(ROCKWALL, TX — September 25, 2017) For local business owner and JER Chilton YMCA at Rockwall member Matilyn Keith, no one keeps her motivated and positive about her weight loss goals quite like her friend and personal trainer Lindsay Wasserman.
Matilyn has been training with Wasserman at the JER Chilton YMCA at Rockwall for the past three months and is loving the results; she’s lost 24 pounds and 13 inches total. She said Wasserman keeps her accountable for what she eats throughout the day. She makes her eat breakfast every morning prior to working out, and recently bought Matilyn a journal to keep tabs on her calorie intake each day.
“She keeps me accountable because she really cares and wants to keep me healthy,” Matilyn said.
Matilyn works out with Wasserman five days a week for an hour – Monday, Wednesday and Friday at the JER Chilton YMCA and Tuesday and Thursday at the park in The Shores. Their routine starts with eight minutes of intense cardio, followed by lots of interval training where they mix weight training with cardio to build strength and endurance.
Matilyn said they don’t use the exercise machines a lot, but will do a lot of training with the TRX Suspension Straps.
“She’s having me do a lot of cardio but it doesn’t feel like it’s cardio. I like the interval training because it feels less like cardio than running on a treadmill or doing the Stairmaster,” Matilyn said.
For Wasserman, the bond she has formed with Matilyn during their workout sessions at the JER Chilton YMCA has been a tremendous blessing.
“I like pushing her to stay positive,” Wasserman said. “We work her hard and she overcomes any negative thoughts, and achieves her goals. She’s dedicated and committed, and has been a really good friend to me.”
Matilyn said the weight she gained after having her two boys, Elijah (5) and Micah (2), was what initially prompted her to want to start working out. When her sister-in-law temporarily moved in with her five and a half years ago, the two would go work out together at the JER Chilton YMCA at Rockwall on a frequent basis.
But when her sister-in-law moved out, Matilyn found she had a hard time motivating herself to work out without her trusted training partner. She tried working out by herself, but said it just wasn’t the same, so she contacted the Y to inquire about a personal trainer. JER Chilton YMCA at Rockwall Executive Director Bonnie LaVielle found who she thought would make the perfect trainer for Matilyn in Lindsay Wasserman. Bonnie told Matilyn that Wasserman was a new certified personal fitness trainer at the JER Chilton YMCA and had just moved to the area, and also has two boys the same ages as Elijah and Micah.
In fact, the Child Watch program is what made the Rockwall YMCA Matilyn’s gym of choice.
“I chose the JER Chilton YMCA at Rockwall because it was affordable, especially in child care. I felt the Y’s child care program was the best in the area, and my kids really like it,” Matilyn said. “They love coming to the Y, and always get excited when we come here.”
When Matilyn is not training hard at the gym, she keeps herself plenty busy as the owner of The Rustic Warehouse in Rockwall (1411 S. Goliad St.), which houses 80+ unique vendors selling a variety of farmhouse, rustic and shabby chic style furniture, home décor and boutique clothing. The Rustic Warehouse offers several different services, including art workshops, interior design and cabinet repainting.
Matilyn said she found her calling to paint furniture and decorate homes five years ago when she was living in Florida. She taught herself to paint by poring over the videos and blogs of Annie Sloan, a world-renowned expert in decorative paint, colors and techniques.
In between teaching workshops and repainting peoples’ cabinets, Matilyn spends a lot of her time with the interior design aspect of her business, decorating homes throughout the DFW area.
“I love making people feel like their house is a home,” she said. “I feel like it’s a ministry as well, that God gave me a gift to be able to visualize these things, and I’m able to come into someone’s home and use that gift.”
Story and photo by Austin Wells, Blue Ribbon News.
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