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3 Women’s 1-Year Quest To Change Their Lives Real Woman gave three women 1-year gym memberships, personal training, and nutrition counseling to help them become healthier and happier. And they did just that. Jan 26 by Sarah Bergen In January 2014, Real Woman selected three women and provided them with the tools to make a change for good: a 1-year membership to the New Jersey Athletic Club, complete with help from a nutritionist and weekly sessions with a personal trainer. A year later, they have all come a long way and are healthier, happier women. Elaine Lipton Elaine Lipton After her husband’s 5-year long battle with a handful of chronic illnesses, Elaine Lipton lost him and what had been her life for so long was suddenly ripped out from under her. She no longer had to be the caregiver, but had forgotten how to care for herself. Her prayers were answered when she discovered Real Woman’s Change for Good. “I thought, ‘Change for good—that’s what I need. I need to change not just physically, but emotionally in my attachment to food,’” she says. When she was chosen for the challenge, she saw a glimmer of hope and decided that 2014 would be her year for change. SWEAT FUEL LIVE LEARN » » SHARE ENGAGE PAST ISSUES search this site... SUBSCRIBE FEATURED VIDEO Read More on the Women of the Trauma Center PLAYLIST

3 Women Changed Their Bodies and Their Lives. See How. | Real Woman

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3 Women’s 1-Year Quest To ChangeTheir LivesReal Woman gave three women 1-year gym memberships, personal training, and nutritioncounseling to help them become healthier and happier. And they did just that.

Jan 26 by Sarah Bergen

In January 2014, Real Woman selected three women and provided them with the tools to make a changefor good: a 1-year membership to the New Jersey Athletic Club, complete with help from a nutritionistand weekly sessions with a personal trainer. A year later, they have all come a long way and are healthier,happier women.

Elaine LiptonElaine Lipton

After her husband’s 5-year long battle with a handful of chronic

illnesses, Elaine Lipton lost him and what had been her life for so

long was suddenly ripped out from under her. She no longer had

to be the caregiver, but had forgotten how to care for herself.

Her prayers were answered when she discovered Real Woman’s

Change for Good. “I thought, ‘Change for good—that’s what I

need. I need to change not just physically, but emotionally in my

attachment to food,’” she says. When she was chosen for the

challenge, she saw a glimmer of hope and decided that 2014

would be her year for change.

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Baby stepsBaby stepsLipton needed a new focus, something to pull her out from the hold of depression. “In the beginning I wasin a really hard place. I used to come home from work and just sit on the couch and look out the frontwindow. That was my way of doing nothing, of being depressed,” she explains. “But going to the gym andworking hard to do a little more each time helped to ease the grief and the depression. I can’t say enoughabout how this has helped me get through that part of my life.”

Starting a consistent exercise routine and eating a healthy diet not only helped her through the grievingprocess, but also did wonders for her health. Lipton, who lost 70 pounds last year, says that she achievedlarge numbers through small goals. “I have learned to not try to do everything at once. I just keepbuilding. I started walking; then I started walking faster; then I started walking longer and I am stillbuilding up strength,” say explains. “My goal is to always do more than I did the last week. I just tell myselfthat the pounds and inches will come off if I just keep doing a little more and pay attention to how I amdrinking, eating, and exercising.”

At first, Change for Good was just a plan to start exercising and eating healthier, but Lipton says that thechallenge has affected her entire life. “Change for Good has made me think about things—and not justwhen it comes to food choices. I am conscious of who I spend time with, if I watch too much TV, if I sittoo much. I am looking at what I do and why I do certain things and now I am able to say, ‘I don’t have todo what I used to do anymore.’”

Lipton’s lifestyle change did not come without challenges. She was set back a few times with injuries, andfound that she had to hold herself back from exercising, even when she knew she had to rest. “When I hadto recover and couldn’t make any more progress, I found that I really missed my workouts,” she says. Butshe soon learned that she had to respect her body’s limits and avoid worsening her injuries so she couldget back on the elliptical as soon as possible.

Sticking to her new, healthy eating habits outside of the walls of her home was also a challenge. “In onesense, I became a hermit,” she says. “I limited where I went and who I was with because certain peoplemake you feel like you have to eat.” But she has since overcome that, and instead controls her portionsand explains to her friends why she chooses salad over spaghetti. She is sometimes so convincing that herfriends will opt for a colorful plate of greens, too.

