Last week, I had a wonderful conversation with a member. Her name is Brittany Brown, and she joined our Warrington location in early 2017. Brittany is fun, smart and peppy. She’s also completely committed to health and wellness, and she loves Cornerstone. I thoroughly enjoyed hearing her story, and when I asked her if I could share it, she graciously agreed.
Brittany’s journey towards better health started around the turn of the new year in 2017. She had just received her engagement party pictures – and they didn’t make her very happy. During the last few months, she had gained some weight as a result of a medication she was taking. Seeing those pictures became a turning point for her; she got off the medication and decided she had to do something about the weight gain before her wedding.
The task before her was admittedly daunting. Starting out at quite a few pounds over her normal range, Brittany “thought it would be impossible to lose the weight.” Fortunately, she lives within walking distance of our Warrington club and even though she had never been a committed “gym person” before, she decided to give it a try. What struck her in the beginning was just how nice, welcoming and helpful everyone was – from staff to members. According to Brittany, the first or second time she visited the club, she sat at a machine and wasn’t exactly sure what to do. “A really nice member came over and helped me out,” she said. That small gesture of kindness meant a lot and set the tone for all of her club experiences to follow.
After visiting with Wellness Coach Morgan Kingsbauer, a session that Brittany really enjoyed and felt was valuable, she started immediately going to some group exercise classes. A few workouts quickly became “can’t miss” favorites – especially Tighten ‘N Tone, Punch & Tone and Zumba. In fact, you could say that Brittany became hooked on Zumba. She fell in love with it so much that she’s even considering becoming an instructor!
By her wedding date this May, Brittany had lost about 50 lbs and 5 dress sizes! According to Brittany, ”I actually ended up having to buy a new wedding dress! I fell in love with my dress back in my junior year of high school, so I knew right away what dress I wanted and was impatient and bought it in December 2016. By July of 2017, the dress was already big on me and I was told that the dress could only be altered down 4 dress sizes before it changed the style of the dress, which I obviously didn’t want since I dreamed of that dress for so long.”
Her wedding was a beautiful celebration of the love between her and her new husband, and, in a way, also a celebration of her healthy new lifestyle. Several of her Cornerstone friends and instructors were in attendance, and Brittany even helped to lead a Zumba dance during her reception.
As Brittany says, “Cornerstone has changed my life.” As an owner of at least 8 or 9 pieces of logo wear, she proudly wears her Cornerstone gear constantly. “Since I started, Cornerstone has become a family. It’s wonderful and I’ve made a lot of friends there.”