CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (KCRG) – Janice Konchar saw her husband Mike struggling with his weight, and decided to take matters into her own hands.

“He saw the pictures of what he looked like with his daughter’s wedding,” Janice said. “I’m getting him a training session, that’s it, done. Christmas present. “

“Merry Christmas, get to the gym!” Mike and Janice joked.

That was six years ago when Mike began his fitness journey, and it was a rough beginning.

“I basically about threw up and passed out,” Mike said. “Looking back it’s hard. You don’t ever think you’re that out of shape. The first workout was horrific. The journey itself has been mind-blowing.”

Mike has lost a lot of weight, and he’s much stronger.

“I wanted to be healthy, (strength) has been an added bonus.”

About year and half ago, Janice started to put on some “post-COVID” weight, and Mike decided to help.

“(Our gym owner) ended up doing a 60 day weight loss challenge, and he ended up signing me up for it,” Janice said.

Call it payback if you want, but the changes Janice has made in the last year are remarkable.

“It’s crazy I lost 40 pounds. It kind of became a challenge, ‘what can I push this old body to do?’” Janice said.

Janice posed in a real competition just one year after starting her journey.

“Something I didn’t think I would see at 54 years old. I never thought I would look like this at 54,” Janice said. “I got my zest for life back I kind of lost that for a while.”

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