ “30-Day Shred” DVD. Carole joins him halfway through the month, adding the 30 Day Shred workouts to the Making the Cut program. Steve loses another 10 pounds while Carole loses 4.
August 2010 – Steve and Carole begin P90X 90-Day exercise program.
Since June, Steve has lost 20 pounds and is 25 away from his weight goal of 225. Carole has lost 13 pounds and is 16 from her weight goal of 130. They are both seeking to add muscle mass.
January 2011 – Steve and Carole came away from the 2010 holiday season having gained between 10 and 20 pounds after taking a multi week vacation from exercise. Back on the P90X track by mid-January, Steve had already dropped nearly 10 pounds and Carole lost 3 pounds. Both are confident they will return to and surpass the fitness level they enjoyed last October/November within weeks.
January 2012 – Carole continues to use the treadmill to run, finding that this combined with the P90X workout program reduces fat from her trouble areas – neck, midsection, and upper backfat. After a three-week holiday break, she continues to work toward eliminating the same 15 pounds she gains at this time every year; but much faster now with her combined routine.
Steve, on the other hand, has yet to return to an exercise program after suffering some mental health issues in 2011.
