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June 26, 2010 - Sitting on the racquetball court, I was in shock. The shot was a winner but the landing was not. My leg shifted, then buckled. Although feeling no pain, I knew the left ACL was gone. Crap. Maybe at 50 years old I wasn’t meant to get into great shape. Perhaps I was just destined to be overweight.

Six months of good exercise and eating habits went down the tubes. I worked hard to lose 25 pounds. I was on path to better health. Now that all came to a crashing halt.

Although a jock in school, I had been heavy all of my life. My parents were proud of me: a “big strong solid smart girl”. Being in a fashion show was neat, but wearing “chubbies” was embarrassing. I had exercised on and off since the 1980s, but could never break my plateau of 135 pounds. I knew I had food sensitivities, but would rather eat what I wanted and overweight. My corporate engineering job was stressful, but I was getting ahead. I survived bouts of melanoma and basal cell carcinoma. The sport of dog agility had enveloped my life. Exercise was on my “to do” list, but I could never get to it.

Working with a naturopathic doctor was paramount in this journey. Dr. Amrit Devgun at the Natural Care Center in Woodbury MN asked me what my compelling reasons were for getting healthy. I was turning 50, my clothes didn’t fit, my glucose levels were increasing, my mother turned diabetic when she was older, and my dad’s sisters were all my height but weighed around 200 lbs. I didn’t want to wind up there. Dr. Devgun helped me with eating plans, stress reduction and supplements. The exercise element was up to me.

I had done pretty well on my own, down 35 pounds overall. Traditional exercise - weights then cardio - took up too much time. I still couldn’t get past the plateau.

That’s when LifeTime Fitness (Woodbury MN) Master Personal Trainer Greg Zeleny entered the picture. He insisted that I keep a food diary for a couple of weeks. That showed me I was way off on my own estimates which was quite a surprise. I needed to eat more food and in the right proportions to jump start my metabolism in order to lose weight. Eat more? Awesome!

Greg challenged me with High Calorie Expenditure sessions - combining weights and cardio - which enabled me to burn the same amount or more calories in less time. He constantly switched the exercises around. There was a method to his “madness” and it worked! Muscles were popping and weight was dropping past my plateau. It was fun!

When I ripped my ACL, I was ready to throw in the towel. Greg guided my mental game through pre-surgery prep, surgery and rehab. His exercises complimented the physical therapy and kept me moving to get back to where I had been prior to injury. Got there!

Greg set the next goal - train for a figure competition. I thought he was crazy but went for it anyway. My body changed even more, getting to a state that I never thought possible at 51 years old. I was also cast in a million dollar exercise video production with fitness mogul Jennifer Nicole Lee. On April 23rd I had my first official photo shoot and competition, placing in the top 5 in the Masters (45+) class at the Great North Natural Championships. I beat major injury, cancer and being overweight, you can too!

And A Note from Carol:

Hi, thanks for the opportunity to submit my story. The above is the testimony that's posted at my health club - lifetime fitness in Woodbury MN. The photo is a compilation of before and after photos. The after photos are taken by David Sherman of Minneapolis MN and were taken at a photo shoot the day of my figure competition.

Please check out my facebook site - Carol Kramer Smorch Fitness to see more photos.

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