We have two new success stories!

Many of you know that on Sundays (weather permitting) a small group of my very committed clients meet me at the Rockwood Summit High School track to conduct various cardio routines.  Yesterday, Sunday, February 28 both Byron Keelin and Becky Litherland meet me at the track to train for the St. Patricks Day 5 Mile Run.  Typically we do a series of interval training; but today I decided it would be best to train for distance, so we ran at a medium pace for 1 hour.

Both Becky and Byron ran the furthest they have ever traveled on foot!  Byron ran 5 miles in 1 hour and 2 minutes and Becky ran 4 miles in 55 minutes.  I’m proud to be a part of their accomplishments and I know they will have many more!

For those of you who are hesitant to run the St. Patricks Day Run with us you must look at these two for inspiration.  Neither of them are athletes, nor do they look like distance runners; but they did it.

Stop whining and start winning!  I know that every single one of my clients can travel 5 miles on foot.  Of course it’s tiring!  All of you have survived an hour with me conducting a high intensity total body resistance training workout which is much more difficult than running 5 miles, yet it takes the same amount of time.

I hope to see more of you at what I refer to as “cardio club” on Sundays and I expect all of you who have not reached your ideal weight to attend the St. Patricks Day Run unless your kid has soccer and no one can drive them or you must work and will get fired if you request off.  I trust you to be honest with your excuses.  Remember, you don’t have to attend every single soccer game but you do need to live to see your grand children.

Bell

If you are in your later years and new to exercise then Bell is a true inspiration for you.  Like many in her shoes, Bell has dedicated her life to her career and family; leaving little time for herself.

Bell and I met when she was 59 and a stranger to the gym.  Today she is 61 year old “gym rat,” knows almost everyone at the gym, is positive, upbeat, always glowing with a welcoming smile, and best of all she is healthier and fitter than ever.

• 10-12 pounds of body fat lost
• Blood Pressure Lowered from:  152/90 down to 122/81
• Cholesterol Lowered from 253 down to 193
• Resting Heart Rate Lowered From 80’s down to 60’s
• Waist Measurement Reduced more than 5 inches

Bell puts fitness first and participates in group training/boot camp with me in St. Louis at Gold’s Gym which is located in Fenton.

Bell’s Strength:

Truly enjoys the gym.  Enjoyment is always helpful when routinely doing anything and Bell views the gym as her number one form of entertainment.

Bell’s Weaknesses:

Doesn’t eat enough.

Improve your health without blowing your budget by shopping at one of Trader Joes 4 locations in St. Louis using my Trader Joe’s grocery shopping list and referring to my sample meal plans.

St. Louis Personal Trainer:

Click to view the profile of her St Louis Personal Trainer (me)   

Be sure to take a look at my boot camp schedule which operates 12 different times on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Kristi

Among my success stories there are a few who were in need of body sculpting and Kristi is one of them.  As you can see from the before photos she was not over weight; however she was in search of a trim and tone body and is succeeding.

Kristi’s Strengths:

She has been committed to fitness with me for nearly 2 years and is highly functional in all planes of motion when it comes to exercise.  In addition to personal training she attends my boot camps and St. Louis Cardio Club.  The St. Louis Cardio Club meets at various locations in West County.  New comers are welcome.  Listed below are her accomplishments:

• -7 pounds on the scale
• lost 24% of her total body fat
• Sculpted her body so all of her muscles are visable
• Drastically improved eating habits; however she occasionally consumes large amounts of candy that results in scale fluctuation
• More energy
• Eliminated the “cottage cheese” which is her term not mine  Don’t get mad at me kristi (-:
• Kristi has trained with me for about 14 months and continues to do both group and personal training

Kristi’s Weaknesses:

She is human and has her challenges; food journaling is one of them.  She does not track her nutrient intake (calories, proteins, fats, and carbohydrates) granted she could excel even further if she did; but either way I am proud of her commitment which has lead to her accomplishments.

Improve your health without blowing your budget by shopping at one of Trader Joes 4 locations in St. Louis using my Trader Joe’s grocery shopping list and referring to my sample meal plans.

Her other weakness is candy and diet coke.  Read about my candy weight loss diet if you too struggle with candy cravings, it’s not a miracle worker by any means; but it will help if you feel helpless.  I also have an article discussing the negative effects diet soda has on the weight loss.

