Everyone has the power to change and reinvent themself. So you failed every time you ever tried to lose weight before? Big deal! What are you going to do today and tomorrow to change your track record? Knowing that others have succeeded can help you visualize your own success. Stories of those who have achieved exactly what you want will inspire you to follow in their footsteps. Weight loss has the power to change people’s lives. What actions did they take? How many times did they fall and get back up again? The story I bring you is the real life struggle of this beautiful woman. Falling and getting up not once but many times. This is the story of Brooke Yool in her own words.

My Story by Brooke Yool

Have you ever taken or watched a group exercise class and thought, “Oh, if only I could have that instructor’s life. It must be so easy for her to stay slim and healthy.” Well… at least for me, it hasn’t been the smoothest road. In fact, if anyone had told me in high school—when I was nearly 100 pounds overweight—that I would be a fitness instructor by my mid-30’s, I’d have had a bridge to sell them in New Mexico. But I transformed my life. I made healthy changes. And when asked, I love to use my story as inspiration for others. Healthy choices aren’t always easy, but we all have the power to improve ourselves.

I developed a love for food at an early age. (Too much so!) Food was used as a reward in my house, and though I didn’t start packing on pounds until I was 6 or 7, I did so rapidly. I often ate until I was ill, because I loved food that much.

I kept on eating, disregarding social cues to cut back. Finally, in high school, something hit me. At the beginning of 1990, when the scale topped out around 230 pounds (at 5’7”), I realized something had to be done.

Brooke at 15

 My grandmother was also trying to lose weight, so we became weight loss buddies together. In 10 months, I lost down to the 120-125 pound range. I was finally skinny!

Unfortunately, it was really difficult to stay there. I had my “perfect” number of food portions laid out every day while I slowly lost weight, and I figured that to maintain, I should just add a few more calories to my diet, right? Not really. I remember that even eating an additional apple every day was enough to spike my weight by 10 pounds within a few weeks. I was frustrated and ready to give up. (In reality, I was eating less than 1000 calories per day!)

At this point, I had yet to have a love affair with exercise. I’d taken a few aerobics classes at the local community college, and the instructor had planted the idea in my head of teaching someday, because she said I had talent. (Little did she know… this was back in 1991!) But working out was still my means to an end.

When I moved away to college in 1992, I didn’t have so much time to exercise. Scared by the idea of weight gain, I restricted my eating a bit. I didn’t think it was an eating disorder at the time, but now, I know for sure that it was. I would eat maybe half a bagel in the morning, an apple for lunch, another apple for a snack, then get home at 10 (after studying in the library or working in the lab) and eat a baked potato – my biggest meal of the day. Because I had one reasonably-sized meal, I thought I was fine and not disordered at all. Right, what a delusion. So, I was almost starving myself all day, which really slowed my metabolism down. It took about 10 years for it to return to normal. And since I was always hungry, I couldn’t stand to be around food, so when my college friends wanted to go out to lunch, I’d always turn them down. How many social opportunities did I miss? I also had trouble being at home, because even if I was in another part of the apartment, the food would “call to me” and I had to go eat it.

Somehow, as I transitioned to graduate school, the disordered thinking and eating slowly lost its grip on me. I started eating more normally, which unfortunately packed some more pounds on me, due to my off-kilter metabolism. It depressed me, but it was something that had to be done, to get healthy. I started focusing on more fruits and vegetables, I had access to a great gym and started working out more, and I also started running marathons. While I understood the need for proper fuel, it took me years to internalize that message. I figured that I wasn’t cut out to look trim and fit, ever.

In fact, due to grad school, bar nights with friends, and slacking off on workouts, I ended up close to 200 pounds again about 10 years ago, and hovered there for quite some time. I was ashamed. But I tried for healthy weight loss again.

When I first started teaching Pilates and spinning classes in January 2006, I was actually still quite heavy, though I don’t remember the exact number. I was strong, though, and considered myself a role model for the everyday exerciser. When I was initially interested in college, my biggest motivator was the number of hours of exercise I could get per day—again, disordered thinking. When I actually started, I merely thought I’d be a natural fit, since I’m comfortable in front of large groups, understand human physiology, and have lots of enthusiasm. At the time, I was actually still quite heavy, by a good 30-40 pounds. I was strong, though, and considered myself a role model for the everyday exerciser. It didn’t really occur to me until a few years later that I could use my story to inspire gym members and clients, and now, I’m more enthusiastic about my inspirational role. As time went on and I took on more classes, I slowly lost weight. Even when I didn’t notice, my regular class attendees commented. Finally, I was losing weight the healthy way, not restricting myself to a 1000 calorie per day diet. I’ve finally reached the point where I eat when I feel hungry, and I can actually stop when I’m comfortably full. For me, this is a huge victory.

So, to the clients or gym members who say to me, “I bet you can eat anything you want!” –I am one of you, and I will never forget. 

Brooke Yool, certified Pilates instructor, is the owner and lead instructor at Port-A-Pilates, and also teaches Pilates and group fitness at various local gyms. She holds a master’s degree in pharmaceutical chemistry. Brooke enjoys cooking and spending time with her husband and friends, and being creative at the piano. You can find more of Brooke’s writing at  youcangetfit.wordpress.com or for further information on services Port-A-Pilates

You can follow Brooke on Twitter PortAPilates

Susan Sommers is a Pilates Instructor to those 50+ NYC 10023