I have had so many emails from Tweightloss participants asking who the different Team Leaders are… so I have asked each of the Team Leaders if I can ask them some questions and have them share a little about themselves. This week I would like to feature Yvonne and Strong - Team Leaders from Tweightloss #1.
Yvonne is the Team Leaders for Team Twinners:
Yvonne grew up in a family where health/fitness were not important. Both of her parents had many health issues over the years and they still continue to battle those. She didn’t want that to be her. She wanted a good quality of life now and for years to come. She met her husband in 1999, and fitness had been a way of life for him. He encouraged her to try new things, so in her 30’s she started running (she has now done 7 half marathons!), learned to golf, water ski, play tennis and got her personal training certification! Yvonne is an amazing woman. She’s an inspiration and one of the most motivating and positive woman I have met - all over Twitter!
1.) How did you find out about Tweightloss?
via @JanePorricelli on Twitter. I followed her because of the Hot Blogger contest and I saw her Tweet about “weighing in for the start of the Tweightloss challenge”. I immediately responded and asked her what it was.
2.) What motivated you to be a Tweightloss Team Leader?
I love helping people learn about health, fitness and feeling good! I think that a great quality of life is the best gift we can give ourselves and any time I can help or motivate others to give themselves that gift, I want to do all I can.
3.) What do you believe are the benefits of Tweightloss?
A community around you, all working toward the same goal is fabulous! Knowing that if you don’t work hard you are not only letting yourself down, but others. While we should feel bad about letting ourselves down, for some reason most of us feel more committed to others and we work better when we are held accountable.
4.) What is the name and focus of your blog?
Fit for Life The focus is just that…this isn’t a sprint but a marathon. This isn’t about just losing weight in 12 weeks, but a quest to be fit for life!
5.) When and why did you join Twitter?
I work for an Internet Marketing company and Twitter is one of the social media tools that we use to monitor buzz about our company, Webbed Marketing and our customers. We recommend Twitter to many of our customers as a great business tool. I joined about 3 months ago.
Strong is the Team Leader for Team Strong:
Strong is an individual that I feel fortunate have “met” in the Twitter world. He’s an inspirational guy. He cares. He listens. And he helps. That’s what every Team needs in a Leader.
1.) How did you find out about Tweightloss?
I believe I stumbled upon it through a fellow blogger either on twitter or on his blog. (Mark Salinas)
2.) What motivated you to be a Tweightloss Team Leader?
I understand and empathize with all those how have tried or are trying to lose weight. Knowledge is power and sometimes I take for granted how prepared I am being a formally educated healthcare professional( I am a Certified Athletic Trainer and Registered Nurse). I have certifications and degrees in two areas of healthcare and I have a tendency to assume what I know is common knowledge. This year my wife made it a goal of hers to lose weight and ‘tone’ up. And in helping her I realized how much the ‘lay-person’ may or may not know about fitness, weight loss and just basic healthy living. (and my wife is also a Registered Nurse) So when I learned of the Tweightloss movement (sorry.. competition) I thought I could lend a hand.
3.) What do you believe are the benefits of Tweightloss?
Support. Support. Support. Most individual fail or give up simply because they feel they are the only one who has all the setbacks and ‘mistake’s they make during their weight loss journey. A common fallacy in weight loss is ‘If I fall off the horse, I’m a failure’. With Tweightloss they soon realize they are not alone, and that making small mistakes is almost EXPECTED. Getting that immediate feedback from some semi-total stranger helps build their confidence and reset their vision of what losing weight is really about. It’s about your lifestyle, not the food.
4.) What is the name and focus of your blog?
I unfortunately have shifted my original blog theme just recently. My original blog was ‘To Be A Strong One’. A blog about staying strong through the human condition. Strong mentally and physically. It somehow mostly focused on the physical portion with fitness, healthy living and weight loss. By an ironic play on fate, I met a wonderful group of fellow nurses on Twitter. And my tweeting with them lead me and motivated me to adapt my focus of my blog to “Navigating through life as a Nurse, staying fit and staying strong”, MyStrongMedicine. A great combination of fitness, health and nursing.
5.) When and why did you join Twitter?
I honestly can’t say how long ago? I dabbled with it a year ago (under another username). When I started blogging with my original blog back in May of this year, I began tweeting as a way of networking with other bloggers of my same interest. And I haven’t looked back since!
6.) Tell me a little about your relationship with health/fitness throughout your life.
I have battled with the teeter totter of weight all my life. Ever since I can remember being active in high school sports, to not being active during my college years due to work and education, and then in the working world not finding the time to exercise. In 2006 I promised myself to never ‘not exercise’ again. I started slow, only getting a day or two of exercise in a week. I can proudly say this year has been ‘my year’. Over the past year or so I have lost close to 50lbs. I have managed to change my eating habits for the better and do my best to exercise as often as possible. Some of my transformation pics can be found on my blog post Your CORE Curriculum. It’s something I’m very proud of thus far.
Thanks so much to Yvonne and Strong!
Yep, Twitter totally rocks!