My name is Theresa Brummer. I have been an Elementary Physical Education Specialist for I.S.D. 728 since 1990. I currently serve the high school volleyball athletes of Elk River High School as their head coach.
My story doesn’t begin with FitClub. It begins with a thought by a scared little girl and with that thought began a rabbit hole of bad eating habits that destroyed my metabolism. I would starve myself all day. After a couple of days I would then cave in and binge eat. Fortunately, I was a three sport athlete so most of my binge eating decisions could be worked off. When puberty hit, however, I could not outrun my poor choices. I put on over 40 pounds in two years. Then I began to attempt one diet trend after another. By the time I was a senior in high school I was heading towards 200 pounds. I cannot begin to tell you the emotional turmoil that was happening to me. This was no longer just about weight–this became an emotional battle. Why? At the heart of everything it was because I felt like I would never be good enough.
An event happened that was a wakeup call and my mom quickly became aware of what I was up to. She took me to a dietician. She was an AMAZING dietician, Susie Dichraff. She helped me identify what my bad eating habits were, how my thinking worked against me, and how I could begin a journey in wellness and self-approval. I started fighting for me. I also decided to enter a profession where I could teach others the value of a healthy perspective on life.
Fast forward to the present day and my introduction to Snap Fitness in Elk River. One winter day my lovely. daughter, my mini-me, Becca asked me to join Snap with her so she could work out at college. I was never one to want to work out with anyone else. I loved the time I spent on my quiet run/walks by myself decompressing and shedding the day. The things we do for our children.
We started noticing these “classes” happening. There were groups of people working out with a trainer and doing all of these brutal workouts. We looked at each other and said “NOPE not for us”! Then one day a guy named Luke walked by and asked me to come in and give class a try. I was so intimidated in the first class. I remember …. enter laughter here…falling after a 12-inch box jump. I popped up in horror thinking “I hope nobody saw that!” Of course, Luke came running to see if I was ok. I just started laughing because I had no idea what had just happened. It didn’t take long before I fell in love with the atmosphere, the people, and the challenge of FitClub.
The latest chapter of my journey has brought me full circle. Somewhere deep inside my head the memories of the battle I waged to overcome weight gain remained. What triggered this memory? Menopause. I always swore that I was going to be the one that would punch menopause in the face. I was not going to gain the belly fat and have the “barrel shape with toothpick legs.”
I worked hard through every FitClub transformation challenge. Yes, I would do very well and have great success during the actual challenge, however, I still struggled with belly fat. I did love the fact that I was getting strong and although I was not exactly at the percent of body fat I wanted to be, I felt good.
You know the story. Pictures say a thousand words that no one else could see or feel. Vacations in swimsuits, mother of the groom dresses, and all the other memories brought me back to that deep seated thought in my soul: You will never be good enough.
This is all self-imposed thinking. No one has ever spoken these words or made me feel this way. On the contrary, my parents have always complimented me. My husband treats me like I am the most beautiful woman in the world. FitClub, the people here are the most kind, inspiring, thoughtful, generous with compliments, and uplifting people I know.
Why did I have this self-destructive thinking? Self-destructive thinking leads to self-sabotage and poor decisions. THIS IS WHERE THE WAR NEEDS TO BE WON!
Challenge accepted…January 3rd, I checked in with Luke and faced reality with the understanding that this the beginning of a new journey. Next: “STOMP THE ANTS”. (ANTS=automatic negative thoughts.) THINK DIFFERENTLY!
It is always nice to have a carrot, something to work towards. What happens when that is achieved? My reason for wanting success this time is the hoochie mama dress my daughter picked out for me to wear at her wedding. I bought a second “just in case” conservative dress. Truth be told, I really wanted to be able to wear the beautiful dress my daughter picked for me. I want her to be proud of me on her wedding day. I want to feel beautiful. This is where I have set myself up for epic failure in the past. This is the WRONG reason to want change.
I’ve learned that my journey cannot be about anyone else or anything else. This must be about me. This must be about empowering your inner badass ninja and being the best version of yourself for you.
Progress…the magic word that says we are winning. The coolest thing about progress is the feeling you get when you see your muscle, when you feel your strength. It is so amazing when you see the numbers CHANGE in the right direction on the InBody.
No one noticed this, but the day we were working on our maximum weight for hex bar deadlifts, I was able to achieve a personal best (pictured below). I started crying privately. This journey is about me waging a war against feeling like I’m not good enough and in the end, deciding I am the best me I have ever been in a long time. It isn’t just about losing belly weight it is about overcoming that inner demon. It is about being grateful for the life I have been given and the gift the Lord has given me. I am sorry that I did not appreciate myself and that I never believed I was good enough. I deeply apologize for not seeing my friends and family see in me. I am good enough and I feel more empowered than I ever have.