St. Louis Personal Trainer:

Click to view the profile of her St Louis Personal Trainer (me)   

Be sure to take a look at my boot camp schedule which operates 12 different times on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Evelyn

I have never seen anyone lose weight as quickly as Evelyn.  She would spend 1.5-3 hours a day at the gym 6 days a week and lose 1-5 pounds any given week.  At one point she was 60 pounds down on the scale but for now she is out with a compressed disk in her spine.  I hope we can resume soon, but until then our goal is to keep eating healthy with some weight loss.

Evelyn participates in group training/boot camp with me in St. Louis at Gold’s Gym which is located in Fenton.  She is currently out due to a compressed disk in her spine but I am certain she will return and be ready to finish the job.  Granted her weight loss task is not complete I feel -56 pounds on the scale is worthy of a success story and I cant wait to finish the job!

Evelyn’s Strength:

Loves the gym.  She will often exercise for 3 hours a day, if you attempt this I strongly encourage you to bring a piece of fruit and drink a protein shake half way through.

Evelyn’s Weaknesses:

Dieting.  She will cycle through two extremes.  Eating very clean but sometimes too few calories and then other times she will eat some of the worst possible items.  Either way she is fitter than most skinny people.  When it comes to exercise, Evelyn takes fitness to the extreme and is a role model to all.

Improve your health without blowing your budget by shopping at one of Trader Joes 4 locations in St. Louis using my Trader Joe’s grocery shopping list and referring to my sample meal plans.

St. Louis Personal Trainer:

Click to view the profile of her St Louis Personal Trainer (me)   

Be sure to take a look at my boot camp schedule which operates 12 different times on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Bridie

Bridie has made a significant change in her body and I mean SIGNIFICANT!  Just look at her before photo.  Her pursuit was a difficult one with small but consistent loses on the scale.  Sometimes people do all the right things but achieve slower results.  If you are among those who are “slow losers” then look no further for inspiration because Bride has succeed in the face of similar struggles.  Also check out Cheryl’s Success Story, the transformation isn’t as noticeable but rest assured she is more than 20 pounds lighter than she started.

Bridie participates in group training/boot camp with me in St. Louis at Gold’s Gym which is located in Fenton.

Bridie’s Strength:

Determination.  No matter what obstacle stood in her way she remained determined to overcome it.  Thus far Bridie has accomplished:

• Eliminated 29% of her total body fat and is now in a very healthy range
• Lost more than 17 inches in her legs, waist, arms, and hips
• emplyed about 10 additional pounds of lean muscel and burns and additional  500-700 calories a day no matter what she does
• Recievevd 2 promotions at work
• eats 5-6 small meals daily
• exercises 4-5 time a week

Bridie’s Weaknesses:

I’m not really certain because she keeps her challenges to herself.

Improve your health without blowing your budget by shopping at one of Trader Joes 4 locations in St. Louis using my Trader Joe’s grocery shopping list and referring to my sample meal plans.

St. Louis Personal Trainer:

Click to view the profile of her St Louis Personal Trainer (me)   

Be sure to take a look at my boot camp schedule which operates 12 different times on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Cheryl

Don’t automatically presume you too suffer from hypo thyroidism because the odds are extremely low; however Cheryl was among the few who did.  It took tremendous dedication and strength for Cheryl to remain positive for 6 months of slow progress but Cheryl did it losing .5-1 pound every 1-2 weeks.

In all Cheryl has lost about 21 pounds on the scale and has gained about 5-8 pounds of lean muscle; with that being said  she has lost as much as 29 pounds of body fat.

Cheryl participates in group training/boot camp with me in St. Louis at Gold’s Gym which is located in Fenton.

Cheryl’s Strength:

Eating healthy foods and dedication.  If you are in search of healthy food ideas and a grocery shopping list then I recommend you view my Trader Joes post.

Cheryl’s Weaknesses:

Not eating enough.  There are two ways to speed up your metabolism: frequent eating and exercise. Cheryl has the exercise part down but fails to eat frequently and with too few calories.  Click to calculate your estimated caloric needs.

Improve your health without blowing your budget by shopping at one of Trader Joes 4 locations in St. Louis using my Trader Joe’s grocery shopping list and referring to my sample meal plans.

St. Louis Personal Trainer:

Click to view the profile of her St Louis Personal Trainer (me)   

Be sure to take a look at my boot camp schedule which operates 12 different times on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Christina

Christina represents remarkable dedication!  She was a consistent loser on the scale averaging 1.5 pounds a week and a plummeting body fat percentage.  In the beginning she struggled on the scale but the inches were noticeable.  I am very proud of her die hard success and find her before and after pictures to be remarkable.

Christina participated in both personal training and group training/boot camp with me in St. Louis at Gold’s Gym which is located in Fenton.

