My name is Rochelle Glassman I am 49 years old, a wife and mother of two adult children, five Persian cats and a Golden Retriever. I am the CEO and President of three healthcare related businesses and work on average over seventy (70) hours per week.
I am sure many of you reading this endorsement will relate to my story. Until I had my second child at twenty eight I weighed between 90 to 110 lbs. Then my weight yo-yoed for the next 20 years. I have tried many diets and weight loss remedies with some successes. I HATED any form of exercise and have not exercised since I was a nurse in the United Kingdom 24 years ago.

In May 2009 I decided to schedule an appointment with Red Mountain Medical Spa and see Suzanne Bentz, D.O. a board certified Bariatric physician who is a trained physician specializing in medically treating obesity without surgery. I decided to start to lose weight before I consulted with her and had lost over 10 lbs before my initial appointment. At the time of my appointment I was taking medication for high cholesterol. I weighed 169lbs with a height of 5ft, a waist size of 14 and an extra large top. My BMI indicated that I was morbidly obese which shocked me. Dr. Bentz was wonderful and based on my crazy schedule shared with me what I could do to reduce my weight without eating any type of fad foods. She took in to consideration my crazy work schedule and the fact I eat out daily at least one meal per day for business purposes. Within a month I had lost over 10lbs, the second month I lost about 6lbs and felt that I should be losing more. Dr. Bentz recommended that I incorporate exercise in to my lifestyle. I promptly told her I am allergic to any form of exercise and hated it. My naturally top heavy body does not allow me to run, I hate running or the treadmill it is boring and no fun at all. She advised that I find a form of exercise that I enjoy. The only exercise that I have enjoyed was dancing and other than weddings, Bar Mitzvahs and oth er parties I have not danced since I was a young adult.
My 21 year old son who works out daily and has a body that any man would wish for suggested I go to dancing classes and found a studio one block from my office called Abby Bella.
Abby Bella and Dr. Bentz have significantly changed my life; in July 2009 I took my first class at Abby Bella. Abby Bella offers many types of dance classes for cardio exercise (Zumba, Cardio Strip Tease, Boot Camps, Total Body Fitness etc) muscle toning (Bella Barre) for adults. My first class was a Zumba class by Raphael and to be honest it was BRUTAL. By the end of the first song during the” warm-up” I was out of breath, coughing and had cramp in both feet. As I am not a quitter I struggled through the one hour class. The next day I went to a Jazz class, which was a slower pace, but was not my style. The following week I tried the Cardio Strip Tease class. No, we do not take our cloths off. Mary and Janelle teach these classes and they have more energy than any other human beings I know other than Raphael. The class is 35 minutes of intense cardio exercise’s with about 25 minutes of choreography. They teach the same routine for a week before it changes, which is great as it takes many of us a week to get the choreography down. The first time I took the Bella Barre, I am embarrassed to say that I could not get my leg on the barre, I did not understand the dancing terminology as I had never taken any dancing classes, but was able to laugh at myself. Teri who was the teacher when I took my first class had the patience of a saint and I continued to attend her class initially to prove that I could get through the routine of exercises without error.

I have finally found an exercise I love to do. I have tried many classes and found the teachers and styles that I like. I have in nine (9) months gone from hating and being allergic to exercise to loving working out with Abby Bella. I feel guilty if I miss a class that I should be attending due to work commitments. Not only have I lost 70lbs in seven months, I have no flapping water wing arms and legs from the rapid weight loss, I actually have “baby muscles” that I am very proud of (thank you Teri, Teresa, Debbie and Juliana). I can work-out for 3 and when time permits 4 hours per day with no coughing and breathing problems. My cholesterol level is down over 100 points and I no longer take my cholesterol medication. I am know a petite size 0 and a small top size and can eat what I want and feel absolutely fantastic.
As you can imagine I have reduced my work week to around 60 hours per week to allow for my classes. The classes are major stress relievers the pace is fast all you can do is watch the teachers; there is no time to think about your day or what you have to do tomorrow.  Nobody laughs at you when you cannot do the routine, or have to standout because you are unable to complete the exercise. The environments in both the Scottsdale and Arcadia locations are fun upbeat and friendly. The teaches are fantastic and are wonderful motivators.

I would highly recommend that if you are looking to have fun while you exercise and get healthy, Abby Bella is the only place to go.