Somewhere in the sea of questions that you have about losing weight and getting in better shape there is an answer. It can be a frustrating, tiring and confusing process, and Joey Klockare, 34, knows this from personal experience.

Like many people, Joey was in great shape when she was in high school. Then she attended the weight gaining institution commonly known as college. The “freshman 15”—gaining 15 pounds during your freshman year of college—is something that many of you may be familiar with. Add in a dash of real-life and the next thing she knew the glory days of high school were a fading memory and Joey was 50 pounds heavier.

“I blew up overnight…well, in a few short months (laughs),” said Joey. “From the age of 22 to 26 I worked and played hard, but not in the gym. A poor diet, too many nights out in Boston and not enough exercise resulted in me feeling sluggish and unhealthy. I didn’t lose any of the weight and in fact I gained another 15 lbs!”

Most of us have our limits, and it was when Joey reached 221 pounds that she decided she had to commit to losing weight.

“I was never the thin girl and I’m 5’10,” said Joey. “When I was 27 I ran, went to the gym, and got my diet under control; I went from 221 pounds to 173 in eight months.”

Two years later Joey became pregnant with her first child, and she gained back the weight that she had previously lost. By the time she had given birth to her second child in May of 2011, she had surpassed her previous weight of 221 pounds and weighed 258 pounds. Her pregnancies completely exhausted her both mentally and physically.

“During my pregnancies I had no motivation to work out and an ungodly feeling of never-ending hunger,” said Joey.

Joey had worked so hard to lose weight the first time, and she was frustrated that something as rewarding as having children had to come with such a negative side-effect. She could have dwelled on her frustrations, but instead she decided to take action, and this time she was going to make sure she kept the weight off.

In September of 2011, Joey decided it was time to recommit to her health and fitness, and she made it her goal to get back to her high school weight of 165 pounds. She joined LA Fitness, and began working out, attending group fitness classes and tracking her calories. She is someone who is motivated by seeing people work out hard and she enjoys motivating others as well. So it makes sense that Joey gravitated toward group fitness classes to help her achieve her weight loss goal. Having a set schedule and the availability of Kids Klub provides Joey with a structured workout as well as a reliable place to take her kids when she is working out.

The results were coming, but it took some patience over the course of a couple months. Unlike the “few short months” it took to gain weight, it didn’t feel quite the same as she worked to lose the weight.

It is now a year later and Joey has made tremendous progress, but hasn’t quite reached her goal. Come back for Joey’s next segment to find out how much weight she lost and what she is doing to reach her goal weight! Just click the FOLLOW button on our side bar or add Living Healthy to Google Reader…it’s that simple!