My friend, Patti, who has been on a lifestyle change since last year, has agreed to answer some questions and share her story and some before and after pictures.
- How much weight have you lost so far and how long did it take to do it? How much more do you have to go?
So far, I have lost 93 lbs since May 4, 2009. My goal is to at least lose 7 more and get to 100 lbs. If I were to go by the BMI chart , I would have to lose about 30lbs more but my
trainer says that those charts are unrealistic. One thing that makes the "number on the scale" idea unrealistic is that the Biggest Loser/Boot camp style workouts not only burn calories and fat but build muscle which adds weight. My trainer says the best way to monitor your progress is to do the body fat composition measurements. You may actually gain weight but lose body fat which is actually better. (But I still struggle with that cause I've always just looked at the scale) - What was it this time that 'clicked' for you and made it happen this time?
This Body Transformation program was brought to my office as a 12 week program with workouts twice a week and nutritional support. A friend from work asked me if I was going to join. I knew how overweight I was and had never been that weight before but just couldn't get myself to do anything about it. I really can't figure out what was different about this situation in the beginning other than the group idea of women mostly in my situation too (very overweight and badly out of shape). I always do well in the beginning with the challenge of a new program and learning how to eat differently. If I knew what the workouts were going to be like, I probably wouldn't have joined. I would have been too intimidated and never done it. But with the group of us starting together, and complaining together about all the aches and pain from the first workout really helped us bond and stick with it. There was probably a 50% drop out by end of 12 weeks but my little support group stuck it out and went to the gym together extra thus working out 5-6 times a week.
- Have you tried other diets in the past?
- I have done many other diets: Weight Watchers (too many times to count) Nutri System, Dexitrim, Metabolife, starvation and moderate cutting back of food. Would lose some weight but never able to keep any of it off for even 1 month.
- What kind of plan and exercise regime do you follow?
Right now I'm following an eating plan similar to South Beach but the percentages are a little different. Basically I'm eating about 1500 cal. per day, split into 5meals per day which means each meal should be about 300 cal. With each meal, 40% should be carbs, 40% protein and 20% fat. So looking at grams, each meal has about 32grams of carbs, 32grams protein and about 8 gms of fat. My trainer gave us a chart/formula to individually figure it out. There is a great website called myfitnesspal.com which really helps you figure the individual meals out and puts it in a chart which really helps. This eating plan took me a couple weeks to really get a handle on but it has been great. The meals don't sound big and they shouldn't be, but eating more protein and cutting back on carbs makes the world of difference. I eat at 7am, 10:30am, 2pm, 6pm and 830pm. So I get to snack while watching tv at night and don't feel like too much is missing. - If you fall off the wagon, how do you get back on?
I have 1 very close friend still doing the program with me. We work out together and this is a really big key for me. I just know I wouldn't have kept up with this if I didn't have a friend do
ing it too. We feel accountable to each other. Its much harder to skip out on going to the gym if you know someone is meeting you there. But believe me, we both have had some bad weeks , usually in between the 12 week workout sessions where a bad weekend rolls into a bad 2 weeks of eating. Its her support that gets me back on track and vice versa. She tells me, "you have to stop eating that", "stop going for ice cream" etc. Those carbs are so addictive that it is really hard to stop once you let yourself have "too many". That combined with this amazing feeling of seeing how far Ive come that really helps reel me back in and stop it. - What advice would you give other people trying to lose weight or just trying to get motivated?
The workouts are a really big key to the puzzle. You can drop weight initially, but you really need good hard exercise to take it to the next level. I have lost so many inches because of the workouts that I would never have lost with just diet. Its expensive to do 1 on 1 training at a gym, but if you can find some workout groups that focus on even just body resistance that is a good place to start. Don't look at the end point of where you want to be, you have to start small and think.. I'm gonna survive this workout, I'm gonna do this for a week, etc. When you accomplished that, then the next week isn't so bad. And trust me, I've left a workout early and have had bad weeks because my mind wasn't in it. But I just keep going back and I understand now that some days are going to be easier than others. Our monthly cycles certainly don't take it easy on us either, but just accepting that some days are just going to be hard seems to make it easier for me to go back
- In what ways has the weight loss changed your life? Any unexpected ways?
Getting my self confidence back has been quite empowering. That has been the best gift I could have gotten. The gym I belong to has a Facebook site.. Fitness360 . The 360 logo has red circle arrow around it. (there are a lot of fitness 360 gyms across the country but this isn't a chain) . There are a lot of good before and after pictures . One guy has lost over 200lbs in the last year.
