I walked into QCCF in May of 2010 the most terrified I have ever been in my life. I had just moved from halfway across the country, literally knew no one in this area, and the only shape I was in was round.
I grew up the “fat girl,” topping 300 pounds by the time I graduated college. Eating lettuce and riding an elliptical for six hours a day helped me lose 100 pounds before I got married, but the weight never stayed off, especially after two back-to-back pregnancies and a continued SAD (Standard American Diet). I had been on medication for insulin resistance (pre-cursor to Type-II diabetes) and high blood pressure since I was 19.
I was 29, was around 250 pounds at the time, and had two babies I couldn’t keep up with. Something had to change and the day I opened those doors, it all did.
I have lost 120 pounds and I am the fittest and healthiest I have ever been in my life thanks to QCCF. And it’s not just crossfit itself, because the truth is that we could all crossfit in our garages if we wanted to. For me, it’s the people at QCCF: the trainers who teach proper form and movements and encourage and support; the everyday men and women who sweat, bleed, and lay on the floor next to you in a jello-legged pile; the guy who stays after he finishes to help cheer you through a WOD you’re struggling with; the woman who wants to give up but doesn’t, inspiring me to do the same.
I am stronger, emotionally and physically, than I have ever been in my life. In the last 18 months, I’ve gone from unable to run a 400m without stopping to running Warrior Dashes and Spartan races. I went from jumping on a box to get my chin above the bar to my first unassisted pullup. I lift weights I thought were impossible. There is no destination for me – the journey of transforming never stops. There is always a new goal, a new PR, a new challenge.
Having people believe in you when you don’t even believe in yourself changes you. It gave me hope that I could do it. And it still does. Every day.
In QCCF, I have found more than just health and fitness. I have found a sense of self I didn’t know was missing. I have found a community.

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