One year laterOne year laterLipton plans to continue to work toward her ultimate goal: running a Susan G. Komen 5K and achieving ahealthy weight status. “I am going to get to a healthy weight. I have gone from morbidly obsess to obeseto overweight,” she says. She has learned to appreciate how important her health is, and wants to avoidsuffering with illnesses like her husband’s, or the breast cancer that she fought off once already. “I want toreach that healthy status because being overweight is a risk factor for breast cancer and I want to get ridof that factor,” explains Lipton. “In my reality world, I know that the cancer will probably come back—itcould be 20 years from now or it could be 5 years from now—but if I get myself in the best shape that Ican, the doctors and myself will be able to handle it better.”

“Right now I’m in a good place,” she says. “But I’m not done yet.”

Not all journeys have to endNot all journeys have to end“In January when we finished Change for Good I thought, ‘Well, I could have all this bad food again, notgo to the gym, and go back to my old ways,’” says Lipton. “Then I got rid of all of my old clothes. I hadbags and bags and I told myself, ‘No, you’re not going back.’ That was a big step for me because now Ihave nothing to fall back on. When I iron my clothes, they’re not as big. Sometimes I think, ‘Is that mine?’

Change for Good may be over, but Lipton isn’t finished yet. In fact, she says that her journey will never becomplete. “My journey will never really be complete because even once I reach a point where I feel that Iam the best that I can and should be, I will have to work to maintain that.”

Lipton hopes to share what she has learned with others. “I am so grateful and now I feel that it’s mymission to help people who are struggling, whether its with being a caregiver or a widow or a widower, orjust someone who has been obese or has issues with their body,” she says.

Elaine’s advice for youElaine’s advice for you“I hope that my story will help others get to where they want to be, to being a real woman,” says Lipton. “Iwould tell anyone that’s going through a difficult time—if you can’t go to the gym, then go for walks or dosomething more each day to give yourself a little mental break. It’s so easy to just sit inside, but you’ve gotto just get out and do something for yourself, however small.”

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Eileen AzzaraEileen Azzara

When Eileen Azzara saw the advertisement for Real Woman’s

Change for Good, she was about 6 months pregnant with her

fourth child. “Now, I’m not a cute pregnant person,” she says,

laughing. “I definitely get big with each pregnancy even though I

workout. So I thought, ‘If I don’t lose this weight right away, I’m

going to be huge. If anyone needs a change for good over the next

year, it’s me.’” As she approached the date of her scheduled C-

section, she knew that it would take a little extra effort to recover

from this pregnancy. “I’ve always been big on exercising, but there

were more hurdles to get over this time and I figured that the

accountability of the Change for Good program was a big plus. I

feel very lucky that they chose me.”

Success takes sacrificeSuccess takes sacrificeAzzara, now a stay at home mom of 4, was forced to find time away for her new commitment. “We had aweekly meeting with the trainer at New Jersey Sport’s Club, but then he wanted us there at the gymthree or four times a week on top of that. And we had to check in with him to prove that we werecoming,” she says. “I was like, ‘Listen, I have a brand new baby and three other kids. I’ll get my workoutsin. I’ll go walking.’ But he told me that if I didn’t show my face, that meant I wasn’t doing it.”

But luckily, with the support of her husband, she was able to fit Change for Good into her busy schedule.“I was forced to work around it and I told my husband that when he got home at 6, I had to go to the gymto show my face. It was good because I wouldn’t’ have gone back. I would have just kept saying that I’d gofor walks—but last winter, you just couldn’t go for walks. It was freezing! I wouldn’t have gone back to thegym—and when I don’t go to the gym, I just eat. If it wasn’t for the program, come springtime I wouldhave been huge.” Her months of showing her face at the gym paid off a year later when she no was nolonger carrying around her baby weight of about 40 pounds.

But Azzara wasn’t the only one that benefitted from Change for Good. “When I’m on track and eatinghealthy, my entire family benefits from it,” she says. “I’ve always been pretty conscious about what weeat, but I know my weak points. Sometimes I do fall off of the wagon, but now when I fall off, it’s affecting5 other people.”

One year laterOne year later

After a year of working hard to focus a little more on her own needs, while still caring for her big family,Azzara has developed a new mindset about food. “The nutritionist said something that really stuck withme. She said, ‘You’re not a garbage can. Think about what you’re putting into your body.’” She says thatshe intends to continue being conscious of what she’s eating.

