Thank you Nicolas Allaire, CRT.
I thought I would be fat and unfit for the rest of my life!
Thank you Nicolas Allaire, CRT.
I thought I would be fat and unfit for the rest of my life!
When I look back at my life, I realize that I have always struggled with my weight. I had very low self-esteem and felt like I didn't fit in anywhere. Through-out all of my schooling, friends always teased and picked on me.
Two years ago, my weight escalated to a hefty 177 pounds. The heaviest I have ever been, with the exception of being 9 months pregnant with my first child. I was totally disgusted with myself and had no energy. I also thought about the poor example I was setting for my two girls (now age 11 & 8). I finally said: "that's it, I am going to get healthy and fit". Keystone Health Club was close to my home, so I joined.
At first it was really hard to get into a routine at the gym. I had done cardiovascular activity before, but never weight training. It took a fair amount of convincing for me to take up the weight training. I had the standard preconceived notion that if a woman worked out with weights she would "bulk up" or look less feminine. WRONG! With the help of my fantastic trainer Nicolas, and the love and support of my family, I set out on a wonderful journey.
Along with the exercising, I had to change my eating habits, something that was very challenging at first. After a while of sticking to something however, you form a habit.
When I felt like " that's enough, I quit" Nick reminded me of my goals and my progress. I wanted to lose enough weight by April 1999 to fit in a bikini during my family trip to Florida. I DID IT! We went to Florida and had the best vacation ever.
Sometime later, I was looking at
a picture of myself in that bikini and felt I could do better.
Nick had taken a leave from the training business and I just didn't
know what to do. After all, I was a woman approaching mid-life
and thinking "I guess this is how I was meant to look. As
time went on, I dropped the weights and regained my title as cardiovascular
queen as well as a few extra pounds.
Mid October 2000, I received a phone call from Nick. He explained that he was resuming his personal training and asked if I was up to a challenge. The objective was to get me into the best shape of my life in only seven weeks! Needless to say I agreed.
He made it very easy for me to modify my eating habits by working with me and providing me with a seven day meal plan based on what I liked to eat. This plan had variety and was not boring. Within the first week on this plan I felt like a new person. I had so much energy all day!
The training was not extremely time consuming (this is a major issue with me). I had half-hour of cardiovascular 5 days a week and 2 weight training sessions that lasted about 40 minutes.
I always wanted to weigh in the 130's but never thought I would be able to get there and maintain it. My new objective is to bring my body fat percentage even lower and build more muscle mass.
It's such a nice feeling to hear my kids and husband boast to their friends about how great I look and feel. I really have greater respect for myselfYou really can do anything you want if you put your mind to it.
SHERRY'S MEASUREMENTS
Date 10/30/00 12/16/00 7 weeks
Body Site Before After Difference
Waist 33 inches 28 .5 inches (4 .5 inches)
Hips 36 .75 inches 33 .5 inches (2 .25 inches)
Right thigh 23 .5 inches 22 inches (1 .5 inches)
Left thigh 23 inches 21 .75 inches (1 .25 inches)
Left upper arm 12 .5 inches 12 inches (.5 inch)
Right upper arm 12 .5 inches 12 inches (.5 inch)
Left calf 13 .5 inches 14 inches .5 inch
Right calf 14 inches 14 inches same
Body weight 154 pounds 135 .5 pounds (18 .5 pounds)
NUTRITION
Marco-Nutrient Split
Carbohydrates: 30% to 35% of total ingested calories. Mostly in the form of complex and fibrous. I try to keep them on the lower end of the Glycemic Index with the exception of post workout meals.
Proteins: 30% to 35 % of total ingested calories. Mostly in the form of chicken, turkey, beef, eggs and protein powder for convenience
Fats: 30% to 35% of total ingested calories;50% of ingested fats are from Udo's Oil Ultimate Oil Blend, the rest are generally derived from the protein sources.
Water: Recommended approximately half body weight in ounces per day
Caloric Intake: Sherry has a sedentary job. I essentially tried to stay at BMR for 154 pounds throughout the week making small staggers from day to day. The activity and weight training would cause a sufficient deficit to change body composition. Weekends were more or less "free" within reason. I provided Sherry a weekend guideline to ensure she didn't go to far overboard and eliminate any progress we made during the week.
Other important aspects: Sherry provided me with a list of foods she didn't like along with the five day eating sample. She also indicated that she didn't want to rely on expensive supplements to be successful. During conversations with Sherry I noted that she had afternoon slumps and always had sweet cravings especially when she was stressed.
