My name is April and I began training with Gordon about 3 months ago.  When I first met Gordon I was at my highest weight ever and felt sluggish and disgusted with myself.  I have 2 children that I had no energy to do anything with unless it involved sitting on the couch.  Despite feeling so disgusted it was a really hard decision for me to start this endeavor being as I have never worked with a trainer or done strength training before; after much encouragement from a very good friend who also trains with Gordon I decided to give it a try.  I showed up for my first session with Gordon completely weak and out of shape I couldn’t even manage 1 push up and have no idea how I made it through the whole half an hour.  I was mortified but Gordon never made me feel bad about myself in fact if it weren’t for his encouragement I wouldn’t have been able to show my face there again.  Shortly after my first session Gordon gave me a meal plan to start with that was great, it wasn’t really rigid but gave me an idea of the foods that I should be eating.  I had always dieted before in the past but this was something that I am able to stick to, it doesn’t make me feel deprived.  Over the past 3 months I have trained with Gordon for 30 minutes a week, stuck to my meal plan, and feel like a completely different person. I have lost 23.7 pounds and am now able to do things that I never imagined I would.  For the first time in my life I have some muscle definition. While I am still not where I want to be I have more energy than I did and am a more active parent for my children. I look forward to each and every session even though I still leave there every week sore for the next 2 days.  I love how Gordon pushes me and encourages me to persevere when I feel like I don’t know how I could possibly do another squat or lift another weight.  I may leave sore but the pride of accomplishing everything he throws out me makes the pain worthwhile.