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A TALE OF WEIGHT LOSS AND  FITNESS GAIN
By Michele Hernandez
In the last 6 months or so I have lost 20 pounds and
have gone from a size 12 to a size 8. My total percentage of body fat has dropped from 36%
to 24%. I'm in the process of trying to reach my goal of 20%. Though I had always worked
out 5-6 days a week, I had never made a conscious effort to adjust my diet or to examine
what kind of exercise I did.
Thanks to my trainer Sofia, I have added much more weight training
to my schedule. I do 45-60 minutes of weights 5 times a week, focusing on different body
parts each day.
For cardiovascular workouts, I rotate through different aerobic
exercises ranging from a 30 minute run, to an hour of spin, to 90 minutes of kickboxing. I
take off either Saturday or Sunday completely. I even try to fit in a power yoga class
when I can to help with my flexibility.
On the nutrition side, MBS Registered Dietitian, Catherine Mabru was
very helpful to me. She showed me what actual portion sizes looked like (4 ounces is not
as much as you think!) and told me to focus on reducing my daily calorie intake to
1200-1300 calories a day.
The biggest difference for me was keeping a food
diary - by writing down everything you eat, you are far less likely to cheat. She also
made me keep track of my protein and carbohydrate consumption.
Now I try to eat more protein, fewer carbs (roughly 40%, 40%) and almost no sugar. It's hard, but I'm working at it.
Everyone at Michael's has been very supportive. A
hearty thanks to all the trainers whose smiles and assistance keep me going every day.
Special thanks to Sofia, Tevi, Andrea, Brett, Sonny, