My Personal Debt of Gratitude – by Becca

In May of 2004, I gave birth to my 3rd son. He had a brother who was born in May of 2003 and another brother born in May 1997. With this birth, came an overwhelming state of depression, one that I didn’t realize I could possibly experience. When my youngest son was 3 months old, we adopted a newborn little girl. One would think my story is the typical “Cathe helped me lose my baby weight” but mine is very different. Having three children so close together and an older one who was in school, my weight fell off. In fact, I was at my lowest weight as an adult when my youngest was 6 months old. I was running around like crazy, feeding them before I ever thought of feeding myself. My husband works long hours, so the vast majority of their daytime and night time care fell on me.

In September of 2005, when my youngest turned 1 year, my depression had gotten completely out of control. I was hopeless and tearful and grouchy at the kids all the time. My thoughts were frequently about my own death and how I could bring it about. I went on anti-depressants and they did help for a while. But then, my symptoms would get worse, so I would go off of one med and move onto another. After going through this cycle for a year and half, my husband and I prayed about it, and decided I need to go off the meds completely. My suicidal thoughts were much worse on the meds than they were when I was not taking them.

I did have one benefit from the anti-depressants: weight loss. In June of 2007 I went off the meds completely and over a six week time, I gained 20 pounds. I had dabbled a bit in exercise, but didn’t make it my focus. I still struggled with my depression, but I knew I could not go back to the alternative. So here I was fat and miserable looking for an answer.

After my routine GYN appointment in Sept of 2007, it was determined that I needed to have a hysterectomy. I had the surgery, but it was a difficult recovery for me and I sank deeper and deeper into a state of despair. A few weeks after my surgery, my husband and I took a vacation to Hawaii to celebrate our wedding anniversary. During our trip, I was asked three different times by three different people if I was pregnant. That was it! I knew I needed to do something.

I remembered hearing about Cathe several years ago while I was participating in a Firm email group. Everyone talked about her like she was the gold standard by which all other workout videos should be measured. I needed something drastic and Cathe sounded like she was drastic. I went to the website and starting previewing videos. I ordered Basic Step/Body Fusion right away and went to my nearest sporting goods store and bought a step. I worked my way through the Beginner rotation and started to feel such an improvement in my mood. It didn’t take long for me to add to my DVD collection. THIS was what I needed, I needed to be challenged to work hard and to see that I could do it!

In January of 2008, I began to focus on my eating and then I started to see the weight come off. Within 3 months I had lost all the weight I had gained. The changes in my body were great, but most importantly, since I have been working out consistently, my depression symptoms are gone! GONE! Cathe literally saved my life.

I love the feeling of accomplishment I have after a Cathe workout. I have been blessed to be able to meet Cathe on the Road Trip in 2008 and she is an amazing woman! My kids know her by name and are always asking me, “Is Cathe trying to kill you again???” when I am working out. I love it! I love that I have energy to keep up with them. I love that I can go out back and do flips on the trampoline with them. I love that I am setting an example of an active life for my kids.

So, thank you, Cathe, for giving me my life back and for giving my kids their mother and my husband his smokin’ hot wife. “Thank you” doesn’t seem to be adequate. I hope that we are in this together for at least another 20 years!