My story doesn’t begin with FitClub. It begins with a thought by a scared little girl and with that thought began a rabbit hole of bad eating habits that destroyed my metabolism. I would starve myself all day. After a couple of days I would then cave in and binge eat. Fortunately, I was a three sport athlete so most of my binge eating decisions could be worked off. When puberty hit, however, I could not outrun my poor choices. I put on over 40 pounds in two years. Then I began to attempt one diet trend after another. By the time I was a senior in high school I was heading towards 200 pounds. I cannot begin to tell you the emotional turmoil that was happening to me. This was no longer just about weight–this became an emotional battle. Why? At the heart of everything it was because I felt like I would never be good enough.
An event happened that was a wakeup call and my mom quickly became aware of what I was up to. She took me to a dietician. She was an AMAZING dietician, Susie Dichraff. She helped me identify what my bad eating habits were, how my thinking worked against me, and how I could begin a journey in wellness and self-approval. I started fighting for me. I also decided to enter a profession where I could teach others the value of a healthy perspective on life.
Fast forward to the present day and my introduction to Snap Fitness in Elk River. One winter day my lovely. daughter, my mini-me, Becca asked me to join Snap with her so she could work out at college. I was never one to want to work out with anyone else. I loved the time I spent on my quiet run/walks by myself decompressing and shedding the day. The things we do for our children.
We started noticing these “classes” happening. There were groups of people working out with a trainer and doing all of these brutal workouts. We looked at each other and said “NOPE not for us”! Then one day a guy named Luke walked by and asked me to come in and give class a try. I was so intimidated in the first class. I remember …. enter laughter here…falling after a 12-inch box jump. I popped up in horror thinking “I hope nobody saw that!” Of course, Luke came running to see if I was ok. I just started laughing because I had no idea what had just happened. It didn’t take long before I fell in love with the atmosphere, the people, and the challenge of FitClub.
The latest chapter of my journey has brought me full circle. Somewhere deep inside my head the memories of the battle I waged to overcome weight gain remained. What triggered this memory? Menopause. I always swore that I was going to be the one that would punch menopause in the face. I was not going to gain the belly fat and have the “barrel shape with toothpick legs.”
I worked hard through every FitClub transformation challenge. Yes, I would do very well and have great success during the actual challenge, however, I still struggled with belly fat. I did love the fact that I was getting strong and although I was not exactly at the percent of body fat I wanted to be, I felt good.
You know the story. Pictures say a thousand words that no one else could see or feel. Vacations in swimsuits, mother of the groom dresses, and all the other memories brought me back to that deep seated thought in my soul: You will never be good enough.
This is all self-imposed thinking. No one has ever spoken these words or made me feel this way. On the contrary, my parents have always complimented me. My husband treats me like I am the most beautiful woman in the world. FitClub, the people here are the most kind, inspiring, thoughtful, generous with compliments, and uplifting people I know.
Why did I have this self-destructive thinking? Self-destructive thinking leads to self-sabotage and poor decisions. THIS IS WHERE THE WAR NEEDS TO BE WON!
Challenge accepted…January 3rd, I checked in with Luke and faced reality with the understanding that this the beginning of a new journey. Next: “STOMP THE ANTS”. (ANTS=automatic negative thoughts.) THINK DIFFERENTLY!
It is always nice to have a carrot, something to work towards. What happens when that is achieved? My reason for wanting success this time is the hoochie mama dress my daughter picked out for me to wear at her wedding. I bought a second “just in case” conservative dress. Truth be told, I really wanted to be able to wear the beautiful dress my daughter picked for me. I want her to be proud of me on her wedding day. I want to feel beautiful. This is where I have set myself up for epic failure in the past. This is the WRONG reason to want change.
I’ve learned that my journey cannot be about anyone else or anything else. This must be about me. This must be about empowering your inner badass ninja and being the best version of yourself for you.
Progress…the magic word that says we are winning. The coolest thing about progress is the feeling you get when you see your muscle, when you feel your strength. It is so amazing when you see the numbers CHANGE in the right direction on the InBody.
No one noticed this, but the day we were working on our maximum weight for hex bar deadlifts, I was able to achieve a personal best (pictured below). I started crying privately. This journey is about me waging a war against feeling like I’m not good enough and in the end, deciding I am the best me I have ever been in a long time. It isn’t just about losing belly weight it is about overcoming that inner demon. It is about being grateful for the life I have been given and the gift the Lord has given me. I am sorry that I did not appreciate myself and that I never believed I was good enough. I deeply apologize for not seeing my friends and family see in me. I am good enough and I feel more empowered than I ever have.
Theresa's personal best hex bar deadlift.