Christina’s Strength:

The best food journaler ever!  I only had to tell her once and she kept the most detailed food journal ever.  She even recorded the exact amount of “black listed” food.   If you are in search of healthy food ideas and a grocery shopping list then I recommend you view my Trader Joes post.

In addition to phenomenal food journaling Christina would often visit the gym twice a day.

Christina’s Weaknesses:

I don’t think she had any.  She may have been the closest person to become perfect.

Caution: if you do what Christina did you are sure to succeed, however very few dare to try it (sarcasm but true).

Improve your health without blowing your budget by shopping at one of Trader Joes 4 locations in St. Louis using my Trader Joe’s grocery shopping list and referring to my sample meal plans.

St. Louis Personal Trainer:

Click to view the profile of her St Louis Personal Trainer (me)   

Be sure to take a look at my boot camp schedule which operates 12 different times on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Bill

Bill’s has experienced a remarkable total body transformation.  For those of you approaching your later years you will find Bills success inspiring.  At age 61 Bill came to me for assistance and at age 62 he is fitter than the majority of the population.  If you look at his before photos you will notice he spent the early years of his life working on his beer and “restaurant food” belly yet his after photos represent a lifestyle change with 75% less body fat than he started with.

Bill participates in group training/boot camp with me in St. Louis at Gold’s Gym which is located in Fenton.

Bill’s Strength:

Before we meet he was new to fitness and uneducated in the field.  Bill is now an uncertified professional who is continuously learning.  Today he is committed to fitness everyday at 10 o’clock sharp.

Bill’s Weaknesses:

Beer and dining out; however I do believe he makes wise decisions while limiting his intake.

Improve your health without blowing your budget by shopping at one of Trader Joes 4 locations in St. Louis using my Trader Joe’s grocery shopping list and referring to my sample meal plans.

St. Louis Personal Trainer:

Click to view the profile of Bill’s St Louis Personal Trainer (me)   

Be sure to take a look at my boot camp schedule which operates 12 different times on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Carrie

Carrie came to the gym un-fit and did a complete “180” in a relatively short period of time.  7 months later she is 35 pounds lighter!  Like most mothers, Carrie had a child and never lost the weight.  She tried for several years on her own and even attempted with another trainer.  At the time she was lacking the support and nutritional advice and then she met me; however I cannot accept all of the credit.  It takes two and we make a great team.  Great job Carrie!

Carrie participates in group training/boot camp with me in St. Louis at Gold’s Gym which is located in Fenton.

Carries Strength:

Tremendous outlook on every possible situation.  Nothing will stand in her way in pursuit of fitness.  Carrie often says “I love being fit!”

Carrie’s Weaknesses:

I don’t know of any.

Improve your health without blowing your budget by shopping at one of Trader Joes 4 locations in St. Louis using my Trader Joe’s grocery shopping list and referring to my sample meal plans.

St. Louis Personal Trainer:

Click to view the profile of her St Louis Personal Trainer (me)   

Be sure to take a look at my boot camp schedule which operates 12 different times on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Sheila

Meet Sheila!  Ta-daah!  She has an amazing drive to achieve her goal.  Remember the tortes and the hair?  Sheila loses on average 1 pound of scale weight every week and remains consistent.  I know that doesn’t sound like much but unlike most, she is winning her battle and rest assured she will win.  Thus far she lost 56 pounds in 56 weeks.  This tortes will win the race against time!

Sheila uses both personal training and group training/boot camp with me in St. Louis at Gold’s Gym which is located in Fenton.

Sheilas Strengths:

Shelia has a tremendous outlook and I believe that is her greatest strength.  She started exercise with me severely de-conditioned.  A slow walk left her short of breath and without her remarkable outlook on the situation she would not be 56 pounds lighter.  Just yesterday (January 27, 2010) I was training her and she was ecstatic that she could finally see her ribs.  If you have or currently are suffering from obesity then you know what a big deal this is!

Sheila’s Weaknesses:

She eats well but not necessarily enough.  Did you know that if you eat too few calories that your body will adapt and burn fewer calories?  If Sheila would increase her caloric intake she would lose more weight in a shorter time period.  I strongly encourage learning your caloric needs and then planning your meals in advance to ensure you are optimizing your efforts.

Improve your health without blowing your budget by shopping at one of Trader Joes 4 locations in St. Louis using my Trader Joe’s grocery shopping list and referring to my sample meal plans.

St. Louis Personal Trainer:

Click to view the profile of her St Louis Personal Trainer (me)  

Be sure to take a look at my boot camp schedule which operates 12 different times on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.