[sixcol_five_last]

By Patrick Lujan

Love is patient. Love is kind.

For long-time fitness instructor Mona Roberts, love has certainly been patient and now is very kind to her.

Now 56-years-old on Valentine’s Day,  Roberts moved to Texas in 2010 to pursue a master’s degree. Little did she know she’d meet her new love and fellow work-out partner Curtis Rich who is one year her junior.

Curtis Rich, country music legend Reba McEntire and Mona Roberts. (courtesy photo)

“I had pretty much given up finding love,” Roberts said. “Little did I know that out of the blue, after two or three messages back and forth and one phone call, I met the man of my dreams. The moral is never to give up on love no matter what your age.”

The couple met last August and instantly had a connection which led to marriage this past January 26^th at The River Walk in San Antonio. You can guess that the commonality is fitness.

Rich, who owns a State Farm Insurance agency in Corpus Christi, was athletic as a youngster but re-evaluated his health and wellness when he met Ms. Mona.

She helped tweak his eating and exercise habits, to say the least.

“We train together daily and all our meals are planned by me,” Roberts said. “ We do  not diet but eat a cleaner healthier diet of mostly chicken breasts, fish, whole grains, brown or black rice and fresh veggies and fruit. He loves desserts so I make him reduced fat/sugar higher in fiber bran muffins or fresh fruit salad or some kind of goodie disguised as being bad for you but actually not.”

Since then, Rich has  knocked four inches off his waist, lost 40 lbs. and reduced his body fat after just  six months of training as a couple. According to Roberts, he has had to replace his wardrobe and said he has not been this weight or worn size 34-inch pant size since high school.

Mona Roberts performs a hula dance at her wedding in San Antonio January 26th. (courtesy photo)

Fitness comes in two parts: exercise and diet. Don’t worry, Mona Roberts has it all covered.

“My training consists of lighter weights but 12 repetitions. I work all bodyparts. Curtis trains for size and pumps heavy iron. Curtis and I do cardio outdoors with a walk/jog three or more times a week. We train at the gym seven days a week. I am careful not to do any exercises that bother my joints as I am over 50 and know that I have to be careful not to injure myself as recovery is harder for older people.”

So you see, a Valentine’s Day fitness story that tells us it’s never too late to get fit or stay fit. “Never ever fall for diets, fads or gimmicks that look too tempting,” Mona reminds us. “The most tried and true way to a healthier you is to make lifestyle and mindset changes. These take time, do start and start now. It is never ever too late.”

NOTES: Mona and Curtis met through a mutual friend via Facebook…Mona owned the Mona Roberts Fitness and Wellness Camps for over 25 years on Guam. “I have always believed that everyone should live a healthier lifestyle to include eating 4-5 smaller meals a day, to never diet and to exercise daily.”

[fbshare url=”http://www.gspnlive.com/gspn/monas-valentine-love-story/ ‎” type=”button”][fblike url=”http://www.gspnlive.com/gspn/monas-valentine-love-story/ ‎” style=”standard” showfaces=”false” width=”450″ verb=”like” font=”arial”]

[/sixcol_five_last]