Tag Archives: zumba

Melissa Dunn Overcame a Victim Mentality and Lost 135 Pounds

Melissa Dunn, 35, of Park Hills, Missouri has seemingly always been overweight. She developed much faster than girls her age, which spurred a binge-purge routine to try and stay as slim as her peers. But each attempt only left her heavier than before, and Melissa eventually turned to yo yo dieting to try and lose the weight.

Compound those struggles with emotional scars from abuse she faced as a child and Melissa began using her weight as a shield to avoid getting hurt by others. “I found the bigger I got the less happy I was, and the less people wanted to be around me,” she said.

Two things eventually caused Melissa to change. First, her dad had grown so heavy that his doctors told him to lose weight or face death, and Melissa wanted to support him. And Melissa had gotten so heavy herself that she struggled to even walk through the store without getting swollen ankles which left her in too much pain to move for hours afterwards.

Out of these struggles came Melissa’s decision to change her health and ultimately her life, and no longer exist in a state of depression. (more…)

Posted on March 6, 2024 by Dana

Lisa Fox Lost 80 Pounds With Slimming World and Regained Her Confidence

Lisa Fox, 49, of Allen, Texas was an active and healthy child growing up. A lack of video games and computers in the 60s and 70s led her to constantly be outdoors, riding bikes and playing with friends. Despite a fairly healthy diet of mainly home-cooked meals, Lisa’s issues with food began early on as she would frequently overindulge when she really enjoyed something.

A little on the heavy side from grade school on, Lisa’s weight didn’t become a real issue until she reached her 30s and 40s when her poor diet and inactivity began to catch up with her. Snacking was her downfall, often reaching for things like chips and desserts. And for meals she loved anything covered in cheese and cream sauces. These unhealthy habits meant the fruits and vegetables she purchased would often go to waste as she rarely chose to eat them over more indulgent options.

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Posted on February 5, 2024 by Dana

Zumba Sentao’s Chair Workouts Will be All the Rage in 2024

Zumba stormed 2024. In fact, it’s stormed the better part of the last decade. The whole world was in on the fitness dance craze as it took Inc. Magazine’s Company of the Year distinction and last summer was named the largest fitness brand in the world. It looks like they’re trying to maintain the momentum this year with a few new additions to welcome newbies or hold the interest of loyalists. One of the newest forms of Zumba is called Zumba Sentao.

Zumba Sentao has one major difference from the standard routines – it involves a chair. The Zumba website says the chair will become your dance partner and help amp up the results during routines that are supposed to help strengthen, balance, and stabilize your core muscles. The routines are being taught in classes, however, Zumba wants them to be easy enough to be done in one’s home, too. (more…)

Posted on January 23, 2024 by Lacy

New Year, New Career: 5 Health Professions to Explore in 2024

The American Council on Exercise (ACE) conducted a survey and discovered that for most fitness professionals, this career was not their first job. Many had pursued other avenues only to find that the fitness industry was where their true passions lied. It assumed that many find their love for fitness later in life. Many in the business will tell you that since they were devoting the hours of a full time job to their own fitness, they decided they might enjoy getting paid along the way.

“I was in banking for 15 years before making the leap to personal training full time,” said Pamela Hernandeez, a personal trainer at ThriveFit.com. “In 2024, when the financial services industry collapsed, I was fortunate not lose my job but a lot of people I worked with did. It made me step back and realize how much I had come to dislike my job.”

She kept both jobs for a while as she she pursued her ACSM CPT fitness certifications and to ensure her passion and the clients would be there to pay the bills. As a banker, she says she hated what she was doing and how it didn’t offer any real value for people’s lives. With a full-time fitness career, she gets to make a huge impact on the lives of others. “I knew I had found my calling. I was able to quit my banking career in June 2024. I have never looked back!”

Sound like you?

Some of the most popular careers in the fitness industry include health coach, personal trainer, dietitian, spin instructor, and Zumba instructor. Before you consider taking one of these paths this year, learn more about what each profession entails. (more…)

Posted on January 4, 2024 by Lacy

2,466 Pounds Lost by True Weight Loss Story Members in 2024!

Talking with people who have made drastic changes in their lives for the better is one of the most inspiring and humbling experiences I’ve encountered. Recognizing how difficult it is to lose 5, 10 and even 20 pounds myself, I sympathize with those who struggle with their weight. But after speaking with individuals who have lost more than 100 pounds in some cases, I am often left speechless.

In 2024 we shared the true weight loss stories of more than 20 remarkable individuals from around the world, and their combined total weight loss was 2,466 pounds! This an accomplishment we were truly humbled to be a part of. Though each person shares a uniquely inspiring story, we’ve gathered six of our favorites to give a glimpse into the truly amazing transformations we’ve witnessed on Diets in Review this year. Let’s start with the first true weight loss story I had the privilege of writing: Grace Goodman.

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Posted on December 31, 2023 by Dana

A Blogging Career Allowed Lisa Martin to Lose 70 Pounds on Nutrisystem

Growing up, Lisa Martin – a stay at home mother of two living in Oaklawn, Illinois – was never really overweight but she felt like she was. In truth, it wasn’t until college that she started putting on weight, but that slow, gradual gaining pattern snuck up on her. Despite trying a number of diets including Weight Watchers, she was stuck in a body that she felt was not her own.

