For 30 years, Cathy Bergman made a New Year’s resolution to do something about her weight. Each year she failed and her weight soared to over 320 pounds. “Walking was difficult and shopping for clothes was depressing as I ‘outgrew’ a size 6X.”

On January 1, 2011, Bergman made the same resolution once again, except this time she was determined to succeed. Barely able to squeeze behind the steering wheel to drive and just before her 52nd birthday, Berg- man recalls, “the larger I got, the smaller my world became.”

Bergman finally realized she not only had to change her eating habits, but also needed to become active. “I eliminated sugar, fast food, fast carbs, processed food, alcohol and replaced them with lean protein, vegetables and lots of fresh water.” Bergman surrounded herself with an excellent team comprised of a nutritionist and Robert Roy, a kinesiologist and fitness coach. Her husband Peter, her eight siblings and her friends were also extremely supportive and encouraged her with each pound she shed.

“Week after week the drills and exercises got a bit harder. Months led to a year. My coach pushed me to continue my circuit training, weight training and running. The effort finally paid off. Eighteen months after my New Year’s resolution and after much sweat and tears, I had dropped 170 pounds.” With her newfound passion for fitness, Bergman began running.

After a year of 5K events, she turned to 10K races and the following year, a half-marathon. “Instead of being challenged by carrying such an enormous amount of extra weight, crossing finish lines became my new challenge,” Bergman says.

By this time, the Ironman race had arrived in Mont Tremblant and after volunteering for an event, Bergman knew she wanted to try it herself. She asked Roy if it was doable. “He said ‘yes, but it requires dedicated commit- ment and lots of hard work.’” Roy then crafted a plan and with over a year of triathlon-specific training, Bergman successfully completed Ironman 70.3 Mont Tremblant in June 2015.

“It comes down to one simple thing, how bad do you want it? How bad do you want to be healthy and fit? Do you want it more than a Big Mac? Do you want it more than a second helping of chocolate cake?” Bergman says. “If so, then don’t dream about it, write it down, set a goal and hold yourself accountable. A dream written down with a date becomes a goal. A goal broken down into steps becomes a plan. A plan backed by action makes your dream come true. Being fat is hard. Being fit is hard. You have to choose your hard,” Bergman explains.