Fitness, Personal Training, Health and Weight Loss Blog

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Lynn’s Fitness Progress Report

At 49 years old, Lynn began training with me with a history of little to no exercise
and she was quick to tell me that she didn’t enjoy working out.  Her goals
were to tighten her body, increase her strength and lose inches. 

After 4 months of workouts with me three days a week and a nutrition makeover,
Lynn’s results were amazing.

Lynn lost 5 inches, her body fat went down 4.2%, and her pushup strength increased
600%. It is interesting to note that with all these results her weight actually
increased .8 pound. This illustrates that with the correct nutrition plan and exercise
program that lean mass is maintained or even increased and body fat decreases. 

Lynn now loves to exercise! She works out on a regular basis and continues to
see new and exciting changes in her body.

Lynn says: Best personal trainer ever!

I have never been able to stick to an exercise program but Maria changed that for
me in a big way. When I started with her in May I was extremely unfit. I had tried
other trainers, classes, gyms etc. but I’d always end up hurting myself or
being so sore I couldn’t get out of bed the next morning! She has shown me that
getting and staying fit is absolutely attainable and amazingly fun! I feel better
than I have since my 20′s. Thank you Maria, you have literally changed my life

Stella’s Fitness Progress Report
Stella’s results illustrate the importance of incorporating a well designed strength training program. Notice that Stella “only” lost 3.4 pounds but her efforts resulted in an astounding loss of 9 inches and 1.7% body fat in ten weeks. Her lean muscle mass increased as well as evidenced by her ability to do 14 more pushups than when she started her program.

Had Stella not been working with someone who was tracking her progress she might have felt disappointed with the results she saw on the scale. 3.4 pounds doesn’t seem like much weight to lose for all her dieting and exercise effort. It is important to understand that muscle weighs more than fat and strength training increases valuable muscle.  If you have been working out with weights and watching what you eat, the number on the scale may stay the same or even go up. So the scale may not be a good indicator of success with a program. Body fat loss, inches lost and strength increases are better indicators of success than the scale. Frequent retesting can help maintain motivation.

Update: As of the date I am posting this blog 11-12-11 I am happy to report that Stella has lost an additional 4 pounds and is wearing jeans that she hasn’t worn in over 7 years!

Results in 2.5 months:

Decreased body fat: 1.7%

Decreased weight: 3.4#

Decreased inches:  9 inches

Increased pushup strength 200%

PICK WISELY:
Stick with hard candies, lollipops, taffy, licorice, and sugarless gum, which are generally lower in fat. Best candies are snack size Dum Dum lollipops, York Peppermint Patties, Peeps Marshmallows Pumpkins, Brach Candy Corn and Starburst. The worst are snack size candies are Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Almond Joy, Mounds and Kit Kat.

CHOOSE HEALTHIER:
Prepackaged bags of trail mix, dried fruit, pretzels, cheese and cracker packages, raisins and low-fat granola bars make healthier, more nutritious snacks.

MAKE EXERCISE A TRICK:
Instead of driving your kids around the neighborhood, walk them from house to house. You could burn 324 calories in an hour.

ENTERTAIN WELL:
If you’re hosting a spooky bash, dunk for apples–and feel free to eat your prize. Serve fresh roasted pumpkin seeds instead of oily mixed nuts.

BUY LATE, BUY LESS:
The longer the candy is in plain view, the more tempting it is. Buy the candy just a day before. When you do shop, buy less than you did last year so you will have fewer leftovers. So what if you run out of candy during the Halloween onslaught? Toss a few dimes and quarters into the children’s sack.

BUY WHAT YOU DON’T LIKE:
Buy only the stuff that turns you off. The quickest way to kill the urge to nibble is to take away the enjoyment.

GIVE CANDY THE FREEZE:
Pop your stash of chocolate in the freezer. You’ll have to let it thaw out to enjoy it, which can prevent impulse eating.

PULL A DISAPPEARING ACT:
Store candy on a high shelf or behind the heavy cans in the pantry. Out of sight is out of mind.

NIBBLE LIKE A BUNNY:
Keep a constant stock of raw vegetables and fruits handy. As you dole out the candy bars, chomp down on a carrot stick. Yes, I know it isn’t like eating a chocolate bar but your hips will show the difference.

