Dawn has been doing Stroller Strides with me for almost three years now. I love having her and her little ones in class every Tuesday!

Last Fall Dawn made a choice to change! She started doing Body Back and our 5K Training.

The changes she has made in the last year have been amazing! I am beyond pround of her! She inspires me and I know her fight will inspire you too!

"I have been on and off diets since I was12 years old.

The most successful I had been was with an organized weight loss program which no longer exist (there is a reason). I lost 50 pounds, gained an eating disorder, recovered from said eating disorder and gained back most of the weight.

I swore that I would not put myself in that position again; I would not obsess about my weight to the point of unhealthiness again.

For a while that worked for me, the scale would go up and down with the seasons or the stress level of that particular year but I would deal with it.

I wasn’t at my comfortable weight but I wasn’t considerably uncomfortable either.

Then I got pregnant with my daughter and gained 55 pounds!!

I lost 20 of those pounds in the weeks following her birth and then another 10 in the months to follow, but those last 25 pounds wouldn’t budge.

A year and a half later I became pregnant with my son and kept packing on the pounds. At my lowest point, I was over 200 pounds, miserable, self conscience and tired.

My kids deserved better, I deserved better. Yet, I was hesitant to try anything because of my fear of become obsessive and once again developing unhealthy habits.

I needed to find something sustainable. And that’s when I found Body Back!

Body Back was different than anything I had ever done before.

Body Back promotes a healthy lifestyle with both exercise and clean eating.

The first thing I learned was that it was NOT a diet, it was a lifestyle.

You will have good days and you will have bad. When you eat something that may not be the best for you (like that piece of cake you have your eye on), no worries. Your day didn’t have to be ruined, your week didn’t have to be ruined. You could literally have your cake and eat it too!!!

This was a journey, there was no deadline (I didn’t need to lose 20 pounds in a month). The lessons learned were completely different ways of thinking than what I was used to.

The best part….I actually wanted to work out!!! The two workouts a week weren’t enough, I wanted more. Don’t misunderstand, the workouts were hard!! So hard at times I didn’t think I would make it through. But with the support of my instructor and fellow body back momma’s, I did….and it felt great!!

I am more active now then I have been in my entire life, and I’m loving it. I can chase my kids around and not get winded. I’ve been entering 5K races for the fun of it!

I’m not at my ultimate goal, but it doesn’t matter, I’ll get there eventually. What does matter is that I’ve changed my lifestyle, I’ve changed my family’s lifestyle. I’m teaching my kids that eating well and keeping active is just a part of life, not a horrible diet that I “cheat on” and feel awful about.

Sure, I splurge and I eat those things I still crave at times. But I’m not “cheating”, I’m living my life. I don’t feel awful about that choice, I get to enjoy it because I know the next choice I make will be a better one.

I’m even learning to love my body, my post-baby body. I’m teaching my daughter to love her body and to have a healthy body image. I’m reconnecting with my husband.

I feel healthy and strong…..I feel amazing!!!" - Dawn Freyder