Tag Archive for: Member Stories

Member weight loss journey story
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Member Stories: How Angela Petroline Learned to Balance Nutrition and Exercise to Achieve Results

FFC Park Ridge member, Angela Petroline, shares how she lost 100 lbs with the help of a registered dietitian nutritionist and the FFC community.  Tell me a little bit about yourself and how you made a change to your health. I recently…
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Member Stories: How Angela Petroline Learned to Balance Nutrition and Exercise to Achieve Results

FFC Park Ridge member, Angela Petroline, shares how she lost 100 lbs with the help of a registered dietitian nutritionist and the FFC community.  Tell me a little bit about yourself and how you made a change to your health. I…
Member stories: conquering my roller coaster weight loss journey.

Member Stories: Conquering The Roller Coaster Weight Loss Story

FFC Old Town member Bryce shares her inspirational weight loss story: triumphs and trials, her experience finding a trainer that fit her needs and everything she learned along the way. Ever since my senior year of college I have been on a…

How I Used Compromise to Create a Sustainable, Balanced Lifestyle, Lost Weight and Changed My Life

I had to make a change. I’d known I had to for quite some time, but never fully committed. I made countless New Year’s resolutions, “starting January 2nd I’m limiting drinking, eating healthier, and working out.” I would commit to…
Member Stories: How FFC helped me overcome a devastating sports injury and find a new life purpose

Member Stories: How FFC Helped Me Recover From a Sports Injury & Find a New Life Purpose

How FFC member Ian LaBelle overcame a devastating sports injury, found a new passion and life purpose raising funds and awareness for an amazing cause. I was a pretty average kid growing up in New England. I had a supportive family, was decently…
Member Stories: How I Overcame Anorexia and Exercise Addiction

Member Stories: How I Overcame Anorexia & Exercise Addiction and Changed My Life

My story began in 2011, and in a way that is slightly different than you’d initially expect or assume when the topic of a gym or exercise gets brought into the conversation. At the time I joined FFC, I thought I became a member because my…
Member Stories: Myzone in Mexico - How Laura V Got Involved With FFC & Myzone, Found a Weight Loss Community and Lost Over 70 Pounds

Member Stories: Myzone in Mexico – How Laura V Got Involved With FFC & Myzone, Found a Weight Loss Community and Lost Over 70 Pounds

FFC Old Town fitness director and master trainer Eric Alexon shares the story of family member Laura, how she got involved with Myzone and FFC (which functioned as a sort of weight loss community) and lost over 70 pounds – while in Mexico,…
How FFC member Gary became a stroke survivor and changed the course of his life.

Member Stories: How I Became a Stroke Survivor and Turned My Life Around

FFC Oak Park member Gary shares his experience with fitness and wellness, becoming a stroke survivor and how it altered his course of life. In the fall of 2007 I was 56 years old, tired, overweight and my back hurt. My job involved a lot…

Member Stories: The Decision That Changed The Quality of My Life

Countless movies, books, and fairy tales feature magic mirrors of one kind or another. Some are portals to another world. Others have a spirit living in them, or can show the past, or reveal events far off but important to the mirror’s user.…
Member Stories: Taking Advantage of Pilates Benefits - My Weight Loss Journey

Member Stories: Taking Advantage of Pilates Benefits – My Weight Loss Journey

When I first joined FFC as a new Chicagoan in 2004, my kids were two and four. I remember watching people do Pilates through the studio window and thinking, they look so graceful and... healthy. Not to mention lean and strong. I said to myself,…

Member Story: How I Lost Over 125 Pounds And Drastically Changed My Life

I didn’t grow up in a crunchy-granola, windbreaker-wearing, athletic family. Like many children of the Midwest, I was raised in a rural community full of good, old-fashioned folks with good old-fashioned mentalities. Was I fat? Hell no! I…
Member Stories: 4 secrets to success by Chicago Radio & TV host Pete McMurray

Member Stories: Finding Your Why And 4 Secrets to Success By Chicago Radio & TV Host Pete McMurray

When FFC asked me to write a blog for the website my first reaction was, “It’s me, Pete. You got the wrong guy!” When they asked again, I said, “When did you get a liquor license… because you must be drunk!” I finally agreed to do…
Member Stories: how FFC member John finished the Chicago Marathon

Member Stories: How FFC Helped Me Finish the Chicago Marathon

My name is John Jaramillo, and I finished the 2018 Chicago Marathon. In other words, I did something that I once deemed impossible to ever accomplish. Let me give you some context around the lack of believability in that endeavor: I grew up…
Member Stories: How Travel Inspired Me To Make a Diet Change, Change My Lifestyle & Lose Over 10% Body Fat

Member Stories: How Travel Inspired Me To Make a Diet Change, Change My Lifestyle & Lose Over 10% Body Fat

I’ve been overweight all my life, since I was a little kid in kindergarten. I was always getting picked on and seen as an outcast – all the way to high school. I always kept telling myself that things would get better, that I wouldn’t…
How I meal prep lunch for a week plus helpful tips for meal prep

How I Meal Prep Lunch for a Week Plus Helpful Tips for Meal Prep

My friends and coworkers often ask me about weekly meal prep. I am very passionate about healthy eating. In multiple conversations with friends and coworkers, I have noticed most people want to do it, but find it difficult to justify the time…
High intensity interval training area at FFC Union Station

Top Benefits of High Intensity Interval Training & Why You Should Give HIIT a Try

Finding new ways to keep workouts interesting has always been a challenge for me. After recovering from two injuries last year and beginning to lift weights, run, and participate in group fitness again, it all started to come back as I saw the…
Member Stories: Learning that More Fun Leads to Better Triathlon Training

Member Stories: Learning that More Fun Leads to Better Triathlon Training

I joined FFC in December last year as an early Christmas present to myself. After a successful year of racing, I was ready to head into the “off-season”. Even though I had a successful and enjoyable season, I was looking forward to taking…
Member stories: training for the Tour du Mont Blanc Hike at FFC

Member Stories: Training for the Tour du Mont Blanc Hike at FFC

For more than 10 years, the idea of trekking in Europe had been on my mind - it only needed a focus to actually come to life. I soon found it: a 100-mile trek around the largest massif in Europe called the Tour du Mont Blanc. I have been…
Becoming Tri-Fit: The Fitness Support Network I Found at FFC

Becoming Tri-Fit: The Fitness Support Network I Found at FFC

Last summer I, a thirty-something British woman, relocated from London to Chicago. I have an extensive background in marathon and ultra-marathon running, but by the time I arrived in Chicago, at the end of June 2017, my fitness was at an all-time…

Member Stories: How FFC Gold Coast Has Helped Me Sustain a Healthy Lifestyle

“Unkraut wie wir vergeht nicht.” “Weeds like us don’t perish.” That was my mother’s motto all her life. It was the motto that sustained us when, shortly after my seventh birthday, she, my brother and I were captured by the Soviet…