“I am not a number”

Today, Bobie doesn’t weigh herself. She is in the best shape of her life and says she just wants to be healthy, happy and feel good. When asked how much she weighs, she doesn’t know. “I am not a number,” she shares with a confident smile.

As a 12-year-old attending weight loss classes with her mom, the number on the scale was all too defining. After a childhood battling severe asthma, spending time hooked up to IVs and in hospital beds, and on a steroid regimen, she struggled with her metabolism. Coupled with unhealthy habits in young adulthood, she hit rock bottom as a new mom who didn’t have the energy to play with her son.

When her parents generously gave her a membership to the Fulton Family YMCA in 2007, she was ready to make a change. At 240 pounds, she knew she had to start with baby steps. First it was giving up mayonnaise, then fast food and soda, and so on. She worked out for short spurts and took it one day at a time. After several months of working out on her own, she stepped out of her comfort zone and took her first group exercise class.

Talking to other women, she saw she wasn’t alone. The perseverance started to pay off as she grew more confident in her ability to succeed. After cycle class one day, her instructor encouraged her to train for the Ramblin Rose triathlon.

“When I crossed the finish line, I found that sense of pride I had longed for every day of my life,” Bobie shares. “I did it, I did a triathlon!” Some months later, Bobie went on to complete another sprint triathlon, and then, on May 14, 2011, became a Half Iron Woman! She completed a 70.3 mile Half Ironman triathlon in 7 hours 50 minutes and 58 seconds.

Today, she is healthy, happy, satisfied and looking forward to more races, triathlons, runs, work outs and the great life that is ahead. She wants others to know, “If I can do it, anybody can do it. Becoming healthy has changed me inside and out.”