This is Jen’s (AKA MountainGirl) story.

I’m now a fit 42 year old, who is loving life pain free!I started exercising about 10+ years ago when my sister & brother-in-law introduced my husband and me to health and fitness with Body for Life. It helped me learn about healthy eating & how important exercise is.

Two years ago (2010,) before hearing about Beachbody, I was having a lot of pain in my lower back. After testing and X-rays, it was discovered that I had some serious lower back issues. I had developed Spina Bifida Occulta or Vertibral Fusion Defect which simply means that my spinal column is not fused properly AND I have Spondylolisthesis, which is a condition in which my vertebra in the lower part of my spine has slipped out of the proper position & onto and in front of the bone below it. After some much needed physical therapy, I started feeling better, but I would never heal from these conditons. Well that did it! I didn’t want to do P.T. for the rest of my life and if I wanted to feel better every day I needed to strengthen my core so my AB and back muscles would be strong enough to support & overcome my back issues. I had seen the P90X commercials on TV forever and had always wanted to try it, but never really had the guts. Not anymore! I wasn’t going to let anything stop me. I did not want to give up being the very independent person I am. I didn’t want to ask other people if they could help me lift this or that, or not be able to hike, backpack or mountain climb with my family. So I ordered it and started the program on August 28th 2010. I didn’t have huge weight loss goals like so many others, but I did however lose inches and gained a ton of muscle. And ever since, my back doesn’t hurt when I wake up and I don’t have to to P.T., Beachbody workouts are my new P.T. and I love it!

One of the hardest things for me tended to be my eating. Portion control had been somewhat of an issue. Since starting P90X, I noticed a huge difference in the way I was eating. I loved the portion plan, it was very easy to follow, since I was already eating the foods recommended, just too much of it. After I finished my first round, I didn’t quite lose all the weight I wanted, but it didn’t keep me from pushing play every day. The next programs I started were a Turbofire/Brazil Butt Lift hybrid. After that, I skipped over Insanity and dove right into They Asylum. What a butt kicker that is! But so great. It helped me get down to where I wanted to be and in the best shape possible before I had to go into surgery! Yep, that’s right. After all that hard work, I had a small cancer scare and it was decided that the best course of action was to have a hysterectomy. I got back on track after a few weeks off and found that “exercise addiction” factor. Now I can’t wait for my daily workouts and really crave the sweat! My husband and I have been doing Les Mills PUMP since January and it has brought us closer together. I love sharing what I was feeling with him and having him feel the same way. We are now partners in this business and want to share with everyone what Beachbody has done for us.

I believe in what Beachbody stands for, “Helping others become healthy and fit, physically and financially and “Ending the Trend” of Obesity”. It was only natural that my husband and I join this company in their crusade and become coaches who can pass this on to others. My wish for all of you, is to feel as good as we do and be happy with yourself. It’s never too late.

You wanted to know a little more about Bill (AKA HikerDoc)…

I am Bill Leppert, a physician, father and husband of coach Jen Leppert. My journey through weight loss has been a long and arduous one starting 12 years ago when I weighed in at a whopping 340 lbs, (I’m 6’3” tall). At that time, Jen and I started Body for Life and I had decent success losing 80 lbs. However, I knew it was a program I wasn’t going to be able to maintain long term. For several years, I fluctuated between 245 and 265 believing that as long as I was healthy enough to hike (Jen’s and my passion), I was healthy enough.
Then in early 2011, I developed atrial fibrillation, an irregular heart rhythm issue. Several tests with my cardiologist later, it was determined that fortunately I have no heart blockages or other issues, just that I have an intermittently irregular rhythm. I was told by my cardiologist to lose weight and it would likely improve the problem. Now you may think living with an excellent fitness coach like Jen would make it easy for me to get on board with weight loss. In fact, I resisted that recommendation and after several months and medications later, I was no closer to feeling better than I was the first day I felt the rhythm.