Written by Cheryl Thompson

In 2016, I found the JYM Army, and that began my journey. Like many journeys, mine has had its ups and downs.

I've had success following two JimStoppani.com programs in particular: Super-Man and Super Shredded 8. Super-Man was the first program I followed. The results I got from it were better than I expected. But after completing that program, life happened and excuses were made. I stopped tracking my macros and enjoyed whatever food I wanted to.

Soon, I found myself back at 130 pounds. This may not sound heavy to many people, but for me it is. I'm only 5'0" tall, with a naturally slender build, so that's not a healthy bodyweight for me.

Why did I let it happen? I don’t know. I think I became lazy. The last time I was at 130 pounds was when I quit smoking over 20 years ago.

The Super Shredded 8 program couldn’t have come at a better time. I lost a total of 14 pounds and 10 inches overall in only 8 weeks! (That's how long the SS8 program is.)

This is the program that got me back on track and living a healthy lifestyle. I put everything I had into that program to get those results, and it was worth it to me. SS8 gave me my new start.

Since SS8, I’m staying consistent with my diet and enjoying working out in the gym and at home. Jim’s programs will keep you on your toes, and you'll never get bored. I keep my focus on the most important thing to me: nutrition. I follow a macro-based diet and use JYM supplements.

For a lot of people, 2020 wasn't a good year. For me, I stayed focused on my goal to get on stage in a bodybuilding competition, specifically the figure division.

I had started contest prep back in late October/November of 2019, with a show date of March 2020. The show was cancelled two weeks out, but I kept on with my plan and my goal and finally got on stage October 31, 2020.

Anyone who has prepped for a show knows it’s not easy. It’s a lot of work, but very rewarding. For me, it’s been something I’ve been wanting to do since 2013, when I went to watch my first bodybuilding competition.

Crazy as it seems, I wanted to be a bodybuilder. So that’s what got me into the gym: to begin training for that someday of being on stage. But that same year, I was diagnosed with a brain tumor. After about a year of recovery, I was back in the gym.

There were so many ups and downs during my journey, which made getting on that stage such a huge accomplishment for me and meant so much. I needed to do it to prove to myself that I could.

In the above photos, I'm 126 pounds at age 50 on the left. In the righthand photo, I'm 92 pounds at age 51. Now I’m 52, and I try to be as healthy as I can but still enjoy some of my favorite foods on occasion, even as I prepare to step on stage again for another bodybuilding competition in October of 2021.

I hope that my story inspires others who may dream of something they want to do but don’t think they have it in them to do it. Believe me, you do!!