REAL LIFE

BACK TO LIFE

By: LaRue Novick

Dawn Thomas’ endless supply of energy and determination helped her become the 2007 MaxFormation Life Challenge Champion! Photo by Frank Fontanilla

If you could meet Dawn Michal Thomas, you’d quickly realize that this is a woman with an endless supply of spunk. Seriously, how many 47-year-old women work 12-16 hours days on their feet, spend quality time with their families and exercise every day without fail? Well, that’s Dawn. And, to know her is to feel truly inspired.

About five years and 90 pounds ago, Dawn squeezed her 5-foot-4 inch rotund frame into a teensy-weensy gold bathing suit for a picture that has been since made this blonde beauty giggle. She took the picture for the MaxFormation Life Challenge she’d signed up for at the Garden Grove Max Muscle store in California. She knew deep in her heart that she was going to win that contest. In fact, over the course of 14 months of her total transformation while prevailing over a multitude of challenges, she told everyone she met that she would win this contest.

And, she did.

“I wasn’t going to give up. There was no way I was going to give up,” said Dawn, who lives in Garden Grove and is mother to three children ages 14 to 24. “Every time something bad would happen, it just made me try harder. I was going to do it better than anyone else and I was going to win! I don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t won!”

LIFE STRUGGLES
Dawn has always struggled with weight. “From the time I was young I was chunky and I was teased all the time,” she said. “And, I looked at myself as fat all the time.” Even when she lost weight, she still felt fat. In high school, she battled with bulimia for two years just to fit in and feel better about herself. But, unlike many people, she learned from other people’s mistakes when singer Karen Carpenter died from anorexia. “It was definitely a wake-up call for me,” Dawn admitted.

After high school, problems persisted and the battle of the bulge was still raging. Dawn’s digestive system didn’t work as fluidly as it should, resulting in fatigue, swollen feet and a nasty collection of toxins in her body. Years later she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. So, not only was she having weight issues, her body was constantly in pain.

The year prior to signing up for the MaxFormation contest is the year that nearly did her in. Dawn gained almost 90 pounds that year. She was under a lot of pressure with her hairdressing job, being a mother and good wife, volunteering for an anti-drug/anti-abduction group that spoke to teens, and being a successful writer/poet. Plus, her health problems were weighing her down and her eating habits were the worst they’d ever been. “I was taking care of everyone and everything else except myself,” Dawn said. “I just got bigger and bigger and bigger and I was up to a size 16. My doctor said, ‘You’ve got to do something now or you’re not going to live to see your grandchildren.’”

It was another major wake-up call for Dawn. And, she took heed.

GOING FOR IT
After signing up for the contest, Dawn started doing cardio for an hour each night without fail, even if it meant she had to do it at midnight because of her busy schedule. Her doctors said this would help her with the fibromyalgia and it would keep her off anti-depressants. Plus, it helped her start losing the weight.
After easing into a workout program, Dawn started incorporating weight training and more cardio. Her schedule began to look something like this: cardio from 4:30 to 5:30 a.m.; afternoon or evening weights training sessions where she focused on one body part per day and cardio for one hour every evening. When needed, she took a full day of rest for total recovery.

Dawn didn’t stop. “I never stop,” she chided. The pounds melted off her body and her muscles were getting leaner, longer and more toned than they’d ever been. She wrote in a journal every day about her goals and accomplishments. She refused to listen to anything negative about what she was doing. And, she didn’t want to be told she didn’t need to work out or lose weight from people who didn’t understand what it meant to her. “It’s about standing up for what’s right and what you need,” she said.

For the first time, Dawn was taking total control of her health and fitness and she was liking the results. Of course, the Max Muscle supplements helped. For the contest, she was required to take Max Muscle products. And, she soon fell in love with them.

“I took Max Lean Daytime and Max Lean PM and they gave me lots of energy but no jittery feeling and the Max Vit-Acell (liquid vitamins) made me happy and gave me lots of energy,” she said. She also took the Max Cleanse & Lean, which helped rid her body of excess toxins and fluid buildup. And, she took Max Glutamine to help her recovery time from her workouts be shorter and her body less sore, plus it helped her digestive tract as well. She took Max CLAs to help with fat loss and Max EFAs (essential fatty acids) for healthy fats. And, of course, there were the protein powders. “I bought just about every kind and flavor of the Max Muscle protein to maintain my muscle and it kept me mentally stable as a snack in between my meals,” she said. “In fact, I’ve taken almost everything known to Max Muscle and they have all had their benefits.” One of her more recent favorites is Max Muscle’s Femme Lean & Balance, an innovative weight loss and mood enhancing product.

GOING FOR MORE
After 14 months of faithfully working out, eating right and taking Max Muscle supplements, Dawn was in the best shape of her life. She weighed 110 pounds and was all lean muscle. That image of her in the gold bathing suit was a thing of the past. Never again would she be that woman.

While Max Muscle corporate was deciding on the contest winner for the MaxFormation Life Challenge, Dawn signed up for her first bodybuilding contest. “I wanted to get as ripped as possible because I wanted to win,” she said. “I knew it had to be dramatic.” She trained harder than ever and got on stage at the Orange County Classic in 2005 where she won 5th place in the open division. Then she went to Venice Beach for a Mr. & Mrs. Muscle Classic a month later and won 3rd. And, in the next contest a month after that, she won 1st and 2nd place in her two divisions. “My trainers would say I couldn’t get any higher, but I kept doing it. I pushed every time to get better and better,” she said. And it paid off. Dawn has garnered 40 trophies in four years. “I say, ‘Thank you God!’ All the hard work, I love it,” she gushed.

When Dawn got the call that Max Muscle had chosen her as the winner for the MaxFormation Life Challenge and that she’d won $10,000 plus a number of other prizes including a contract with Max Muscle, she was ecstatic. It was a real dream come true. And, now with Dawn’s cover and feature story this month, she has accomplished all she set out to do when she first signed up for the fitness contest. Now, it’s on to bigger and better things.

“I never gave up and it helped give me more resolve. I had determination and with every milestone I encountered, I chose to live and bring life to myself … and I did. I brought myself back to life,” Dawn said. “Thank you Max Muscle for making all of this possible. I won the ability to conquer and compete and inspire millions and I want that to continue for the rest of my life!” MS&F