great results with Zumba!

This post was originally published in 2016. Be sure to read to the end to check out Alice’s updated 2019 results and her amazing new “after” photo!

Alice Figueroa of Simsbury has been taking Zumba classes at Big Sky and has seen great results! We asked if she would share her story to help inspire others like her, and she kindly agreed.

“My job is very stressful and requires a lot of extra hours. I was finding myself sitting all day and not getting any exercise, and I gained a lot of weight. Since I wasn’t exercising, I wasn’t as careful with my food intake.

When I got my “bad” cholesterol results I got motivated to workout. I had failed my Metabolic Syndrome test, and in general, I just felt “gross”. So I set a goal to lose 40-50 pounds and improve my health by lowering my cholesterol. I didn’t have a time frame in mind; I just knew it wasn’t a race.”

Over the past 6 months I’ve lost 30+ pounds and dropped 2 pant sizes… so far! (My current size is loose!). I’ve also lowered my cholesterol, I have a better self image, and better stress management.

I’m taking Zumba classes 3-4 days a week and walking my faithful companion Mickey (my dog), every morning and evening. All the Zumba instructors at Big Sky are great! I love the music, and during that hour, I forget all my stress. The classes have absolutely helped me lose inches all over. I also wear a Fitbit and make sure I’m walking 15,000 to 20,000 steps a day! At first, it was a sacrifice to get 10,000 steps in per day. But gradually I was able to increase my goal.

Now people tell me “You seem to have reversed the aging process.” 🙂

Alice got great results with a combination of Zumba and walking. All group-x classes at Big Sky are included with no additional fees, so give them a try! Class schedules for all four Big Sky locations are available at www.bigskyfitness.com/group-fitness-schedules/

2019 Update:

Alice’s starting weight was 200.6 pounds and she’s now down to 143.6. Her BMI went from “obese” to “normal” and she has gone from a size 14 to a size 4 !!
Alice is still taking Zumba classes and walking plus she’s added in weight training and ran her first 5K in June. She completed 25 races (5 and 10K’s) in 2018!!
Along with her active lifestyle Alice also watches what she eats. She told us “I never dieted. I just started paying attention to portions and also started making a lot of great “WW” (formerly Weight Watchers”) recipes.”