Tami Flaherty
In 2020, my husband and I moved to Grand Junction. Ironically, it was the week before COVID took over. Needless to say, my eating habits took a drastic turn for the worse. Even though we hiked regularly, I was eating processed foods
and drinking wine every day. Between March 2020 and December 2021 I gained 45 pounds!
Even though we joined Crossroads, between the stresses of moving, COVID and a bit of depression, I couldn’t get my act together. I decided to make changes and engage the help of Crossroads Personal Trainer, Sierra Wiggins. With Sierra’s help, we started work on body strengthening and improving my nutrition. Sierra provided several menu plans using non-processed foods. This started my path to understanding good and bad eating habits.
I still needed some extra help and joined Weight Watchers in January 2022. In combination with WW and Sierra’s training, I have lost 40 pounds. My plan is to continue working towards my goal of losing all of the 45 pounds I gained. I weighed 245 pounds in January of 2022 and I am now at 204. Once I lose the last 4 pounds, I will start my next goal of losing an additional 50 pounds to reach my final goal of 150 pounds.
I could not have accomplished all of this without the support of my husband and Sierra. Sierra’s passion for health and wellness is felt in our training and it makes me feel like she’s in it with me and I’m never alone!
She keeps me motivated, provides encouragement, changes things up and is also my friend.
Without Crossroads and my husband, I don’t know that I would have been able to tackle all of this by myself.
My thanks to both of them for being my support group!
Congratulations Tami!
We are so proud of you!
John Obrien
Like many people these days, John lost his way with his health and fitness lifestyle when Covid started. He started his health journey all over again in August this year! He originally joined Crossroads about four years ago and really got into swimming. He met quite a few friends and was coming consistently until Covid hit. He began to gain weight and lose motivation during that time. John had his leg crushed in 2000 and had his hip replaced in 2012. Because of his injuries, he has a hard time moving around and exercising and when he gained the weight it became pretty debilitating to function. His initial motivation for working out again was seeing himself in a picture recently at his granddaughters birthday party.
In just two months, he has lost 27 lbs and dropped several pants sizes. He went from a size 40-34 ! He says that the best part of losing the weight and gaining his life back has been the energy he has now. John says that he feels better now than he has in his entire life. Every morning, Monday—Friday, he gets up at 4:00am and is at the gym ready to swim and walk in the pool by 5:00am. Within the first week of coming back to Crossroads he said he was greeted and welcomed back by old friends that he had not seen since 2019. That made him feel so motivated and encouraged! He is now able to play golf without feeling totally worn out and little things around the house that used to be very hard for him are now easy! One of the best parts about losing the weight and getting in shape has been seeing his whole body, mind and spirit change for the better! People notice the changes as well and compliment him all the time. John swears that the pool at Crossroads Fitness saved his life!
Congratulations John!
We are so proud of you!
Kevin Vig
Kevin Vig joined Crossroads back in the 80’s. He took some years off to raise his kids, but has been back steady for over three years. He said that during his time off from coming to the gym and making health and fitness a priority in his life, he gained a lot of weight and became unhappy with his body. His sons were his motivation to get healthy again. He has a daughter with special needs and they come to the gym as a family. He says that teaching her to exercise has been such a blessing and to see her get healthier is truly inspirational. Being more dedicated to his health has contributed to Kevin losing 65 lbs and feeling so much better. When Kevin is not working on his fitness goals he enjoys riding his Harley, going to church, preaching and spending time with his kids and wife. He is an Elder at Appleton Christian Church and his faith is very important to him and leads his life. He wants to stay active and healthy for the kids at the church too. Kevin really enjoys coming to Crossroads and says that the staff, especially Riley and Tell, make the atmosphere of Crossroads such a warm and welcoming place to be.
Congratulations on your success so far, Kevin. It’s members like YOU that keep Crossroads Fitness part of the community year after year.
Brian Somerville
“My health and fitness journey started back in 2012. Since my college years, I’ve always struggled with consistency in the gym. I’d work out diligently for a couple weeks on my own, and then fall off the bandwagon for a month or two. Somedays,
I would over do it at the gym causing me to be too sore to even work out the next week. Fitness was a constant up and down struggle for me. As a result of the inconsistency, I never saw good results. My weight steadily increased over the years while I was settling into a diet of fast food and sodas.
In 2012, Molly Jo came to my work and did a presentation about Crossroads Fitness. I remember her talking about Group Fitness classes, which caught my attention because that’s something I had never tried before. Soon after her presentation I signed up for a membership and the first thing I did was go to a Kick It class. I remember feeling completely exhausted after that class, but energized at the same time. I couldn’t wait to try other classes! Over the following months, I became a “regular” in other classes like BodyPump and Chisel. The Instructors were all very friendly and encouraging and did a great job of making everyone feel like family. Plus, the camaraderie with instructors and other members was an aspect of fitness I had never experienced before. Staying motivated in fitness is always a struggle, but when you join in with others it makes the struggle more enjoyable. Working out became FUN to me in Group Fitness classes, instead of it feeling like a chore.
Prioritizing time to work out also became easier for me. I learned that it’s not about having enough time to work out, it's all about what you prioritize. Going to a Group Fitness class became a bigger priority for me than sitting at home watching TV.
As time went on my energy increased, I was happier and I felt more confident! I was also more motivated to change my diet. Since 2012 I have not had a single soda and hardly ever eat fast food. (Although, ice cream is still a constant temptation for me!)
In 2016, James encouraged me to get certified to teach “INSANITY”. I started teaching classes right away and have loved every minute of it! I truly love seeing other people be encouraged and motivated in the same ways I was. In 2020, I also got certified to teach SH1FT and L1FT, two more High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) Group Fitness classes.
I want all the members to know that they are not alone in their fitness journey. We are all here for them as members and instructors to help them along the way. I started out as a member who needed encouragement and now I love being that motivation for the members that come to my classes!”