I grew up in one of those households where my mother stressed healthy eating and physical activity, so naturally, I rebelled once I moved to college. By the time I graduated in 2015, I managed to drink enough beer and eat enough pizza to gain 30 pounds since I graduated high school in 2012. I became overweight without really noticing.

In the years that followed, I continued these bad habits and put on an additional 5 pounds. I tried going to the gym, but I couldn’t keep myself on a schedule. Then, I found out I had Chondromalacia Patellae. Basically, my excess weight and years of playing contact sports had eroded the cartilage in my dominant knee. It hurt to even walk around my house. I got so discouraged that I gave up on working out entirely in the spring of 2017. This was the time my boyfriend received a very serious sports hernia surgery. I was content to sit on the couch with him and never move again, but then he bought DDPY.

I scoffed at the idea of letting a former wrestler instruct me on how to do yoga. However, as my boyfriend slowly eased into recovery workouts, I scanned the DVDs and decided I was going to do the 13-week advanced program at the end of the summer. Simply because I thought I could prove it didn’t work.

Boy was I wrong. DDPY kicked my ass in the best way possible. As a former athlete, it was extremely refreshing to hear someone coach me the manner that DDP did through the DVDs. He was motivating without being condescending and offered modifications for the moves that hurt my knee the worst.

As the weeks progressed, so did I. I dropped 12 pounds during the 13-week program and was just as flexible as I had been in high school when I was a 3-sport athlete. These changes encouraged me to make the work to program my own and continue with DDPY every day. Seeing my hard work pay off also encouraged me to seek out physical therapy and change my eating habits as well.

Slowly but surely, my knee pain began to fade away completely. I began feeling more confident not only in the way I looked but in my abilities to crush any goals I set my mind to.

The hardest part about DDPY isn’t the workouts, it’s holding yourself to the plan. There were times when I struggled. For example, I gained back five pounds after a September vacation where I didn’t work out or eat right. However, DDPY helped me build a schedule and stay accountable for my actions.

DDPY changed my life. It encouraged me to put the hard work in. Now, I’m 30+ pounds lighter without hitting the gym. I can play soccer again without knee pain. And, I’m more confident in myself. I still do DDPY at least 5 days a week and honestly, don’t know where I’d be without it.