Time to Celebrate

Warning: In this blog post, there will be cake.

I've made it a point never to write about cake, desserts, and all that 'good' stuff that all of us trying to lose weight and get healthy are trying to avoid ... but today is an exception. Today, we had a very good reason to celebrate.

When I met Fatma at my gym several months ago, I had no idea what kind of impact she was going to have on my life. For some time, she was just another member at the gym - someone who came regularly, worked hard, and then went about her life. That's how it usually happens, right? People at the gym are just people at the gym - rarely do we get to know more about them and find out what their story is ... we just continue to go our own way. I'm so glad that didn't happen with Fatma.

When she first asked me if I would be interested in joining a group of women to try out a new form of exercise, I said yes - I'm always up for an adventure! At that time I hadn't heard about CrossFit so I had no idea what I was getting myself in to! However, before we even go to try out the workout, I got to know more about her. I wrote a bit about our conversation back in April (about half way through this post). It was during this interaction that I learned more about what her story was - where she's come from and how she got to where she is now.

You usually see athletes and super-fit people at the gym and think - Well, it's easy for them because they've always been that way. (At least that's usually my first impression.) This wasn't the case with her. When she told me that she used to be very overweight, I didn't believe her. I mean, could the person sitting next to me really have lost that much weight (about 45 kg/100 lbs) in 5 months? Was she for real?

Yes. Very real.

There are a lot of us out there who struggle to lose weight. Often the main obstacle is a mental one -- coming up with the decision, drive, and dedication to just go for your goal without any hesitation.

She overcame that obstacle. She decided she was going to change her life -- and she did.

Now, she follows a healthy lifestyle. She is now Coach Fatma - the trainer of the women's CrossFit team of CrossFit Q8. She is a role model for all of us. She has shown us that you can go from a situation where you feel like there is no hope, that the task is just way too big, to one where you are in control of your life ... and you are happy.

Before writing this post, I asked her how much she has changed in the past year - and she said 100%.

100%

Can you imagine saying that about your life? Has your life changed 100% in the past year? Wouldn't you like to see your life change 100% one year from now? (Even if it's just 100% in one aspect of your life.)

Coach Fatma pushes us at the CrossFit Box. She pushes us to give just a little bit more - do one more rep, lift one more kilo, do one more (bloody) burpee. I know for myself, when I was introduced to CrossFit three months ago and properly started training at the Box almost exactly two months ago, I had no idea how much I would have progressed in such a short period of time. I still have a long way to go, but I know that I can get there. Through Coach Fatma and the other amazing women on our team, I have learned about taking chances, about not being afraid to try harder, about having the strength to believe in yourself - which will then give you the strength to push those weights. Starting to change my mentality has helped me in so many ways - and in various areas of my life, not just fitness.

So as I said, today we had reason to celebrate. Today was Coach Fatma's birthday, and we were all super-excited to be part of her day.

What do you think of this cake? Isn't it adorable?

Coach Fatma is the first female CrossFitter in Kuwait -- She's our First Lady :)

Kettlebell swings - piece of cake ;)

Our women's CrossFit Q8 Team:

Happy Birthday Coach Fatma! 

We wish you many, many more!