PHOENIX – Melanie Fowler has lost more than 300 pounds in the past year and a half. Yes, 300 pounds.
“I had heart failure,” she said. “I had exhaustion. I had sleep apnea. I had a need that hurt all the time, a back that hurt all the time. I wasn’t able to really do much. I wasn’t able to keep up with my family.”
But the wake-up call to change her life came when, according to Fowler, her doctor said: “’You either do something or you’re not going to be alive much longer.”
“I really think that’s what God used to kick my butt into gear,” she added.
Melanie saw a post on Facebook by fitness expert Jake Coyle. The Valley instructor sponsored a competition and the Seattle native signed up to lose weight.
“We start with the inside first,” said Coyle, who dubs his training #GrindsetMindset. “We really work on mind-set, habits, looking at strategies of how people operate and then we build a physical transformation program based on where they are currently mentally.”
After Fowler’s incredible journey, she flew into Phoenix to thank Jake. She’s now under 200 pounds and has no intention of ever going back.
“I’ve fallen in love with exercising,” she said, “and working out and I need help finding healthy things to eat. You can’t let yourself give up and I was at that point and it took me getting really really sick to change it.”
You can reach out to Jake and try the Facebook Challenge by messaging him here.