UNDERGRIND Fitness Client Review

1. What was your why for starting with UNDERGRIND fitness? I had just gotten out of an unhealthy relationship, so I wanted to continue to break my unhealthy relationships with food, sleep, water, exercise, and people. I was at my highest weight ever. At 5’2, I weighed almost 210lbs and my face hurt because of how big I had gotten. I had to buy new clothes because nothing fit. My confidence had plummeted, so my goal going into 2023 was to go to the gym once a week lol not sure what I planned to get out of one day, but I wanted to start somewhere and Tommie challenged me to 3 days and I don’t think I realized it until months later.

2. What was your journey like with the meal plans? I went from eating out multiple times a day, never cooking, rarely drinking water, or eating a home-cooked meal and eating dessert with practically every meal to learning how to prepare steak, make salmon, and meal prepping.  I must be honest. I teeter-tottered quite a bit once the weather started getting warm and my weight went down. During the winter, I sat still more, but when it warmed up, I am usually out trying to travel. My taste buds changed significantly so the fast food I once enjoyed didn’t make me feel like it used to. It was no longer satisfying. I felt personally guilty afterwards because I knew it wasn’t worth the setback I was going to see on the scale. The meal plan also encouraged me to read labels and try to understand them better. Cutting out the sweets/desserts after every meal was very difficult. It is still a struggle, but having a meal plan keeps me accountable. And in the rare times that I really felt like I didn’t have a choice, Tommie always provided me with the healthiest alternative.

3. What was your journey like with the fitness plan? I enjoyed my fitness plan. Tommie always made sure it was tailored to me and made sure to include workouts for my personal physical areas of improvement. I do not grasp things well and when something doesn’t feel right, I get discouraged. I am not a visual or auditory learner, so I felt very blessed to have a trainer in the gym with me working out and showing me the correct way to do the moves. As time went on, Tommie increased her physical expectations of me. I have always been a walker because of my knees, but by the end of the year, I was running half a mile. I appreciate that Tommie will push us, but she will also remind us to listen to our body. There is always a healthy balance.

4. What is your review of Coach T? Coach T has really been a blessing to me. She took me under her wing and really trained me when she saw me lacking understanding. Before Coach Tommie, I was training with a coach who wasn’t responsive and as a beginner who really isn’t familiar with more than the treadmill, it was imperative that I was able to ask questions and receive feedback quickly or I would just stand still or do what I know. The daily weight check-ins kept me accountable because I didn’t want to have to explain the increase, but I was also proud to share when there was a decrease. She gets in there and does the work with us and has created a family atmosphere for us. Her workouts are effective and timely. If you show up for yourself (and her), she will show up for you, even if you’re the only one there. She has given me a lot of great insight/advice, but the one that I recall daily is “Don’t expect results for the work you didn’t do”.

5. What would be your best advice to give to anyone considering training with UNDERGRIND Fitness? I have said some of this before. But prepare yourself to get a little uncomfortable to get what you want. Show up for yourself and Tommie will show up for you. You can’t outwork a bad diet. So please know that what you put in your body is more than half the battle. The time you invest in yourself at the gym, will not compare to the time when your mind is idle, and you want to snack. Find healthy alternatives. Expect to be challenged by Tommie but rewarded with results. Sometimes it isn’t immediate, but it goes back to what we consume. Do not be discouraged. Muscle weighs more than fat. Look at the way clothes feel and look. I had hit a point where I wasn’t losing weight, but my pants sizes were shrinking. I am back down to wearing a medium in shirts and I went from a 38 pants to a 32/34 depending on the material. Lastly, “Don’t expect results for the work you don’t do”.

6. What has been your biggest challenge on this journey? This journey has been a process for me. At every stage, everything has been a challenge. I didn’t work out. I went out to eat multiple times a day. I never cooked, rarely drank water, or stayed still long enough to eat at home, and believed in eating dessert with practically every meal. On top of all this, I barely slept. I have always had a hard time going to sleep which made it difficult to get up on time for training. On a good night, I was averaging 3 to 4 hours of sleep. My biggest struggle used to be water intake. It is still a challenge, but I would say I was really a mess before Tommie got a hold of me.

7. How long have you been with UNDERGRIND Fitness and what successes have you achieved during your journey? I have been with UnderGrind Fitness since Feb 2023 technically, but Tommie really took me under her wing around mid-January 2023. So we have been working out together for a year. Since then, I have lost over 30lbs and I’m right outside of my goal to be in the healthy body fat category. I have been considered morbidly obese for far too long. I get more sleep, cook, meal prep, and overall make better food choices. My face has cleared up. I am back to a medium in shirts and my clothes just fit better. I look better. After getting out of an unhealthy long-term relationship, all the changes that I had to make to get the results I wanted came from Tommie and my UnderGrind Fitness family. I can’t thank Tommie enough for helping me get my confidence back. She’s truly been a blessing and reminded me over and over to fight for my life.

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- Jeleena Hall