Shukrallah Abdelrazeq is a successful audiologist with the New York City Department of Education and a father of two with a loving and supportive wife. The stress of his job in Brooklyn was making his health and weight a problem. As he watched the scale creep toward 400 pounds, Shukry knew he needed a change in his life, but he knew he couldn’t do it alone.

One of our Wellness Concierge staff, Donald Wright, worked with Shukry to craft the perfect reset button for his life. With a 3 month rental apartment booked, he left his job in Brooklyn and arrived at the CU Anschutz Health and Wellness Center prepared to work with a solid team of experts to achieve amazing results.

“What helped get the process started was that Shukry was ready,” said Donald. “He was 100% in the game for this process. So I worked with him to determine what exactly his needs were, and set him up with our experts and the a la carte services that would give him the support needed for this journey.” After doing a 360 degree needs analysis, Donald put together a Well Prep package with added features to support Shukry in the journey, for a total of 24 personal training sessions, 5 visits with a registered dietitian, and a body composition analysis at the start and end of the process.

Registered Dietitian Lauren Ott worked with Shukry on assessing his nutritional needs and adjusting his diet to make it work for him. “He is one of the most motivated people I ever met,” she said. “His ability to lose 65 pounds in 3 months is something you just don’t see, but Shukry took everything to heart, not just the rules of his diet, but also the why behind the changes.” Rather than a quick fix, Lauren says that Shukry was an excellent client who worked to make a commitment to a lifestyle change. “He is someone I will never forget.”

In addition to the dietary changes that he made, Shukry spent plenty of time with Shane Thomas, a fitness specialist here at the Center. “I told him at the beginning that all he had to do was get through one day. One day of the diet. One day of the exercise. One day of changing his mindset. If he can get that, it’s a victory. Then we just keep repeating those victories. Just taking it one day at a time.” Shukry impressed Shane with his commitment to the process. “He found his why, and was committed and involved 100%. When you get a client who has that much drive to succeed, it makes the journey rewarding for everyone involved.” Shane notes that Shukry didn’t have a perfect or easy road, either. Injuries and stress had combined over the years to get him to this point, so there was a lot of work that had to be done.

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“As a team, we communicated on a regular basis to monitor progress and to make sure that I maintain a healthy lifestyle.”
– Shukrallah Abdelrazeq

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In addition to the training sessions, Shukry attended yoga classes, swimming classes, and more. His smile was infectious. While eating his healthy lunches at Bistro Elaia on our main floor, he would often be surrounded by staff, friends, fellow members of the Center, and more. Shukry’s story was an inspiration to everyone who met him. But most importantly, it was a success story of his own.

At the end of his stay, Shukry’s wife flew out to Colorado to spend a few days seeing the town where her husband had hit his reset button. On their last day before flying home, she joined him here at the CU Anschutz Health and Wellness Center for a final weigh-in. When Shukry stepped on the scale for the final time, he was able to share with his wife a beautiful moment: he was finally, for the first time “Since WW2” he joked, under 300 pounds.

In his own words, “I came to AHWC to transform my life and to get healthy. It has been a life-changing experience for me. I owe my success in my weight loss program to three awesome people: Donny Wright, who set up my Well-Prep Program, Shane Thomas, my personal trainer, and Lauren Ott, my RD. As a team, we communicated on a regular basis to monitor progress and to make sure that I maintain a healthy lifestyle. Thanks to my awesome team, and to the supporting staff at the center, I have achieved great results during my stay here. In addition, my wife and children in NYC have been very supportive of me, which makes achieving my goals that much easier. In sum, AHWC provides a great environment that is conducive to developing and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. It’s a beautiful thing!!!”

If you would like to know more about our custom programs, please reach out to our Wellness Concierge team. We would love to help you set your goals and support you in achieving them.