Supplements
Protein Powder: I include protein powder because it is an easy an efficient way to include protein with meals at work or during busy times. Protein was used through week one to seven.
Udo's Ultimate Oil Blend: The oils Udo's blend supply a range of fatty acids including a 2:1:1 ratio of omega 3, 6 and 9. The body cannot make these, they are important to hormone production and cellular synthesis. Udo's Oil was used through week one to seven.
Stimulant Free Fat Burner: This supplement was used to provide a metabolic boost mid-way through the 7 week period. I wanted a product that was ephedra free. The product used has a very comprehensive formula that contains: conjugated linoleic acid, Citrus Aurantium, Camellia sinensis, hypericum perforatum, Enzyme blend, Fucus vesiculosus and Lipoic Acid. Week four had _ dosage daily weeks 5 and 6 had recommended dosage daily.
Multi Vitamin and Mineral: Used as a safeguard to avoid any deficiencies.
Folic Acid: Sherry had indicated a strong urge to eat sweets when stressed or depressed. While reading The Metabolic Diet, I stumbled onto some interesting information on page 27. " High carbohydrate meals (depending on the composition of the meal) tend to increase the level of the chemical serotonin in the brain. When serotonin production is stimulated and increased, you become more relaxed, tired and ready for sleep. It's serotonin levels that are effected by the popular antidepressant drugs such as PROZAC. Likewise, the carbohydrate serotonin connection is one of the reasons why so many people crave sugar when they're upset. They're simply looking for the relaxation a good jolt of carbohydrates and increased serotonin can bring"
Following this I proceeded to look up serotonin in Nutrition Almanac in hopes of finding ways to elevate levels naturally without sugars. According to the Nutrition Almanac, folic acid leads to the production of serotonin. Green leafy vegetables were the answer. Not only do they provide calcium but also folic acid. I also recommended a folic acid supplement to my client. Folic acid was included daily from week one until the end.
Sherry has also indicated that she no longer has any sugar cravings. Although the low glycemic carbohydrates and better balance in diet will account for a substantial change in the cravings, I believe that folic acid is useful in the battle against fat!
TRAINING
Fiber Type / Repetition Range: My client had not lifted any weights for about one year. I did not perform any fiber type testing as any result would be insignificant because of disuse atrophy. I selected a rep range that was for predominantly slow twitch for lower body and mixed for upper. As we progressed, upper body seemed geared toward slow twitch as well.
Frequency: The start of the program had us training three anaerobic sessions per week as well as five 30-minute walking cardiovascular sessions. After the second week of training, I chose to drop the third session on account of being forced to train three consecutive days because of scheduling difficulties. I felt that three consecutive days would hamper recuperation. I suspect the third day was probably over-kill. The bulk of the program had my client training each body part once, and sometimes two times per week.
Volume: The workout split was a double split consisting of upper and lower body. The upper body consisted of one set of eleven exercises (crunches; pec deck + machine flat press + negative dips; straight arm cable pullover + pulldown + low rows; lateral raise + dumbbell overhead press; cable preacher curl; triceps pushdown). Lower body incorporated one set of four exercises (leg ext. + leg press + squat + lying leg curls). Thirty minutes of brisk walking on a treadmill on a twelve degree incline 5 days per week.
Intensity: All sets were terminated at positive failure with the exception of dips which were purely negatives from the onset. Pre-exhaustion was used during every workout in order to fully fatigue the larger muscle groups.
Cardiovascular: Consisted of thirty minutes of brisk treadmill walking on a twelve degree incline at approximately seventy-five percent heart rate five days per week.
SUMMARY
Sherry finished the seven week period weighing 135.5 pounds, which was down 18.5 pounds from her starting body weight of 154 pounds.
The first week she dropped six pounds. I was not alarmed as I attributed this to the dietary changes that were made. When you look at the before pictures it is evidently clear she was holding a substantial amount of water. Her new eating plan decreased her carb intake as well as increasing her protein intake. Therefore, I attributed the loss to water. Following this initial adjustment, she was dropping an acceptable 2 to 3 pounds per week.
In terms of measurements, the most noteworthy were those of the waist, hips and thighs. Sherry lost 4.5 inches from her waist, 2.25 inches from her hips and 1.5 inches from her thighs. I was really happy with this as these are the areas where fat accumulates for most females.
The before and after pictures clearly indicate a substantial change in my client. She clearly looks much better and has told me she feels great on a number of occasions.
At the end of the seven week period, my client affirmed she is going to continue training with me as we have set new goals for her to achieve. Needless to say, she is very excited!