WeightLoss: Nancy Abolins
Transformation Update: 30th September 2020
This week, we celebrate the successful weight loss of Nancy Abolins.
Here’s her story:
I don’t think I’d find myself alone when I say 2020 has been one heck of a crappy year. It has felt like one hit after another. I have found myself feeling powerless and helpless so many times. Let’s also be real and acknowledge the fact that I haven’t always been my best self through these circumstances and despite all the lessons I’ve learnt over the years and the new healthy coping mechanisms I’ve implemented in my life, I have still reverted to ‘old’ me.
I hate feeling powerless. I hate feeling out of control (hands up the control freaks).
Despite ‘old’ me trying to take the wheel ‘new’ me has been hanging in there and whispering in my ear telling me ‘you’ve got this’.
Old me would have tried to take control of everything and bring order to all areas of life…then fail miserably as that is just not realistic. New me has stepped in and said one step at a time, one day at a time, small changes make big differences.
So rather than setting myself up for failure, I chose to set myself up for success. Taking control of the things I can and looking after my health and well-being.
The simple act of prepping meals and snacks with some great music on in the background brings with it a sense of peace and rightness to my world (yep weirdo, I know). Setting alarms for when to eat and drink so I don’t skip meals and lack hydration, brings a sense of clarity to my day.
I am forever grateful to have these simple tools in my toolbox to help bring my mind some peace and nourish my body.
There are so many crazy things going on in my life right now and there is no way I can do anything about that. What I can do, is position myself to face the storm being the best version of me that I can be, and all that takes is doing it one step at a time.
I need to value looking after my mind, body and soul in small ways every day. Today that looks like some good tunes, some pretty food and a bunch of alarms.
If you have never run before you can’t expect to wake up one day and run a marathon. However, you CAN run a marathon when you make small consistent changes, one day at a time. Life is a marathon, not a sprint.
Thanks for sticking with my reflective moment.
For those that are new to WLSA, I’ve been apart of the WLSA family since 2015 and I am so grateful for the gift of a new life that WLSA has provided me and supported me with over the last 5 plus years. Thanks for being there for me every step of the way.
Nancy Abolins
#WeightLossWarrior
Message from WLSA:
Nancy, thank you for sharing so openly. Life does get in the way and we are so proud to see how you use what you’ve learnt to pick yourself up again and again over the last few years. We are super proud to be your weight loss family, we’ll never forget the moments when you run the Gold Coast Marathon as a family and we can’t wait to have you cross the NEXT finishing line, with us running with and cheering you on!
Felicity Cohen,
CEO of WLSA
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*Disclaimer: Results may vary for each person
Transformation Update: 15th May 2019
This week, we celebrate the successful weight loss of Nancy Abolins. Here’s her story:
I’m now nearly 3.5yrs post op. So I suppose you could consider I’m an old hand at this journey, however, life is life and challenges continue to be thrown into the journey despite any and all positive changes you may make.
The triumph and victory of my life was the day I said I was going to take control of my life and commit to having WLS.
The first couple of years saw a complete transformation in not only my body but my mind. Let me be a little candid with you.
The last 12 months of my journey have been extremely hard on an emotional level. It has been a year of intense challenges, hardships and grief.
I have been deeply stretched and at times overwhelmed. So what may you ask has this got to do with WLS and the positive outcomes it has had in my life? Well, in all honesty, I don’t think I would have come through this year in the way I have if I had not had surgery.
The impact of surgery has been one of increased strength, confidence, physical ability, courage and transformation. Without these things in my life, I think I would have got swallowed up whole.
Despite the challenging year, I have just walked through I have had amazing moments of joy and victory.
I even started this year with a new and amazing job opportunity, something I never would have had the courage or confidence to put myself out there for.
My beautiful daughters continue to blossom and I remain inspired to be the best mum possible.
Today I write this update on Mother’s Day. Once upon a time, I thought I’d never been a mother and thankfully I was blessed to finally bring 2 of the most wonderful humans into this world.
The biggest reason I chose to do this surgery was so I could be the best possible mum to them and live a long, healthy and happy life with them.
Though I’ve had some significant strain on me this last year I was able to have the strength and resilience to still be an active, healthy and happy mum for my girls. We still run together, we still go on jet ski adventures together. We even did a solo mummy daughter camping trip and we had the most amazing time together. My family remains transformed and we do life as a team.
We are active, we plan our meals and prep them together and we are each other’s biggest supporters.
I honestly believe that the foundation of this transformation was always inside me but the surgery and the impact it had on me physically and mentally has unlocked it and helped maintain it.
It’s been a tough year but I made it and I’m so grateful that I was as physically and mentally strong as I was coming into it. Here’s to a new day and limitless opportunities – ones I am now not scared to embrace.
Transformation Update since the Gold Coast half marathon in 2017
I’m pleased to say that after being near 2.5years post op my life continues to transform and grow in ways I could only have dreamed of pre-surgery. Not only am I physically transformed but I am finding that who I am within has been transformed. I approach life in such a different way to when I had my fat safety blanket on. This change has made such a major impact on my family.
My greatest wish was to be a woman that my beautiful girls could look up to and that my influence on their lives would impact them in such a way that they could feel that they could reach for the stars in all that they do. I’m really beginning to see that the changes in me are creating a culture in our family of resilience, determination, optimism, positivity and strength. Great character traits to face a big bad yet wonderful world if you ask me.
