By Johnny Barhoumeh

Fitness, GLP-1 Strength Training, Northbrook

How Laura Lost 60 lbs and Kept It Off — After 19 Years of Trying Everything

Laura is 44 years old, 5'6", lives in the North Shore, and has been trying to lose weight since she was 25. She's tried Weight Watchers twice. Jenny Craig. Noom. South Beach. Atkins. Isagenix. Xyngular. She's done private training in a gym, private training at home, group fitness classes, Peloton, Couch to 5K, and every workout video you can think of.

She's not someone who gave up easily. She's someone who kept trying for nearly two decades and couldn't find something that actually stuck.

In January 2025, she started strength training at Fuel Your Training in Northbrook. She's now down 60 lbs, at a healthy weight for her height, with improved cholesterol and bloodwork — and she's maintained it for over five months.

This is her story.

The Weight Gain That Started It All

Laura first gained a significant amount of weight during a semester abroad in college. She managed to lose most of it by training for a triathlon and getting in shape for her wedding the summer after graduation. For a moment, things were under control.

Then life happened.

She gained weight during the first three years of marriage. She had her first child at 25 and gained 58 lbs during the pregnancy. She never fully lost the pregnancy weight before having her second child three years later. Between two kids, a career, and the relentless pace of daily life, the weight crept up year after year.

By 2023, she was at 235 lbs — the heaviest she'd ever been.

19 Years of Trying

What makes Laura's story different from a typical weight loss story is the sheer amount of effort she put in over those 19 years. This was not someone who wasn't trying.

She did Weight Watchers and lost weight — then gained it back. She tried Jenny Craig, South Beach, Atkins, Noom, Isagenix, and Xyngular. She worked with private trainers in gyms and at home. She did group fitness classes, Peloton rides, and Couch to 5K programs. She walked miles every day with her dog.

During the 2020 lockdown, she had her best run. She lost nearly 50 lbs through Weight Watchers, Peloton, and daily dog walks. But as life returned to normal, 35 of those pounds came back.

In April 2023, she went vegan and dropped 14 lbs quickly from the dietary change alone. Then she plateaued and couldn't move the needle further.

Every approach she tried worked — until it didn't. She'd lose weight, life would shift, and the weight would return. The results were never permanent because nothing she tried built a foundation that could hold up when the diet ended, or the motivation faded.

What Finally Changed

In early 2025, Laura's husband and a close friend convinced her to try strength training at Fuel Your Training. She was skeptical — she'd tried personal training before. But she showed up.

Johnny, her coach at FYT, started her on a 2x/week semi-private training program. The focus was on building strength, learning proper form, and training in a way that was sustainable for someone in her 40s with a full life outside the gym.

Six months in, Laura added a GLP-1 medication (Zepbound) under her doctor's supervision. Her doctor also recommended adding a third workout per week to protect her muscle mass while losing weight on the medication. Johnny built that into her program — a structured workout she could do on her own, designed specifically to complement what they were doing together in sessions.

The full picture looked like this: two coached semi-private sessions per week at FYT, one independent workout per week directed by Johnny, dietary input and ideas from Johnny alongside her vegan diet, and Zepbound. No single piece of that was a magic fix. All four together created a system that worked.

The Results

Sixty pounds lost. Maintained for over five months and counting.

Her cholesterol improved. Her bloodwork across the board came back healthy. She's at a weight that's appropriate for her height for the first time in nearly two decades.

But the number on the scale isn't what she talks about most.

"I feel healthier and stronger than I've ever felt since high school. I like to look in the mirror again, and I like seeing pictures of myself — which wasn't the case for the last 21 years."

That last part is worth sitting with. Twenty-one years of avoiding mirrors and cameras. Twenty-one years of trying to fix something and not being able to. That's not a fitness problem. That's a quality of life problem. And it's the one that actually got solved.

Why This Time Was Different

Laura had done personal training before. She'd had coaches. She'd followed programs. So what made FYT different?

A few things stand out.

First, the coaching was ongoing and adaptive. Johnny didn't hand her a program and check in occasionally — he managed her training week to week, adjusted when her body needed it, and built her independent workouts around what they were doing together. The program evolved with her.

Second, the semi-private format gave her accountability without the pressure or price tag of 1-on-1 training. She showed up twice a week, every week, because there was a coach expecting her and a program waiting for her. That consistency over months is what created the foundation the GLP-1 could actually build on.

Third, the strength training protected her while she lost weight. One of the biggest risks of rapid weight loss — especially on GLP-1 medications — is losing muscle mass along with fat. Laura's structured training program, designed specifically to maintain muscle, meant the weight she lost was fat. Her body composition changed. Her strength improved. She didn't just get smaller — she got stronger.

A Note on GLP-1 and Strength Training

Laura's case is increasingly common. More adults in the North Shore are using GLP-1 medications like Zepbound and Wegovy to support weight loss, and many of them are discovering that the medication alone isn't enough. Without a structured strength training program, GLP-1 users risk losing significant muscle mass alongside fat — which slows metabolism, reduces strength, and makes the weight easier to regain once the medication stops.

Laura's doctor specifically recommended strength training to address this. Johnny built her program around it. The combination is what made her results both significant and sustainable.

If you're currently on a GLP-1 medication and looking for a training program designed to support it, that's something Fuel Your Training coaches directly. It's not a side service — it's becoming a core part of what they do.

Ready to Start Your Own Journey?

Laura's story took 19 years to get to the right place. It doesn't have to take that long.

If you're in Northbrook or anywhere on the North Shore and you've been through the cycle of diets and programs that work temporarily and then don't, the missing piece is usually what Laura found: consistent, coached strength training with a program that's built around your body, your life, and your goals.

Fuel Your Training offers a Free Intro Session with no commitment. Come in, meet Johnny, see the studio, and find out what a program built specifically for you actually looks like.

Book your Free Intro Session at Fuel Your Training →