What started as a weight-loss
challenge among a group of
coworkers 21 months ago has
turned into a life-changing
journey for Cheryl Campbell, who
has since lost 160 pounds.
“It was in June 2006 and one
of my co-workers at the Sheraton
Waikiki did a melt-away
challenge,” recalls Campbell,
37. “It was a six-week contest
for women only, and everybody
put $20 in the kitty.
“I was determined to win. I
started going to the gym and
working out, and at the end I
lost about 32 pounds and I won.”
Standing at just 4 feet 11
inches tall, Campbell weighed,
at her heaviest, 287 pounds and
wore a size 28. Her doctor
warned her that if she didn’t
lose weight, she could get
diabetes, high blood pressure
and other health problems.
“He also said that the longer
I wait, the harder it would be,”
she says. “Growing up I was a
little chubby, but by high
school I had slimmed down. I was
active in sports like swimming
and water polo.
“But
then I started gaining weight in
my 20s. I was busy with work and
got comfortable in a
relationship and just let myself
go. And when I started working
at the hotel I had access to
food, so that didn’t help.
Gradually, I just got bigger and
bigger.”
Campbell adds that her diet
used to consist of a lot of fast
food and six or seven cans of
soda a day.
“I would also eat in front of
the TV until 4 or 5 o’clock in
the morning,” she says. “And
before I would wear a lot of
T-shirts and elastic pants. I
was wearing men’s XX-large
shirts and XX-large pants. I
didn’t feel pretty, and I didn’t
have any confidence.”
After the contest, Campbell
wanted to lose more weight, so
she continued to exercise and
diet. But it wasn’t easy.
“In the beginning I couldn’t
even last on the elliptical
machine for 15 minutes,” she
recalls. “And I was so
embarrassed to go to the gym
because I was big. I was going
five times a week, but I was
embarrassed to go during the
regular hours that most people
go, so I would always go after
midnight. I just didn’t feel
comfortable.”
Campbell also changed her
diet, cutting out the soda and
changing from white rice to
brown rice.
“After just one month of
cutting those out, I lost 25
pounds,” she says. “And I went
months without watching TV.
Instead I would go to the gym.
And then I decided that if I
went to the gym for 10 hours in
one week, then I would give
myself two hours of watching TV
for that week.
“I needed to discipline
myself. I started to drop more
weight and it got easier.”
Finally, when she hit the
90-pound weight-loss mark,
Campbell says she wanted to keep
going, but couldn’t.
“I wasn’t moving, it was like
I hit a plateau,” she explains.
“One of my co-workers, Chris
Brown, was helping me with my
training. He would suggest new
exercises for me to do and it
was great, but I wanted more.
So, he suggested that I get a
personal trainer.”
Campbell enlisted the help of
Masayo Copeland at 24 Hour
Fitness and also started
kick-boxing classes at Smith Tae
Kwon-Do in Kaneohe.
“Masayo helped me a lot with
what to eat, and taught me about
supplements to help with my
recovery after workouts,” says
Campbell. “And kickboxing is
just awesome. I go three times a
week and it’s so much fun.”
