The new year often brings a renewed vigor to people. In January, gyms and workout studios are bursting with new members seeking to burn off the weight they packed on during end-of-year parties.
But by mid-February, the waiting lines at the machines are shorter. By the end of the month, many people cast aside the New Year’s resolutions to “get fit.” The lesson: building and maintaining fitness doesn’t come from a turn-of-the-year whim; it happens by choice – or rather, a series of choices that occur every day.
Sonja Romijn, a 39-year-old from the Netherlands, understands that. She went through an extended period of making poor choices, and they began to weigh on her. Literally. Two years ago, she weighed 140 kg (309 lbs) and was pondering gastric bypass surgery.
“I really ate it all,” she explained. “Cookies, chips, chocolates. You really can call me a sugar addict. If I didn’t eat sugar, I was trembling. I didn’t feel okay. Sugar was my drug, what kept me going. It made me happy. Well, I thought I was, but really I was miserable to the bone. So I decided to do something about it. I tried a lot of diets, shakes – you name it. Nothing really worked for me on the long-term.”
When she consulted her doctor about gastric bypass, he dissuaded her. “My doctor said, ‘Girl, you can do this! I won’t give you a gastric bypass. It’s not good for you. You lose weight, but not in a healthy way. People with gastric bypasses can just never eat normal, and your life will never become what you wished for. It’s a life with a lot of pills and checkups, and you’re low on energy. And the important thing, you CAN get heavy again after your bypass. It’s not the Golden ticket.’”
Romijn’s doctor advised her to see a dietician. She did, and she lost 30 kg (66 lbs), but slowly, she gained it all back. Again, she asked her doctor about doing the gastric bypass surgery. Again, he told her no. “He really laughed at me and said, ‘Go on with what you were doing,’ and he sent me home again.”
That is when she came to grips with what she had to do. “I decided to choose healthy instead of surgery. There is only one person who made me fat, and that’s me.”
Romijn kicked carbs to the curb. She cut out bread, potatoes, pasta and rice, and she learned to buy and cook fresh foods. But from her past experience with diets, she knew she had to add exercise.
“I wanted to lose some weight, so I started to run. I did several runs and could run long for my weight, but I had some pain in the hip and knee. During a run, I saw an ElliptiGO ride past. It went so fast, I didn’t know what it was, so I Googled it and landed on the site of Run2GO in Holland. Two weeks later I had my first test ride at Run2GO – first the Arc, then the 8C – and I was in heaven! I bought the 8C.”
She now rides three times a week between 30 km (18.6 mi) to 40 km (24.9 mi). Since adding ElliptiGO rides to her new diet, she has lost 45 kg – nearly 100 pounds. And she’s not done.
“I’m still on my mission. My weight was 140 kg (309 lbs) 2 years ago. Now I’m at 95 kg (209 lbs), but that’s still too heavy. My goal is to become 80 kg (176 lbs). In combination with my diet and the GO, I will just keep on going!
“I LOVE my GO! It’s so life-changing for me. I feel so healthy and fit! It’s worth every penny. With it, my life has changed in the best positive way you can imagine.”
“I really hope I can inspire some people to do the same and become as strong as me. I’m not always so strong, because I can still really enjoy food and sweets, but I’m strong enough to carry on. I encourage people to look at where they went astray and make the changes they need to make. There is definitely a way without that scary surgery.
“Life can be so AWESOME, so you choose for YOU!”