Show up for yourself: One woman’s journey

For years, Kenzie Turner moved through life on autopilot — balancing pregnancies, navigating grief, holding down a job and keeping pace with the demands of motherhood. In her 20s and early 30s, she wasn’t thinking about fitness or nutrition. 

“Truthfully, I wasn’t thinking about myself at all,” she said. “I remember at one time feeling trapped in a body I didn’t recognize. I gained weight through pregnancies, but I didn’t lose it with the last two.”

Fitness coach Kenzie Turner demonstrates the use of TRX suspension straps at a VASA Studio Red strength station. (Julie Slama/City Journals)

Before Turner’s first pregnancy, she weighed 150 pounds, climbing to 190 after indulging in Chips Ahoy! cookies “several times each week.” After giving birth, the weight came off easily, and she assumed her body would always bounce back like that. 

Three years later, her second pregnancy brought cravings of Totino's pizza, which she ate “several times per week.” Again, Turner reached 190 pounds, but water aerobics helped her return to her pre-pregnancy weight. 

Life was busy, but predictable as Turner worked as a bank teller and caring for two children, often managing on her own while her husband was in pharmacy school. 

Then, at 16 weeks into her third pregnancy, she miscarried.

“The miscarriage really messed me up; I basically didn't care and just ate,” Turner said.

She became pregnant again, leaning on comfort foods like McDonald’s pancakes. After her third child, the sadness of her miscarriage remained.

 “I just didn't have any motivation; I didn't go back to losing the weight again,” Turner said.

Kenzie Turner before she began her fitness journey. (Photo courtesy Kenzie Turner)

By her last pregnancy, Turner’s unhealthy habits became routine and she often munched on sour gummies.

“I was already like 190 pounds when I got pregnant; when I weighed in, I was 229 pounds,” the 5-foot-3-inch tall mother said.

By 2019, Turner felt stuck. 

“I remember signing up for Weight Watchers, but I didn’t even start. I figured, ‘I'm just going to be fat. It's just who I am now,’” she said.

For years, Turner hovered around 220 pounds, eating to fill emotional gaps, not nutritional needs. 

“It was mindless eating, not being aware of what I was eating, not caring, just eating whatever I wanted whenever I wanted it,” she said.

She remembers being shocked once when looking in the car mirror.

“I vividly remember, ‘how did I get like this? What am I doing?’” Turner said as she looked at her reflection in a baggy shirt which allowed her to “hide in.” 

Fitness coach Kenzie Turner demonstrates the use of TRX suspension straps at a VASA Studio Red strength station. (Julie Slama/City Journals)

Everything changed with a knock on her door. Her neighbor, Tristine, invited her to a Studio Red HIIT — high intensive interval training — class. Turner declined, but her friend insisted. The next morning at 7:45, they were headed to the VASA gym in Herriman.

“I walked into the gym being completely terrified. I thought everyone was going to stare at me, but it wasn’t like that at all. Nobody cared I was out of shape or I didn’t know what I was doing. They were supportive and glad I had come,” she said.

Turner finished the workout and surprised herself. 

“I realized, ‘I can do this. I didn't die,’” she said. 

That same day, Turner signed up for a membership.

“I needed to find myself again, because I had put myself into other people for a decade, so it was time to be me. I needed this so I could feel better about myself,” she said.

Turner’s plan was simple: just move. 

Her previous coach Denise and friend Matt Whitlock at a recent class. (Photo courtesy Kenzie Turner)

She started by attending class three days a week, then five. She slowly cut out foods she knew weren’t helping

“I began to look at calories differently. I knew it took me 40 minutes to burn so many calories. So when I looked at sugary or fatty foods, I realized I didn’t want to put them in my mouth because I worked so hard to burn those calories,” Turner said.

When her weight loss stalled at 185, Turner got a personal trainer, Jonny, who taught her how to do more around the gym and how to focus on nutrition. With his support, Turner reached 140 pounds. Continuing on her own, she dropped to 119, reaching her goal two years later. 

Through every struggle, Turner held onto the phrase which carried her: “Show up for yourself.”

“I remember not wanting to get up on a Saturday morning knowing it was the only day I could sleep in. But I told myself, ‘show up for yourself,’ that would get me out of bed and into the gym to do the work. Those words still get me going,” she said.

Studio Red’s structure kept her consistent. 

Kenzie Turner is now a Studio Red coach. (Photo by Aspen Tills)

“The workout is geared toward all muscle groups, cardio and lifting. It’s planned and I get it all in 45 minutes,” Turner said.

Nutrition, once an afterthought, became purposeful. 

“I focus on the protein, on drinking enough water and getting sleep. Protein shakes and string cheese are my grab-and-go foods, but showing up for yourself is not just about the gym. It's about nutrition too, so I get up to make eggs or to eat yogurt to fuel my body if I want it to do what I need it to do. It’s been a complete mindset change,” she said.

Recently, Turner made a career change. After 18 years working for a bank, she made a bold choice. Encouraged for years to coach, Turner finally earned her certifications and became a Studio Red instructor.

“I wanted to help people like those who helped me. Studio Red changed my life,” she said.

Turner’s former coaches now have taken her classes and her trainer calls her his “gold star client.”

She is working toward becoming a step instructor and pursuing a full-time role in fitness. But her greatest accomplishment isn’t the number on the scale — it's the woman she became along the way.

“I didn’t just lose 100 pounds,” Turner said. “I found myself, and I am still showing up.”