Four weeks into winter quarter, Danielle Hershman was hospitalized with an infection that attacked her bladder and was spreading quickly to her kidneys.
Doctors rooted the cause of the illness to poor eating habits.
Hershman, a third-year art history student, had gained a significant amount of weight in prior months, and her body was not responding well to the increase.
At that point, Hershman knew her lifestyle had to change. Months of inactivity and poor diet led to the dire situation. Hershman rarely cooked at home and enjoyed eating out, causing her body fat and blood pressure to increase dramatically.
But the hospital was not the first uncomfortable situation brought on by an unhealthy lifestyle. The quarter before, while her peers were involved in Welcome Week activities, Hershman considered dropping her classes.
“The weight gain caused a depression kind of thing, and I was definitely uninterested in attending school,” she said. “The reason I was stressing was I was uncomfortable with myself.”
According to her mother, Stefanie Hershman, a strong devotion to academics and work left little time for fitness. The stress was too much, and Danielle Hershman ended up dropping her fall classes. She decided to come back recharged in January and take on a full load winter quarter.
But Hershman’s poor nutrition and inactive lifestyle caught up with her. She spent four weeks in the hospital and was forced to drop one of her classes and get an incomplete in another.
She then researched weight loss strategies and decided to attend a two-week fitness boot camp in March.
“I needed a jump-start,” she said. “I needed to be pushed in a situation where I would have to be doing more than in regular life.” The camp was inspiring, and for the rest of the school year, Hershman exercised, completed all of her coursework, and even took an honors class.
That’s when Hershman decided she wanted to take her fitness even further. Instead of taking classes during the summer and graduating on time as a senior, she decided to participate in an intensive, 12-week fitness boot camp. It would mean graduating a quarter late, but she was willing to make the sacrifice.
Hershman worked with personal trainers for eight hours a day, ate customized meals, and lived with a group of people who shared common goals. The investment was well worth it. Her body fat declined more than 12 percent. A mile run that used to take up to an hour would take just more than nine minutes.
But perhaps more importantly, Hershman’s lifestyle was completely transformed.
“I think she watches what she’s doing a lot better,” said Jessie Massey, a friend. “So far she seems to be sticking with it.”
Hershman said she’s been setting daily fitness goals, monitoring her diet, and exercising regularly. Currently, she’s anxious to reach her goal weight, which requires losing 7-10 more pounds before Oct. 29, her 22nd birthday.
But before that, Hershman will be facing the start of a new school year, and this time around, she’ll be spending Welcome Week a little differently.
“I can see that she wants to attend the Bruin Bash and back-to-school dance,” her mother said. “Last year, I wasn’t even hearing about those activities.”