Renewal Health and Fitness started with my journey to health and wellness. This journey included numerous attempts to lose weight, without positive outcomes- or so I thought. What I have learned, and is the foundations of my personal outlook on coaching and health, is that we are all on a journey. There are ups and downs, but as long as we are learning from each of them as we move throughout our lives, we are having positive outcomes in each moment.

I, now, know we don’t need to be narrowly focused on weight. We need to focus on the reasons why our weight and health are not in the place we want them to be.

For me, I had a lot of healing to do from childhood trauma and I had to modify my behaviors surrounding food and fitness. I needed to learn to celebrate my small victories- both scale and non-scale. I needed to better understand my body, and trust it to do what I needed it to do. When we have trauma, sometimes our bodies have to relearn what they are able to do, too.

My goal with RHF is to make health and fitness approachable to our community- to break down every barrier there is in attaining freedom through better health. At 457 pounds, I had no confidence, no self-esteem, no self-worth, and my mental health in general was poor. I tried to lose weight literally my entire life after 4th grade. I was never successful, even with weight loss surgery. I would never have stepped foot even into the parking lot of a gym back then. So, my first goal with RHF was just to ensure everyone felt safe and welcomed stepping through the door. I do that by sharing about myself. Some might say too much, but if it helps others feel like they can approach fitness, I’m all for it.

So what got me to where fitness worked? First, I’ve been through many very difficult things as a child and young adult. I couldn’t stop my coping mechanisms of poor nutrition and eating habits until I accepted my past and addressed the issues head on. No more bandaids. Not everyone has some major thing, like I did. But, we do have to address the reasons why we are unhealthy head on still. Stress, busy schedules, sugar addictions, etc. Once my mental health improved, I was able to devote the energy necessary to maintain the changes in behavior that I needed to.

I finally got into fitness during Covid with the help of friends and support of my wife, Kim. I lost over 150 pounds during the shutdown, on top of weight I had lost just prior with nutrition. I did CrossFit for hours a day and ran, and intermittent fasted religiously. Quickly, I noticed members of my family losing weight, and friends coming to me and telling me I inspired them.

Renewal has grown from a family of three for my first members to over 25 members in 18 months.

We have a community of support where all are welcomed and encouraged .

We are continuously growing in every way imaginable. Our future is exciting!

So much growth! But it’s not because of me, it’s because of God and his blessings through this. If it wasn’t for my faith, I would have given up in my childhood. I would have given up losing weight as a young adult. But, I knew God would use everything I go through to help others someday. Even recent struggles in my life, I know he will do the same.

I consider it a privilege that God has used my story to help others, and I’m not done yet. God has blessed Renewal greatly with our community and the laughs and great victories we see everyday in workouts.

As the Executive Director and Lead Coach of RHF, I am so proud of how far we have come already, but it’s just the beginning. Come join the fun and let all of us at RHF help you reach your goals. Please feel free to email me with any questions, JLambright@RenewalHealthAndFitness.org