Carrie Bennett is a REFIT® Instructor in Terre Haute, Indiana...and she's a revolution.  Her weight loss journey has been nothing short of a Jesus-filled experience, and we're blown away by what Carrie is learning through this process.  Her story will probably inspire most of you, so read about Carrie's story in her own words:

"I'm realizing just how psychological the weight loss process is. In fact, I think it involves and impacts our mental being as much as - if not more than - our physical one.   

I had photos taken a few months back by one of my participants. We were trying to get a good "After" shot of my 85 pound weight loss. She tagged me in all of them today on Facebook. She sees a beautiful, strong survivor when she looks at me, and I thought I saw the same thing until I was face to face with those "After" pictures. I still feel like the "fat kid" even though I know I'm not. An arm pit fat roll here, a thigh that is bigger than I would like there...I'm still tearing myself apart. And I know I look GOOD, but sometimes my heart returns to that place, and I just can't see the new me.

I'm sharing this with you guys for 2 reasons:
1. I know MANY of you are walking this path with me, experiencing the same confusing emotions that accompany weight loss. You are not ungrateful for your success or "Just too picky". You are experiencing the emotional part of a dramatic personal change that not a lot of people talk about. You're trying to come to terms with the new you.  I realize I'm worth the effort and my worth is not directly tied to the number on the scale.  The very best part of losing weight is the fact that I feel healthy and strong, and the process has led to a greater relationship with Jesus who has been the driving force behind my success.

2. I also think its important for us who walk beside people in this struggle as their fitness instructors to recognize the emotional toll this long and TOUGH process has on a person. Just because we have success on the scale doesn't mean the hurt of the past is magically erased. As Lysa Terkeurst says in Made to Crave, "If I was unhappy when I was larger, I'll still be unhappy when I get smaller." We need more than a band aid fix to have lasting change. It will help your participants immensely if you can see this struggle as valid.

And this brings me to my main point: I am SO GRATEFUL that REFIT® gets this! Angela, Catherine and Emily, this may not have been an intentional by-product you had in mind when creating REFIT®, but the way you have structured this as a community-centered, supportive program enables those people who struggle in this area to remove the band aid they have placed on their hurt and start some real healing - which leads to lasting change. Thank you from the bottom of my heart."