No name (Spouse) – Altoona, Iowa: I am not a member of Farrells, and have not completed the body challenge.  I am a spouse and want to share with you things from my view.

A year ago, my husband alternated between a mild limp and using a crutch with a handicap accessible parking pass to get around.  He was 36 years old, had high cholesterol, high blood pressure, degenerative arthritis in his left hip, woke up at night with unofficial bouts of sleep apnea and snored horribly.  He has a family history of heart disease and obesity, and his Body Mass Index score was in the obese range.

Classes started and he was a different person!  He ate healthy, didn’t drink, and went to almost all the classes.  He took better care of himself than I had seen in the 14 years we’ve been together.  But he kept it a secret from friends and family.  He didn’t want to fail and knew he wouldn’t, but what if?

The pounds started coming off, the energy started coming back, a new person was emerging.  Every night I had the same 2 questions for him:  How was class?...and How is your hip?  Class was always fine, and the hip was always fine.  He knew his limits.  Week 5 testing took place and he was ecstatic.  His stats jumped way up and his pounds were coming off.  He felt better, slept better and looked better.  And he never cheated!  If something special was happening on Saturday he took that as his free day instead of Sunday.

It was hard on me too.  Most times I fixed two meals; one for me and the kids and then something for him to eat when he got home from class, but I knew how important the support was in order for him to succeed and finish.  I counted grams of carbs, proteins, read labels, measured and whatever else I could to help support him.

Before week 10 testing he started getting really nervous.  He wanted to win, not just the money, but winning meant improvement from week 1 and week 5.  He came home from final testing tired and anxious.  He had given it his all and we would just have to wait until that night to know.

When LeaKol turned the mic over to Barb to announce the winner he took my hand.  We both held our breath and then she began reading her introduction.  It didn’t take long before we knew she was talking about him.  Our hearts were pounding.  He had accomplished what he set out to do, win.  In the end he was a winner, not just of a $1,000, but of good health.  He is more proud of the certificate that hangs on our wall than anything.

Seven months after a total hip replacement, there is no more hobbling, no more handicap tag, no more crutches, no more snoring, and his BMI now falls in the normal range.  His cholesterol and high blood pressure are hereditary so we still have some of that, but it is lower than it was.  He keeps up with the maintenance; he watches what he eats and continues to become more toned.

He is in the best shape I have seen him since we got married.  We’ve had to buy him a new wardrobe and he’s proud of the way he looks.  It is no longer sweats and a t-shirt.  He takes pride in his clothes and appearance and looks hot!  We both tell friends and family that want to get in shape to try FXB it works.

As a spouse of an FXB member, I want to thank you for what you have given back to me and my family.