Triumph Over Adversity - Judy Weichman
It takes determination, faith and commitment to overcome adversity. Judy Weichman processes these qualities. She has faced and overcome more adversity than she had ever thought one person could endure. Despite everything life threw at her she never wavered and at the end triumphed over her adversity.
Judy is the proud mother of three boys ages 22, 20 and 17. When her sons were younger, two had serious health issues, meningitis, seizures and a stroke at birth. Life was difficult during these times spending countless days in the hospital and therapy. Judy had to quit her job to care for her sons. Family and friends would pitch in and help as best as they could, but still it wasn’t easy. Nonetheless, preserved putting her faith in God to answer her prayers for a miracle. Today she is blessed with three healthy young men.
During those early years Judy focused all her attention on her sons but now it would be her turn to face a health crisis. At age 38, Judy started suffering from dizziness and numbness in her feet, legs and arms. After undergoing several tests, the Doctor’s diagnosis was that Judy had early symptoms of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Further testing with two neurologists concluded the same diagnosis given her symptoms and the lesions found on her brain and spine. So, Judy decided to go to the Mayo clinic to seek the opinion of best neurologist.
The neurologist at the Mayo clinic concurred with the previous diagnosis but did not want to put Judy on traditional forms of treatment. Instead, he suggested that Judy change her diet and begin an exercise regime. Ever since Judy was a teenager her nickname was “Junk food Judy” as she ate a lot of foods with sugar, although never around her parents though as they were very healthy and didn’t allow bad food in the house. Judy took the neurologist’s advice and bought the MS Diet Book and started cooking all her own food and even making her own bread in her bread maker.
She also joined Golds Gym. Judy was so shy that she only did the classes that were offered at the gym. After doing classes for a year, she finally decided to try lifting weights. She was so nervous and scared. Judy brought her Oxygen Magazine workouts that she ripped out from the magazine and do her workout.
A year later, Judy went back for her check up with the neurologist and he was like “wow, what have you been doing?” I said eating clean and lifting. He said “whatever you are doing keep doing it”. Over time Judy experienced less numbness and lightheadedness. She also felt more confident and not near as shy. For Judy, lifting was a great outlet for stress. She felt stronger both mentally and physically.
A friend at the gym suggested she train to compete in a bodybuilding event. Judy had no idea what he was talking about. After doing some research, she signed up for her 1st competition. Judy was 39 years old. Her biggest fear was falling in the 5” heels you had to wear on stage, but thankfully she did not. She won her 1st show and fell in love with the discipline of bodybuilding.
Judy has always been a very disciplined person, whether it was taking care of her sons, at work, etc. According to Judy, she felt like her body was a science experiment, getting stronger year after year training for shows. Over the years, she worked with three personal trainers and was always amazed at how her body would transform each time they modified her meal plan and training objectives. Judy competed in two to three NPC Figure shows a year. Her dream was to get her Pro Card and in 2016, after training hard for 8 years, she achieved her dream. Judy became an IFBB Pro.
Judy is so grateful she turned her life around by working out and following a healthy diet. She not only feels better but has discovered her new passion, fitness.