Getting fit and eating healthy is tough, but teams of local women have discovered a way to do both in a fun and supportive environment.

They’ve become Barbell Butterflies, members of Texarkana’s one-of-a-kind women’s natural weight loss and nutrition program. Offered through Texarkana College’s Community & Business Education Center, the Barbell Butterfly program combines nutrition instruction and group strength training to help women lose weight in a supportive and encouraging environment.

Lynn Cofield, the mastermind behind the Barbell Butterfly program, transformed her lifestyle and lost 123 pounds naturally by eating well and lifting weights. Now Cofield— a registered nurse, a certified personal trainer and certified fitness nutrition coach—has developed a program that teaches women what to eat, what not to eat, and how to lift weights to achieve maximum weight loss without surgery.

“People start out to lose weight but then it becomes about so much more,” said Cofield. “What I found was by taking control of what I ate and how I looked, it empowered my life in so many other ways.”

Barbell Butterfly began as a partnership with CHRISTUS St. Michael’s Health and Fitness Center, but it grew at a rapid pace. When TC’s Community & Business Education Center asked Cofield if she’d consider teaching a class about nutrition, she decided to take it a step further and partner with TC to open up a second location for her classes in TC’s Pinkerton Fitness Center.

“Kim Jones, TC’s VP of Finance and Chief Financial Officer, was the catalyst for the Butterfly expansion at TC,” Cofield said. “She was my first TC Butterfly and a great testament of what dedication to the program can do to change lives for the better. As Kim’s coworkers and friends watched her progress, they wanted to be a part of the program, too. Seeing her great results has helped the program grow.”

Registration for classes is available through the TC Community and Business Education Center online portal. Interested persons may contact the Center located in the Nelson Administration Building, 2500 N. Robison Road, Texarkana, Texas or call (903) 823-3270. Learn more about the Barbell Butterfly program at their website.

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