August Member Spotlight: Alana Kadas

Alana Kadas has a lot of things to live a healthy life for. She’s a mother to four boys, wife to her high school sweetheart of 13 years and participant in a variety of interesting hobbies — like being a member of the Reading Derby Girls. It’s important for her to stay strong, lose weight and stay on a path to wellness.

It wasn’t always the case for her, though. Prior to the beginning of 2018, Kadas had weight loss surgery because she was tired of being extremely overweight. She knew that the surgery had to serve as the catalyst to work out, and not a reason to stay idle. She joined Body Zone in April of 2017, and started working out religiously and employing a ketogenic diet to get herself on the right path.

Post-surgery, Kadas goes to Body Zone three to four times a week, and has immediately seen the benefits of committing herself to a routine that makes a difference: She loves Sprint HIIT and cycle classes and works with Body Zone Personal Trainer Emily Gordon occasionally for guidance.

“I am not a person who has ever really enjoyed any type of cardio before, and now I find myself disappointed if there’s not some type of cycling class available for me to attend when I have time to go to BZ,” she told us in an interview. “I’ve also found a love for strength training.” She noted that cardio was – and still is – a massive challenge for her given her weight, but she’s also seen it as a challenge to place her fitness goals against.

“It was so hard for me to run even one lap around the track, or to skate at a decent pace for more than two minutes,” she said. “My endurance was crap. Now, it’s a totally different story. Cardio still isn’t easy for me by any means, but I can do it and not hate it now. My endurance at the gym and on the (roller derby) track have improved so much!”

Typical of Kadas’ outlook on her fitness journey, she sees her cardio struggles as not just her greatest challenge, but also her greatest achievement. Before her weight loss surgery, diet and regimented workout plan, she could never do the things she does repeatedly every day.

Whenever Kadas needs a recalibration on her fitness habits, or feels that she is stuck in a rut, she also leans on Emily for inspiration. Emily’s really helped Kadas get out of her box. And she’s ready to crush her goals with the support of her trainer and the BZ community.

“Of course I want to lose some more weight, but overall, I just want to be really strong,” she says. Her progress so far has afforded her so many amazing things, and she’s looking forward to accomplishing even more in the future.

Her two-cents to others on the same path to wellness and weight loss: “Be fearless! You can do it!”