My gorgeous daughters have run with me, taken on obstacle challenges, climbed mountains and faced fears that I honestly believe that they would not have done prior to me changing my life. We live a full, vibrant and active life and I am forever grateful for the day I had the courage to pick up the phone and call WLSA to make an enquiry. Life is good!!
Achievements Unlocked:
- Jake and I running together between obstacles.
- The girls and I completing an obstacle together.
- Us girls jet-skiing together.
- Climbing Mount Warning together.
- Climbing Mount Warning with friends and their 4 children, my 2 girls and my niece.
- Typical family weekend time being out and about.
- Kryptonite obstacle challenge.
- HIIT Bunker training.
- Blackhawk challenge.
- Blackhawk kids challenge.
- Muddy couple selfie at Blackhawk.
- Hiit Bunker family training
Scary but I did it all.
Transformation Update: 20th July 2017
Nancy Abolins – Weightloss Warrior update
It’s been an incredible life-changing journey since I was sleeved 2 days before Christmas in 2015. Comparing my life to then and now seems like I’m looking back at someone I no longer recognise. There is not one part of my life that has not been transformed and all for the better. I can confidently say that feel after 36 years on this Earth I’m finally discovering who I am and what I’m made of and I’m really starting to like that chick!
One of the most precious changes and transformations is not the fact that I have lost over 40kg’s, no longer a walking time bomb, no longer diabetic, no longer suffering the debilitating pain of fibromyalgia, no longer hypertensive – the thing I hold most dear out of the change in my life is the transformation of my family!
We are living life as a team. Everywhere I go they go. If they are not joining in they are cheering me on. We started gingerly with Friday Fit Family Fun Nights. My young daughters were so excited to have their mum living life with them rather than spectate. My husband rediscovered the young woman he first fell in love with. We were loving our more active lifestyle and doing it all together and having a lot of fun while at it.
Then 12 months ago I made a key and brave decision… I wanted to run. From that moment I have never looked back. I started not barely able to jog 200m, then less than a month later completing my first ever 5k race/event, then another and another and another. I was hooked and loving it. My body was doing things I had never asked of it to do and it was doing it well! My girls and hubby started tagging along to Saturday park runs and soon developed their own love for running. I then did my first 10k event on Dec 16 at the GC beach run. I was so unwell the night before and was nearly considering pulling out but a determination was in me that if I just showed up my body would get me there one step at a time. I actually PB’d!!
After that race, I knew the next goal was to complete a half marathon. I set my sights on the Gold Coast Marathon on July 17.
The journey got a bit rough and I had to deal with some emotional junk that came up. The old Nancy started saying hello again, anxiety and depression were knocking at my door and teasing me. It was then I knew I had to dig deep and push through. I started looking for a trainer that specialised in HIIT training. I found a group training studio and they offered us a family membership after we all tried it out and totally loved it. My young daughters can often show up the adults in some of our training sessions and I could not be more proud. Jake set his sights on the GC 10k and my girls wanted to do the Kids 4K. Saturday the 1st July 2017 my hubby and girls smashed it competing in their respective events. The grin on their faces after they had done so well spoke a 1000 words. It was our 17th wedding anniversary and I couldn’t have thought of a better way to celebrate it. Next day I was up for the GC half marathon 21.1k’s, a distance I had not yet run but I was ready to go. I ran so well and strong for 18k’s and I’m blown away by it. I was ready to put the hammer down and bring it home strong BUT then my legs said not today haha! My legs started to spasm and cramp, so that last few kilometres became a mind over body choice and I chose to just finish this damn thing. I made it hobble, pain and all in under my max time I had wanted to come in at. I’m blown away by the strength and perseverance that has been cultivated in my life.
I’ve now started a Facebook group called Run With Me. I want to see a community of people encouraging and cheering each other on to our individual goals. To inspire one another with our own unique journeys. I once thought I’d NEVER been able to walk 5k let alone run 21.1k, but I had a couple of key people in my life that cheered me on and helped me believe I could do it. That is the kind of space I would like to create and foster. Healthy fit families that are strong and unified. Nothing better than that!
Tonight as I write this I’m walking out my last steps quoter for the day on the treadmill after having done a family HIIT session throwing around car tyres – life could not be more different or sweeter.
I’m different, my family is different my life has completely transformed and it’s only going to get better!
Transformation Update: 30th November 2016
This week, we celebrate the successful weight loss of Nancy Abolins. Here’s her story:
Today’s milestone – 40kg loss since seeing my GP pre-surgery.
Just in time for my birthday tomorrow(28th October)?
To celebrate my bday I’ve asked friends and family to join me for Park Run on Saturday morning… Haha, how life has changed. Usually, it would just be an excuse to eat, now I’m getting all my loved ones out of bed early on a Saturday morning for a run.
The next challenge I’ve set myself – 8.5k trail run at Mt Tambourine followed the next day with a 5k summit run with the family in November.
I feel strong! I feel free!
From WLSA: Congratulations Nancy, what a great effort and achievement so far! Thank you for sharing your journey. The best is yet to come, keep it up!
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*Disclaimer: Results may vary for each person
Nancy Abolins
#WeightLossWarrior
Message from WLSA:
It’s great to see your success with your weight loss so far post ESG nancy! It is fantastic what you have achieved in only four months and we are so excited to watch the rest of your journey!