95 Pounds is a lot!
Once I picked 95 lbs up, I put it down right away because I couldn’t hold it long.
Imagine carrying that weight on your body, and then literally just ‘putting that weight down’.
That’s what my client, Sonia did.
Meet Sonia.
In fact she’s working this week on losing 4.5 lbs. That will put her at a 100 lb weight loss in under a year.
100 pounds. Holy cow!
I couldn’t even pick up the 100 lb dumb bell.
Sonia is an inspiration, to say the least. 
She’s a wee tiny person now with a big heart and bigger will power. When asked, she was a little shy but then she agreed to share her story. She doesn’t really see that she’s done anything spectacular.
Here she is with her good friend Lorri. This was before she started her journey.
And here she is now….…
As you can see, she’s a shadow of her former self. What shines through is her enormous zest for life and sweet personality.
Lorri encouraged Sonia to come to my boot camp and she finally took the plunge. She later told me that the actual name ‘boot camp’ was enough to make her lose sleep and want to back out, but this former non-exerciser is now a boot camp junkie. She doesn’t miss and she’s drenched in sweat after every workout.
I was so intrigued by Sonia’s weight loss experience, I wanted to learn more and share it with you. Here are a few questions I asked her:
1. How much weight have you lost? 95.6lbs, in under a year.
2. What inspired you to lose weight? A close friend of mine. She lost 50lbs and we have the same type of personality so I felt that if she could do it, then I could too. She has also been by my side through my whole weight loss journey and has encouraged me the whole way.
3. What was the ‘final straw’ that you knew you had to lose weight? For the first time in my life I felt uncomfortable in my own skin. I had always been heavy all of my life, I was always a very confident full figured girl and I was proud of my curves. Then one day as I was travelling for work I was uncomfortable in my plane seat, then I was uncomfortable in my car and then uncomfortable in my clothes. I was unhappy and uncomfortable, I knew then I had to make a change.
4. What is your goal weight? I would like to hit my BMI weight of 132.
5. What is your number one strategy to sticking with your nutrition plan? I keep track of everything I eat, every time I put something in my mouth it is logged and counted for. My determination to get to my goal keeps me focused. If I want to slip up, I remind myself how far and how hard I have worked to get here and that I need to stay focused. Losing weight has been the hardest thing I have ever done. The hard part is not the weight loss; it’s been the changing of my lifestyle. Everything I did before is gone out the window and a new way of thinking has come into play.
6. What’s been the most positive thing that’s happened to you since losing weight? I have an enormous of amount of energy now! I can’t sit still. I’m lucky to watch one TV show a night now, where before it was TV time as soon as dinner was over until I went to bed. I’m so much more organized now and my house has never been so clean!!
7. What do you struggle with most about your new eating routine? Finding healthy new things to eat. With the change in food choices I want to keep things different and not eat the same thing over and over again. It’s easy to buy prepared foods but that’s not the best choice, so sometimes I struggle with fast healthy choices sometimes.
8. What is the most surprising thing you’ve discovered after losing weight? You’re not the same clothing size in every store! As a full figured girl the sizes were pretty much straight forward and when you were one size in one store, you were that size in all the stores. It’s weird how you can be different sizes in different stores.
9. How has exercise played into your weight loss plan? I believe it has been 50% of my weight loss success. In the beginning there was more focus on the food choices and just any form of exercise was something I had to do to help me loss weight. Now, my exercise route is as important as my food choices. I look forward to my workouts and feel guilty if I don’t get in some form of exercise in my day.
10. Prior to your weight loss journey, was exercise part of your life at all? Why or why not? No, there was no exercising. I was embarrassed to walk into a gym and see all the skinny bodies. I felt people were judging or snickering, so I avoided gyms or any form of workouts, anywhere.
11. Now that you’re on track, what’s your strategy to keep the weight off? Keeping track, always, of what I eat and of course keeping a good work-out routine going all the time.
12. What’s your favorite activity or workout? I enjoy boot camp!!! Absolutely love the work-outs, even Cathy’s!! Everyone has been very welcoming and supportive.
13. What’s your favorite ‘cheat’ food? Chocolate Fudge Lava Cake!! I still have it once and a while. It’s worth every nasty calorie!
Here are some tips to sum up Sonia’s strategies:
· Keep a food journal. Be accountable and honest with yourself with what goes in your mouth. If you eat it, write it down.
· Set a goal and keep a vision of that close.
· Surround your self with positive and supportive people.
· Include exercise to your daily routine.
· Start off slowly. Sonia told me she just started of walking at first and gradually increased her exercise intensity.
· Turn off the television!
· Treat yourself now and then.
I’m so thrilled to have Sonia in my boot camp now and am excited to see as she continues to lose inches in addition to pounds. She’s been so pleasantly surprised at her first week back in boot camp after a break in the summer. She’d reached a plateau and then was surprised to drop four pounds in a week.
She will continue to inspire those around her. Whether it’s with weight loss or with anything in life, her resolve and will power to stick to her goal can be a lesson for all of us.
If you’re interested in boot camp, you can check it out here: Calgary NW Fit Body Boot Camp. If you’re interested doing a similar program at home, try my Virtual 14 Day Fat Furnace.