REMEMBER MODERATION:
The world won’t come to an end if you eat three chocolate kisses. But remember to balance the rest of your day’s diet by eliminating the fat and calories from another part of your day’s menu.

Maria Faires, Registered Dietitian, Certified Personal Trainer

From Jennifer:

Before I started working with Maria, I was a stay at home mother of two boys (both under 3 years old!) who felt like I had no time to exercise and no desire to eat healthy. As a stress eater, I felt like it was totally impossible to leave behind my junk food! How would I cope with my stress?! And exercise? No way, I had a toddler and a baby, and I could barely keep up as it is.

As a young mom who is a former athlete and dancer, I hated the way I looked as a 5’9″ 167 pound woman, but felt powerless to do anything about it. My husband was always sweet and said he loved my post-baby body, but I hated every last jiggle and pound! I wanted it gone, but felt helpless about where to start.

When I met Maria, she said the one incredibly motivating phrase I would repeat to myself for the entirety of my weight loss journey, “Jennifer, in 12 weeks, you could have a brand new body!” Maria was completely correct. With her help, I went from not being able to run or lift anything heavier than my kids, to now! I now run a 9 minute mile, can bench press 50lbs, squat press 145, and I’m slimmer and healthier than before I had my kids! I’m a slender, healthy and energetic 145 pounds, and back in my size 6 jeans!

I’m not saying it was always easy. I over-ate things that were bad for me when I got stressed, until Maria gave me alternate suggestions on how to cope. The best part of having Maria as my trainer was when I needed help, she was there. I never had to wait to get to see her, she was always quick with the responses and it was such a relief to know she had a solid education and a ton of research backing up her suggestions. I wanted my weight loss to last, and fad diets never work. Likewise, I wanted a trainer who knew what she was doing, because as a mom I couldn’t risk sloppy training that would leave me injured. Maria was my peace of mind that what I was doing would be safe, AND effective.

I realized on my weight loss journey that with the right help, motivation and training, you can achieve any goal you set for yourself. Maria was a constant source of encouragement and assistance, and you know the interesting part? I never set foot in a gym with her! Can you believe it? She helped me over the phone and through email because I live in Missouri! Now, if I can get all this done with Maria’s help just over my computer, imagine what you can get accomplished! I know I sound over the moon about her, but I mean every word. My body is proof that she knows what she’s doing! From a size 14 to a size 6? In just over 3 months? Amazing, right?!

Only you can make the decision to change your life, but if you’re really lucky, you’ll have Maria by your side cheering you on and helping you strategize your nutrition and training. After all, 12 weeks to a brand new body? That’s no time at all!

~ Jennifer James

Before, Week 1:Weight: 167 pounds Bust: 39″ Waist: 33″ Hips: 42″ Thighs: 24″ Dress Size: 12 Pant size: 14	Jennifer 167 pounds
After, Week 17:Weight: 145 pounds Bust: 31″ Waist: 26″ Hips: 34″ Thighs: 21″ Dress size: 6 Pants size: 6
Total Loss:- 21.8 pounds - 8″ off bust - 7″ off waist - 8″ off hips - Down 4 pants sizes - Down 3 dress sizes

From Maria: Jennifer started my program in January 2011, weighing 167 pounds. She came to me frustrated about her previous lack of success in losing weight.

Jennifer has followed my recommendations and when things got tough communicated with me so that I could help her. She has had many challenges as a busy stay at home mom of a 2 year old and an infant: an strong desire to “reward” herself at night with food after the kids went to bed, little time to exercise as often as she would like, fatigue, weight loss plateaus, minor injuries, and a transition from stay at home mom to full time working mom. Then to make it worse, her new work environment was full of tempting junk food. Despite challenges and temporary setbacks, she has been successful and has learned an “easy to live with” strategies that will help her keep the weight off and live a healthy lifestyle…forever!

My hope is that everyone reading this will be encouraged by Jennifer’s success story.

Jennifer wrote regularly in a blog that chronicled her journey, posted pictures of herself and detailed her progress. www.justeastofwest.wordpress.com For even more inspiration and entertaining reading, visit her blog and select weight loss under “categories”.

Warm up for 5-10 minutes before your weight lifting then do your longer cardio session after. Weight training starts the release of fat-burning hormones and you’ll burn more fat!