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Testimonials
ZumbaJunkie is proud to announce an important webpage about health and fitness. The Testimonial Page will host stories and pictures of junkies and friends who want to share with others their successes in becoming a healthier and fit person. These are the stories of people who made a difference in their lives by changing their personal lifestyle through an exercise workout and fitness regimen like Zumba. Do you feel healthy
and good, have lost weight and inches, improved your self-esteem, and
you are happy with your personal success, then send your story and photos via email to the WebJunkie Jefa
. We love to hear about how Zumba has shaped and sculpted your muscles into a healthy body.
Submission Requirements: Summary in short paragraph(s) format describing your personal experiences such as your attitude and enthusiasm, motivations, obstacles, challenges, encouragement from friend(s) and family, desired goal(s) or any other special achievements involving your health. Tell us how Zumba made a difference in your life and how this fitness exercise, that combines different types of Latin
rhythms and a variety of dance styles in its routines, is a
fun aerobic routine that is easy to follow. Before and after photos are accepted.
Disclaimer: ZumbaJunkie reserves the right to review and edit all submissions. The information submitted by you authorizes Zumbajunkie to post your story and photos on the Testimonies Page. Each story and photo are the property of the original owners and can be removed upon request.
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Randy Baez: This is
my success story in becoming a healthier and fit individual. For the past 15 years, I was overweight and
unmotivated. As a working mother and
wife, I took care of everything…the house, the kids, the husband and work. I tried numerous ways to loose weight, but was
never successful. On July of 2005, I was
diagnosed with Hodgkin’s disease and the news was devastating. I went through 4
grueling months of chemotherapy followed by 3 months of painful radiation.
After my treatment, my doctor gave me a good report and told me that my Hodgkin
was cleared. A month later a tumor was found on my right kidney and I was diagnosed
with kidney cancer. Both of these
traumatic experiences made me want to fight for my health, including following
a healthy diet and exercise. Carrying
around 90 pounds was depressing and the last time I had exercised was 15 years
ago. What kind of exercise could I do that would keep me motivated, that was
effective and fun? Most importantly,
what kind of exercise could I do for an hour that would bring my heart rate up
and burn off those 90 extra pounds?
On November 10, 2006, I took a class
called Zumba with Zumba Instructor Sue Tucker.
Zumba is a high energy, low impact aerobic workout that uses Latin and
international rhythms and music. For the first time in 15 years I was able to
go through an entire hour of an aerobic exercise with lots of sweating,
fabulous music and lots of energy!!! There was about 100 people in that class,
but Zumba Instructor Sue Tucker made everyone in that room feel special, pretty
and “sexy”, including me. Even though I
was overweight, bald from my chemotherapy and terrified of the fact that I had
cancer, the energy and enthusiasm I experienced from Zumba made me feel alive
again! After that first Zumba class I
was “hooked” and I never missed a Zumba class since.
The exercise effected my body weight that it helped to melt away the
excessive pounds. I continued with my
healthy eating and never missed my exercise! If it wasn’t for Zumba and the awesome feeling
I felt during and after the workout, I am pretty sure that I would have gone
back to my old bad eating habits and would not have stuck with the exercise
routine. My instructor and now best
friend Sue encouraged me to become a Zumba instructor. Now we teach Zumba together. Between the both
of us we teach 7 days a week. I have
lost a total of 96 pounds and have kept it off. Zumba continues to keep me healthy and most
importantly CANCER free! This year I was
nominated and won the award and title of Best New Fitness Instructor for the
2008 Tallahassee Fitness Festival!
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Margie Milan: I love the taste of Latin cooking, especially foods and dishes from Puerto Rico, and from all that good cooking I began to gain weight. My clothes would not fit so I bought bigger sizes to compensate. I was in denial that I was overweight. In early 1997, I entered a diet center and through a weighloss program monitored by a physician, I lost 60 lbs. I went from a size 16 to a size 12 and I weighed 125 lbs. I looked healthier and it felt good to get into smaller size clothing. Then in the latter part of 1997, I suffered an hand accident and had undergone two surgeries. It was a traumatic experience, thus paving the way to give up on my healthy eating. I slowly began to gain the weight back and I lost all interest in trying to loose the weight. I ate everything and anything I wanted. Then in 2001, I left my hometown of Miami, FL and moved to Tallahassee, FL where I started a different life. For many years I was carrying around so much weight that I did not realize I almost became obese. After a visit with my doctor in May 2007, I learned that I had Type 2 Diabetes. I was shocked to hear the truth. My weight was 252 lbs. It was a wake up call for me and I knew that I had to do something or else my health would get worse. That's when I took my life back and did something about it.
In April 2007 I joined a gym. I also wanted to stop eating all the food that was bad for me, so I went to Jenny Craig Center in September 2007 and started the program. With the combination of the two activities, I took control of my eating habits and did some exercise three times a week for 1 hour. One day while I was exercising at the gym, I heard some Spanish music emanating from the aerobics room and it caught my interest. I peeked in to see what was going on and I saw an instructor teaching a class full of students some sort of dance routines to Spanish music. This piqued my curiosity and I decided to try it. I checked the schedule and learned the class was called "Zumba". I went to my first Zumba class in October 2007. I parked myself in the back row not knowing what to expect. I noticed the instructor was a Latina (later I found out it was Randy). Her Zumba class kicked my ass. I was so sore that night from the workout, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I didn't go back for two weeks and then one day Randy saw me and asked "Why haven't you come back to one of my classes?" I told her I would. I lied! Two weeks later I tried another of Randy's Zumba classes and after taking a few more with her and Sue Tucker I became hooked. I started to feel better and I loved listening to Spanish songs from salsa, merengue, cumbia, reggaeton and so many others.
Since starting Zumba and doing the Jenny Craig program, I have lost a total of 60 lbs. My goal is to loose another 40 lbs and reach my goal weight of 150 lbs. Zumba definitely changed my lifestyle. I love the combination of the dance routines and Latin music. I have enjoyed it so much that I took an Instructor Workshop in April 2008 and now I'm teaching Zumba. I have to thank Randy Baez and Sue Tucker for being such inspirational and motivational instructors and friends. They have been both encouraging and full of energy in their classes. It makes me want to continue leading a healthy lifestyle through eating right and exercising. Zumba has made a world of difference for me in how it combines my love of music with physical fitness. It is so true when the slogan says, "Ditch the workout and Join the Party." Zumba is so much fun and its always taking you in so many directions. All you have to do is love it.
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