Trainer: Tony Nguyen
Goal(s):  Lose Body Fat and Improve Overall Health
Age: 24
Date: March 2020

My original goals were to lose weight, get to a dress size 8 or 10, and to be able to run at a pace where I could keep up with my boyfriend when I first started my fitness journey. I didn’t set very specific goals on my own in the beginning which made it hard to measure my progress. I hired a personal trainer when I lived on my own in Wetaskiwin and had great success with that; I lost 40 pounds and improved my cardiovascular fitness and strength substantially. Enter May 2016 and I moved to Edmonton for a new job. I had a ton of life changes at once: new city, new job, cohabitating for the first time, etc. It was overwhelming, and unfortunately, I fell back onto old habits and gained all the weight I lost back + 20 pounds.

I was eating like garbage, and I had no motivation to go to the gym and exercise on my own. My self esteem was plummeting, since I had managed to lose weight once and I let myself gain it all back. The main trigger was when I found a stretch mark on my stomach that was fresh and pink; I hadn’t had a fresh stretch mark since I had lost all the weight the first time. That was the final straw and I knew I needed some help.

Tony and I met at university. We had a group project together in an environmental management class. I got “stuck” with a group of Vikings athletes in my group and thought “oh great, these jocks are meatheads and are going to make me do all the work!” However, it ended up being the best group I ever worked with in my entire university career. Tony and I had been friends on Facebook ever since, so I saw a lot of stuff about F.R.E.E. Fitness on social media. Tony has impeccable timing – he just so happened to personally invite me to a F.R.E.E. (and free) bootcamp a few days after I found that stretch mark. I went to one bootcamp and was hooked because of how much fun I had. Tony has been amazing in keeping me accountable. Tony texts me almost every day for updates, and sometimes several times a day if I’m intermittent fasting! Tony is also very intuitive in knowing when he needs to give tough love and when he needs to calm me down and remind me that going up a pound isn’t a sign that I’ve ruined my goals. Tony is also just a good friend in general. Sessions with Tony usually feel like hanging out with a friend, with some intense exercise in between.

I have achieved so much in the 9 months that I’ve been training with Tony! The goals we set together were to lose 100lbs, run a 35min 5k by the end of this summer (and a 30min 5k eventually), and get to a dress size 10. By the end of May, I hit the 60 pound weight lost mark, over halfway to our overall weight loss goal. I’m close to the same weight that I was before I started gaining weight back in 2016, but I’m actually smaller in measurements than I was at that time due to the huge changes in body composition that Tony has helped me achieve. I’m very close to my running goals too: I just completed Color Me Rad 5k in 35:17! I’m well on my way to achieving some admittedly lofty goals and Tony is 9000% the reason I’m doing as well as I am!

Tony’s intense commitment to accountability have changed my habits completely. Unlike the last time I lost weight, I KNOW that I can keep it off myself this time! Tony’s focus on correcting form for months before upping weights has also meant that I’m a stronger lifter and can work out on my own much more safely. I’m in the best shape of my life and I know that it’s a state I’ll be able to maintain for the rest of my life thanks to Tony.

As Tony frequently reminds me, progress is NOT linear! Going up on the scale for a couple of days doesn’t mean your goals have gone to shit. It’s also important to set non-scale goals as well. A few months ago my weight had plateaued for about a month, and I was really unhappy with it. I was anyways, until Tony pointed out that I had shaved almost 10 seconds off my lap sprint time and I was chest pressing 40lb dumbbells instead of 25lbs. Goal setting, both big end goals, and small intermediary goals, is key to helping yourself along the journey!

Thank you Tony and F.R.E.E. Fitness!