Eileen’s advice for youEileen’s advice for you“Just stick with it. I think a lot of people dislike exercising, without even giving it a try,” says Azzara.“There were so many nights that I was just tired and cranky and just didn’t want to be there. But when Iwas done, I felt so much better.”

While exercise is important, Azzara has learned that what you eat is also an important factor in health andweight loss. “I think that if someone is exercising and not seeing any results, they’ve got to take an honestlook at what they’re eating. A lot of people fail to do that. Keeping a food diary was really helpful for me.”

Felicia BourjollyFelicia Bourjolly

Felicia Bourjolly had already started her journey to a healthier lifewhen Change for Good found her, but she lacked the educationand guidance that she needed to consistently succeed. “I had lostthe weight, but then I was gaining it back and I couldn’tunderstand why,” she explains. “The original weight loss was due totrial and error—I just happened to lose the weight, but I didn’tunderstand what was really happening with my body as far as howit reacts to food and exercise. I decided to join this program sothat I could learn about how to take care of my body and be ableto make wiser decisions.” Luckily, Real Woman’s Change for Goodwould teach Bourjolly exactly what she needed to know.

Success requires an open mind—and funSuccess requires an open mind—and funFor Bourjolly, the challenge was largely about learning and understanding health, food, and her body. “Istarted to proactively learn and try to understand what effects food and exercise have on my body as amiddle-aged woman,” she explains. “I’ve learned that all carbs are not equal, that it’s important to eatbalanced meals, control portion sizes, and be physically active—and not just one type of activity.”

But she says that the most important lesson she has learned is one of love. “Over the past year, I’velearned to love working out because I found activities that are fun. I think that’s important for anyone onthis journey,” she says. “Knowing that I’m going to be doing something that I enjoy motivates me to walkinto the gym. I love Zumba and when I get behind those doors, I don’t care who’s watching me; I don’tcare about anything. I just let it go and it’s my time.”

Change for Good has not only transformed Bourjolly’s health and outlook on nutrition and exercise, buthas also dragged her family along for the ride. “Going through this program has encouraged my wholefamily to be healthier,” she says. “If I feel that something isn’t good for me, it’s not good for my husbandeither. I can’t tell him what not to put into his mouth, but I can choose not to bring it into the house.” Shealso says that her mom is making healthier choices and that her co-workers have been amazed by herresults.

After 12 months of learning and loving her new, healthier life, Bourjolly lost 45 pounds. She has embracedexercising and a healthy diet as part of her life, and plans to keep making changes for good.

One year laterOne year later

When Change for Good came to an end, Bourjolly hadn’t reached her original goal of losing 80 pounds,but she’s not letting that stop her. She knows that she did not reach her goal for a number of reasons, onebeing her frequent traveling throughout 2014 for her job. But she embraced that challenge anddeveloped a healthy game plan for when she travels.

Despite not reaching her original goal, Bourjolly is thankful for all that Change for Good has taught her.“This was a learning process and all that I have learned over the past year has changed my life.” But sheknows that it’s not enough to know the ropes, you have to use that knowledge. “I know now thateverything that we do is a choice. We can choose what we eat and whether or not we workout. I love thechoices that I’m making and I love the results that I’m getting,” she says.

While she has learned a lot over the past year, she only intends to continue learning and losing weight.“Even now that the program is over, I am still making better choices than I used to,” she says. She hascommitted to going to the gym 4 days a week, and intends to reach her goals of losing 80 total poundsand running a 5K.

Felicia’s advice for youFelicia’s advice for youBourjolly feels that the first step to making changes is to find your reason why. “My reason why was that I didn’t want to

wake up one day and have a doctor tell me that I had to change my lifestyle. I wanted to do it for myself, on my own,

because I don’t want to have to deal with any obesity-related illnesses,” she says.

For her, making small changes and taking one day at a time is key to adopting a healthier lifestyle. “Findsomething that works for you, something that you love. What works for someone else may not work foryou,” Bourjolly says. “Just have fun and don’t make working out a chore.”

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Sarah BergenSarah is a journalism student at Rider University. She enjoys writing aboutenvironmental issues, sustainability, and health. She loves to exercise, cook, and