7 Women Share the Workouts That Helped Them Transform Their Bodies

“Two and a half years ago, I was 50 pounds overweight, was immensely out of shape, and would get winded going up any and all stairs,” says 27-year-old Chloe Lewis, a comedian from Chicago, Illinois. “Then, my boyfriend of almost two years cheated on me, and my whole life imploded.” To move forward, Chloe turned to fitness. “I started to exercise, not to get back at him or to lose the weight I gained from being unhappy in our relationship, but to put all of the anger, anxiety, and frustration I felt back into myself instead of onto someone else,” she says. “I wanted to become the strongest, best version of myself, for myself, again.”

For Chloe, that meant signing up for races, including 5Ks, 8Ks, 10Ks, and triathlons. “I ran back to myself,” she says. “If I felt anxious or nervous or sad, I laced up my shoes instead of grabbing cookies, ice cream, or copious amounts of wine. I just got out the door.” A year later, she had lost all the weight she gained during the relationship, and had committed to running 12 races in 12 months. “It was a way for me to invest in myself for an entire year,” she says. “I can now run six miles without thinking I’ll probably die. I can finally see my abs. Sort of.” But the most noticeable change for Chloe —aside from being able to do 30 pushups and lift 10 to 15-pound weights instead of the 3-pound ones she used to use—isn’t just how good she looks, it’s how strong she feels. “I’m the strongest version of Chloe I’ve ever been,” she says.