Physical and mental journey may morph into Amazing Race
When Angela Yakonich first met trainer Brad Bellavance, she didn’t like him.
In fact, when Yakonich walked into Brady’s Fitness in Tecumseh in March 2015, she was in a dark place in her life and the personable trainer got on her nerves. But she was determined to lose weight, and she was tired of trying every fad diet out there.
“Most of my life I struggled with weight,” said Yakonich, 43, of Tecumseh. “It was always the same. I would lose some weight and then gain it back — plus some — every time. I tried Weight Watchers, shakes, starving myself, diet pills and nothing worked.”
After two and a half years, Yakonich is well into her weight-loss journey, having lost more than 140 pounds working with Bellavance, 25. The two have even managed to turn their love-hate relationship into one of true respect.
So, it wasn’t a surprise then, when Yakonich, looking for a partner for the Amazing Race Canada, approached her trainer. The Amazing Race Canada is a reality television competition show in which teams travel across Canada and the world in a gruelling race. Each week, the teams receive destination clues and challenges to complete in order to move onto the next task. The first team to cross the finish line wins $500,000.
“We decided a year ago that if we didn’t kill each other, we would apply for the Amazing Race,” Yakonich said.
“So here we are. If you had told me two and a half years ago that I would even be considering an adventure like this I’d have thought you were crazy.”
As part of the application process, the pair shot a video of them joking and answering questions about why they want to be in the race and what makes them great candidates. Even their friends have jumped on board sending off their support to the show.
As exciting as being on television would be, it does make Yakonich a bit anxious after spending years trying to avoid the spotlight. Although they won’t find out until January whether they will be on the show, they are already promising friends an odd fight or argument and lots of fun TV viewing if they do.
“I think at some point I will probably just forget the cameras are there,” she said. “And why do I want to do this? Because I can now, I couldn’t have done it mentally or physically before. It will be challenging, but I’m excited.”
It will be even more challenging for Yakonich and Bellavance who both battle anxiety and depression. In fact it wasn’t until Yakonich had an anxiety attack while working out that the two started a different conversation.
“It was like a breaking point for us,” Bellavance said. “It was relieving because I could share some of how I was feeling with her and I could understand where she was coming from. From then, we started sharing about anxiety and depression.”
Bellavance knows those days when Yakonich is struggling just by reading her body language. Those days he knows there’s no sense in pushing her into a hard workout, but rather they’ll train for 20 minutes and then sit and talk for 40 minutes.
Yakonich won’t divulge her starting or current weight. She’s quick to point out she’s not being evasive, but there’s a different reason.
“Too many of us focus on a number instead of how we feel our clothes fit,” she said. “I have an obsession with the scale. Brad has been working with me for a long time to try to get me to not focus on a number. I focus on numbers like a personal best deadlift of 205 pounds.”
“The most important part of this journey has been the mental aspect of it,” she said. “The physical part is secondary.”