Issue link: http://www.wacmagazine.com/i/234009
THE LAST Reaching and maintaining a final goal weight will likely require you to change your life. BARBARA KINNEY She could have stopped there. But something happened along the way. After three decades of fluctuating weight, Juli realized she didn't want another temporary solution. Instead of watching those pounds reappear, she continued seeing WAC Nutritionist Shana Hopkins. Shana helped her evaluate her weight goals, make adjustments to her dietary approach, and set new goals in what Juli calls "a reality context." Through their meetings, Juli began to see a different path, a way of life rather than a magic fix. For many, that realization is the turning point. // Christine Larsen with trainer Mona Caravetta, above; Juli Farris at the Club, right. YOU'RE NEVER "DONE" Here's the scary part. Reaching and maintaining a final goal weight will likely require you to change your life. Consider the story of Christine Larsen. In 2009, she started working with WAC Personal Trainer Mona Caravetta three times a week. A few months later, Christine popped the question: "I asked Mona one day, 'When am I done?'" Right then, Christine realized she'd been approaching weight loss with the wrong mentality. "I had this idea that you go and get fit and that's it," she recalls. "Then I realized that being fit is not something you get to and then stop. It's something you commit to." A year later, she had to learn the same lesson all over again. She quit her exercise routine, left Seattle, and embarked on an eight-month sea and land journey across the Pacific Ocean and around Australia and New Zealand. She returned so out of shape that fitness classes became painful and keeping up with her kids on family ski trips impossible. "I decided to take charge," Christine recalls. She lost 25 pounds in about three months but struggled to keep the weight off. A return to Mona and a new approach delivered lasting results. Now, she says, at age 47 she's in possibly the best shape of her life. "I used to say, 'I need to weigh this much.' Now my goal is to be healthy and fit, not necessarily train for a number." Christine also works out with swim coach and Aquatics Supervisor Jennifer Mesler, runs regularly, and is back taking fitness classes. She also started seeing Shana. "You had this poster in the Club that I'll never forget," she says. "It read: 'You can't exercise your way out of a bad diet.' That is exactly what I've realized." AN IMPETUS OF AGE As a long-time ski instructor, Bill King requires specific muscle memory and conditioning to continue doing what he loves. After being hit on the slopes by a student, Bill faced a physical setback his body couldn't ignore. 34 | Washington Athletic Club Magazine | JANUARY 2014