A Healthy Hart

Courtney Hart serves the NC State community in her role as assistant to the directors of the Howling Cow dairy farm and plant. When she’s not working hard to provide the campus community with delicious Howling Cow ice cream, you can often find her in a group fitness class or flipping tires on FitGround. Courtney has been a member at Carmichael Complex for a little more than a year and during that time she has gone through a remarkable fitness and weight loss journey.

Courtney’s motivation to lose weight began in March 2015 when the Department of Food, Bioprocessing and Nutrition Sciences organized a “Biggest Loser” competition for its employees. She started with small changes focused on healthier eating habits. She began walking in the parking lot before work every day, adding distance as time went on. She lost 25 pounds in the first month. Remarkably, she did not win the competition, but she had found inspiration to continue with her weight loss.

As Courtney’s confidence increased, so did her level of physical activity. She began to jog every morning and started visiting Carmichael. At first, Courtney felt embarrassed to work out at the gym, preferring to stay in the corner and exercise by herself. But with encouragement and motivation from a friend, she soon found herself enjoying group fitness classes like TRX®, Boot Camp, Zumba and BODYPUMP™. Her weight continued to drop, and by March 2016 she had lost 100 pounds.

Courtney found that her most important motivation for weight loss was for her 5-year-old daughter. Courtney is her daughter’s role model, and she knows that her daughter’s health is dependent upon her health. The family recreation programs at Carmichael have provided Courtney and her daughter with the opportunity to take fitness classes together, something that they both love. Her daughter is already forming healthy habits that she will keep with her through adulthood. Family recreation has also helped them try new things together and get out of their comfort zone, including braving the indoor climbing wall.

To this date, Courtney Hart has lost and kept off 120 pounds. She sees herself as living proof that you can do anything you put your mind to. Her advice to those who are new to fitness and wellness is to never give up. Set achievable goals for yourself, no matter how small they might seem.

As Courtney says, “Life is not about where or how you start, it is about how you finish.”