Photos: Courtesy of Betty Lou Sweeney
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Living Life to the Fullest
Betty Lou Sweeney proves that age is no obstacle.
TWOYEARS AGO, AT AGE 69, Betty Lou Sweeney was admitted to a hospital with a series of life-threatening health issues. She weighed more than 230 lb, and her outlook was grim. Her kidneys began to shut down, and doctors told her husband that, most likely, she would not be returning home. Somehow, Betty Lou managed to pull through. Determined to make the most of her second
chance, Betty made a vow to herself to begin leading a healthier lifestyle.When an Anytime Fitness club opened in Plover,Wis., Betty stopped in, liked what she saw and signed up. Barely able to walk on the tread- mill at first, Betty approached a personal trainer, Dave Candra, for help and advice. The two hit it off immediately. The harder Dave pushed, the more Betty asked him to raise the bar. “It’s fun to see how much you can do,” Betty says. “I
think a lot of people sell themselves short. You’ll never know what you can do if you never try.” Havingmoved fromfoster home to foster home as a
child, Betty knew that nothing in life comes easy. She understood that big changes require hard work and determination—and she provedmore than willing to put in the work required to transformher life. Training with Dave three days a week, and exercising on her own at the club an additional three days a week, Betty steadily lost weight and gained strength. “The more weight I lost, the more energy I had and the stronger I became,” Betty
says. “Eating right is important, too. It’s all connected. Once you understand that, it becomes easier to make smart choices.” Over the course of about 18months, Betty lostmore than 100 lb and realized that
she had an unusual talent for one particular exercise: abdominal planks. Although elite athletes have trouble “planking” formore than a fewminutes at a time, Betty recently set a newWORLD RECORD for planking—35:44. For a professional athlete, a 35-minute plank would be incredible. For a 71-year-old woman, with six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, it’s nearly inconceivable.
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www.anyt imeheal
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Betty Lou Sweeney Hometown: Plover,Wis.
Weight Before: 230 lb Weight Now: 120 lb Betty’s Message: “You’ll never know what you can do if you never try.”
Betty’s planking talent andweight-loss
story earned her an invitation to NBC’s “Today Show” last spring. On the show, for the first time in nearly 60 years, in front of a national TV audience, Betty wore a swimsuit. Her eye-catching red polka-dot suit (see photo above) was a smashing success. “I was nervous at first,” admits Betty.
“But it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. Two years ago, I was so sick and unhealthy that I nearly died. Now, I’mliving life to the fullest.”
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