By Dan Courtney, NIFS Correspondent

After Rebecca Bratt gave birth to two boys, relocated to Indianapolis and started a new job, working out was the furthest thing from her mind. Then she realized she HAD to get in shape.

“I didn’t feel good about myself,” said the 33-year-old. “I just didn’t have time, but knew I had to make time.”

On her first day at work at IUPUI, Bratt’s manager had a meeting at the National Institute of Fitness and Sport. She was hooked on the facility and joined immediately. She took the ‘Bod Pod’ fitness test and began a varied workout routine with NIFS instructor Kris Simpson.

“I showed her a few exercises and she went at it deliberately,” Simpson said. “It’s a real credit to her for working out hard.”

Bratt started her summer workouts in the morning from 5:30 – 7:30. Once her oldest son started school, she continued her workouts during her lunch hour 3 – 4 times a week. Her routines usually include 30 – 40 minutes on the treadmill or bike, weight balls and the bands for stretching.

Despite her diligent workouts, she discovered one very important fact: She was not losing any weight.

“I would not eat any breakfast or lunch some days, and then from dinner on I would eat whatever I wanted,” said the 5-foot-4 Bratt. “I was not practicing very good eating habits.”

Bratt, who said she gets on the scale religiously, talked with Simpson about nutrition. She began eating a healthy breakfast of cereal and yogurt with plenty of fish, chicken and vegetables for dinner.

Consistently, the combination of exercise and nutrition resulted in a loss of 10 pounds.

“I dropped from 148 to 138 and my clothing started fitting better to where I was before having kids,” she said. “And I started to get a tone to my body.”

Bratt says the workouts at NIFS help relieve any stress she has during the day. She admits feeling rather sluggish when she misses a workout.

“I give her about three routines that she can change up every eight weeks,” said Simpson. “Sometimes when your body adjusts to a routine and you ‘hit the wall,’ you have to change it up.”

It’s the changes that Bratt looks forward to.

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