At her heaviest Lisa weighed 226 pounds, but she never really felt that heavy. Reflecting on how her body has changed over the years, Lisa has only recently held an accurate view of her own shape and weight. “In high school I thought I was fat, yet looking back I wasn’t,” she admitted. “If I only knew back then what I do now.”

Though her weight had begun to leave her inactive and unhappy, a change came when she least expected it. Being a stay at home mom enabled Lisa to begin dabbling in blogging. It all started in 2006 when Lisa lived in Chicago and her family was in Wisconsin and the two wanted to stay in touch without crashing their email servers by sending too many photos back and forth. (more…)

Posted on December 27, 2023 by Dana

Zumba Named Company of the Year by Inc. Magazine

Equal parts dance and aerobics, Zumba has taken over the fitness world. Maybe the secret ingredient to making exercise fun has been discovered. Zumba was just named Inc. Magazine’s Company of the Year this week. This following this summer’s accolade of being named the largest fitness brand in the world.

While Zumba holds its own as a fitness class, it clearly stands up as a very successful business as well. Inc. reported this week that the Zumba company has an estimated valuation of more than $500 million. That tally comes from some very rapid growth. The CEO, Alberto Perlman, stated in the Inc. article that the company grew 4,000 percent from 2024 to 2024. Additionally the company grew 750 percent in the past three years. Holy Zumba, Batman! Is anything else in the business world, anything at all doing that well? (more…)

Posted on December 6, 2023 by Lacy

Betsy Schow Lost 75 Pounds, Became an Author and Ran a Marathon All in One Year

Betsy Schow’s weight struggles began early on in life. She recalls her childhood, growing up with two parents who both struggled with their weight and three siblings who were the stark opposite.

“I have three older sisters and they were always skinny little whips. It was obnoxious,” she joked. “When I was 12 my dad lost quite a bit of weight – 150 pounds – with Atkins and Fen-Phen. It was at that point that he not so politely pointed out that was I fat.”

Perhaps not so aware of her weight before that moment, Betsy’s struggles all of the sudden became a preoccupation. She did everything she could to try and lose the weight, testing out various diet and fitness programs but they all ended up leaving her heavier than she was before. It didn’t take long before this pattern left her fed up and willing to do just about anything to lose the weight.

At 5 feet 7 inches tall, Betsy weighed just shy of 220 pounds at her heaviest. A big push came when she tried to eat better over one summer in an attempt to finally get in a swimsuit and feel comfortable. But when she stopped nursing her youngest daughter that year she gained an unexpected 10 pounds in one month, which sent her to a sinking point.

“Between that 10 pounds and the scale I lost it. I broke down and realized I had to change,” she recalled. “Even then it started out pretty much the same but I needed to do something drastic because my doctor was warning me I was pre-diabetic.” (more…)

Posted on December 5, 2023 by Dana

The Ultimate Zumba Gift Guide

If you’ve got a Zumba fanatic on your holiday shopping list this year, look no further. We’ve gathered a list of goods that every Zumba lover out there would be ecstatic to receive.

Exhilarate Body Shaping System (DVD set of 5)

These at-home workout DVDs will get their body dancing into shape. The original set contained only four DVDs, but this bonus set includes a fifth (20 minute warm up) plus a set of toning sticks. Each DVD contains a different workout with multiple intensity levels for the beginners, intermediates, and advanced. Also included is a 10-day weight-loss program for the Zumba lover to take advantage of. What a deal!

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Posted on November 30, 2023 by Danielle

10 Ways to Solidify Your Fitness Routine

There seems to be a great chasm between those who workout and those who do not. But does anyone really know why that is?

Often surrounded by people who don’t love working out as much as I do (admittedly, I’m an enthusiast), I’ve asked myself this question many times but to no avail. It seems that the path to fitness is narrow and few find it, but I wish that wasn’t so as exercise is such an essential part of a long, healthy life. Not to mention it can be a blast once you find your groove!

Perhaps there are some insider secrets that ‘insiders’ wrongly assume ‘outsiders’ already know. This slideshow is my humble attempt to “crack the code” and unveil those tips, tricks and secrets so that everyone can find their way to fitness and establish a routine that truly sticks.

Posted on November 13, 2023 by Dana

Small Goals Keep Jennifer’s True Weight Loss Story on Track

The most recent goal Jennifer had in her weight loss journey was to get down to the weight printed on her driver’s license. In the past month, she accomplished that. She’s now three pounds under her license weight and says “I really need to go get a new driver’s license.”

She’s doing a lot of things right in her weight loss, which we’ve been following since summer. For one, she’s not on a diet. She’s establishing healthy habits that are helping her achieve one goal at a time (which is one of the healthiest habits of all when losing weight). Setting small, manageable goals helps you enjoy achievement all along the way, rather than feeling like you’re pursuing something that, for many, will takes months and even years to achieve.

Since the start of her journey in February of this year, Jennifer is down a total of 44 pounds, currently weighing in at 257 pounds. She’s down from a size 26 to a size 22 and has bought a few new clothes. She admits to still ordering things online, but is pleased with how they definitely fit when they arrive.

She’s also celebrating what she called a breakthrough this past month. “I did spiderman planks!,” Jennifer bragged. “It’s a big deal to me!” She talked about not being able to do them at all before and now she can hold one for 20 seconds. (more…)

Posted on November 9, 2023 by Natalie K