I posted a story about a Indiana woman (Before and After Weight Loss Success Photos: How’d she do it?) who changed her life around and got incredible feedback. She recently entered a fitness competition the OCB and wanted to share her secrets to success.
I began by doing cardio 4 days/week for 30 minutes. I bought an elliptical so that helped tremendously since I didn’t have a gym membership yet. I also stopped eating processed food. I stopped drinking soda pop. Cut out all sugar and used substitues like Splenda or Stevia. I made sure that I drank at least 8 glasses of water each day. After about 4 months of this, I began to notice a huge difference. I lost 30 lbs! Wow, I was excited!
I knew that I needed to lose more, but didn’t know exactly what to do, so I went and joined the gym up the road from my home. I started working out every single day doing cardio for at least 45 minutes. I still had not yet added weight training. It wasn’t until one day I met a gentleman at the gym while I was mumbling to myself how I was frustrated with not “seeing” the results I wanted. He told me he did some training on the side, and wondered if I’d like to give it a try. At this point, I was desperate to get the rest of the weight off. I was up for anything. I was at 140 lbs. and holding…
Thus began my “newfound” calling. I began training every Monday with the personal trainer. He told me which machines to use, what to eat etc. There were so many things that I didn’t know about the human body. Ways to manipulate muscle and what cardio does in combination with the correct diet and weights! It was a miracle. The first 2 weeks of training I lost 6 lbs. I was hooked. I felt wonderful, like I hadn’t felt in years. After training with him for 3 1/2 months, I lost about 32 more lbs. I had the drive to compete, the drive to succeed, and continue to be successful in a healthy lifestyle and the tools I needed to do it.
I’m outlining what I do as a 5′0 106lbs. woman who weighed 170lbs to begin with. Every individual is different. I invested in a personal trainer, and it was worth every dollar, but more importantly every single pound.
**Cardio is essential (YOU MUST DO CARDIO AT LEAST 20 MINUTES/DAY) You WILL NOT burn fat without cardio. Weight training does burn fat and increases the metabolism, however, for women, it is a necessary evil! Sorry ladies…cardio incinerates fat cells, along with the proper diet. :) Also, with the help of gym staff you must calculate your BPM for your height and weight to be able to monitor where your heart rate should be in order to be actually “burning fat”. None of that slow walking… or barely moving, you’ve got to get your butt moving!!!
Monday - Saturday
45 - 60 minutes of cardio (elliptical, AMT Cross Trainer, Treadmill, etc.)
Weight Training
Monday - Legs (Quads, Hamstrings, Glutes, Calves & Thighs)
Wednesdays - Upper Body (Back, Biceps, Triceps & Shoulders)
Friday - Abs, Abs, Abs… and Chest
My workouts consist of a mix of using the machines and free weights (dumbbells). Ex. The Smith-Machine is wonderful for squats and leg work for me. For some, they may prefer to use a straight bar with weights. You have to find what will work for you to get the results you need.
Diet -
I don’t view the “diet” as a diet. I don’t look at the way I eat as being on a diet. A diet is basically what you eat on a day to day basis. So I just refer to what I eat as my meals. When I hear the word diet, dread comes forth! LOL
5-6 small meals daily - it is essential to eat at least every 2 1/2 - 3 hours respectively. You MUST feed your body in order for it to “let go” of that stored fat. This does NOT mean that you eat whatever you want. I eat protein and complex carbs with every meal. I eat a bit more at breakfast and lunch. In between meals are lighter like a protein shake with some dry oats for example.
7a - Oatmeal & Eggs w/ fruit
10a- Protein Shake
1p - Chicken Breast w/ salad and fruit or lowfat cottage cheese
3p - Protein Shake or Protein bar w/ almonds or sunflower seeds
7p - Talapia w/ brocoli or brown rice
9p - Protein Shake (maybe if still a bit hungry) * I don’t normally eat after 8P
This is just a sample of what I eat on a daily basis. It’s just a general outline. My protein intake is very high, and I eat carbs, but in moderation and only fibrous complex carbs, but that’s because I am currenlty in training for an upcoming competition. My fat intake is in limited moderation also daily. Only “good” fats like in salmon for instance. Or in olive oil. Everything in moderation. I also weight my food, but again, its becasue I’m in training. Off season, I’m not as strict, but I do still maintain a high protein intake daily on or off season. I also always limit my carb intake. Bread, NO! NO! NO! and absolutely NO ALCOHOL! Lots and lots of sugar and carbs in alcohol. DON’T be fooled…
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