The Comeback That Took Seven Years to Build

For a long time, I thought my life was defined by everything I had lost.

I had spent years hoping to become a mother. I went through IVF, surgeries, medications, procedures, and the emotional and financial weight that came with them. I experienced pregnancy loss. I lost my mother. And somewhere along the way, I stopped recognizing the person I had become.

My comeback did not happen overnight.

In fact, it took years.

Seven Years of Trying to Hold Everything Together

My journey began long before I ever stepped into an Aquabike class.

In 2015, I was diagnosed with infertility and was told by doctors that I would likely never conceive naturally. I began IVF and continued pursuing the possibility of becoming a mother for years.

The process took a toll on every part of my life.

There were more than 20 medical procedures during the first few years, along with surgeries and hormone medications. In 2019, I became pregnant through IVF. I was told I was having a baby girl, and I was due in January 2020.

At nine weeks, we discovered there was no heartbeat.

Losing that pregnancy was devastating.

I continued trying for several more years, but the emotional and physical exhaustion kept building. After a serious allergic reaction to hormone medication sent me to the emergency room, I began to realize just how much I had been through.

Then there was another loss.

In 2017, I lost my mother to heart disease. The grief, infertility struggles, pregnancy loss, and years of disappointment became difficult to carry.

I reached a point where I felt completely lost.

The Day I Decided to Try Again

On November 27, 2022, I made a decision.

I couldn’t change what had happened to me, but I could start taking responsibility for what happened next.

I knew I needed to work on both my mind and my body. I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life feeling like I was simply reacting to everything that had happened.

So I started small.

I worked with a dietitian and began learning more about my relationship with food and my mindset. I completed a 28-day medically monitored program and began making changes to my nutrition.

For the first time in a long time, I was focusing on caring for myself rather than simply surviving what was happening around me.

Learning to Move Again

A few months later, in January 2023, I joined EOS Fitness.

I started working with a personal trainer once a week. Honestly, I struggled.

There were days when I didn’t want to go. There were days when exercise felt difficult. But I kept showing up.

That became one of the most important lessons of my journey:

I didn’t have to feel motivated every day. I just had to keep moving forward.

Then, in May 2023, I discovered Aquabike.

Something about the classes felt different. I found myself attending three or four times a week, while continuing to work on my nutrition.

Within 90 days, I had dropped two clothing sizes.

But the changes went beyond what I saw in the mirror.

I noticed changes in my mood, energy, sleep, and overall outlook. I also found something I hadn’t realized I was missing: community.

Finding People Who Cheered Me On

The people around me became an important part of the journey.

I became part of a group I came to think of as my “gym squad.” We encouraged each other, supported each other, and celebrated progress together.

That support mattered.

My journey wasn’t perfect. I still had difficult days. I still had grief to process. But I no longer felt like I had to face everything alone.

Eventually, I graduated from working with my dietitian and personal trainer because I had reached many of the goals I had originally set for myself.

And then something happened that I never expected.

From Participant to Instructor

About six months after discovering Aquabike, I became a fitness instructor and earned my Aquabike certification.

If you had told me years earlier that I would one day stand in front of a class and help lead other people through their fitness journey, I wouldn’t have believed you.

I had started this journey simply trying to take better care of myself.

I never expected it to become part of my purpose.

Seven Years Later, I Could Finally See the Change

My transformation wasn’t just about weight.

On November 27, 2022, I weighed 195 pounds.

Three years later, on November 27, 2025, I weighed 125 pounds.

Those numbers represent a significant physical change, but they don’t tell the whole story.

The bigger transformation was learning to care for myself again.

I learned that progress can take time. I learned that consistency matters, even when motivation disappears. I learned that setbacks don’t erase the progress you’ve already made.

Most importantly, I learned that your hardest chapters don’t have to be the final chapters of your story.

Seven years brought me through infertility, loss, grief, disappointment, and some of the darkest moments of my life.

But they also brought me to a place where I could look at myself and recognize someone who had kept going.

I still carry the scars of everything I’ve been through.

But now, I also carry strength, purpose, and a completely different relationship with my life.

My comeback wasn’t built in a day.

It was built one decision, one workout, one healthy choice, and one day at a time.

If you’re somewhere in your own difficult chapter, you don’t have to change everything at once. Start with one small step and give yourself permission to build from there. Sometimes, the journey begins simply by deciding to try again.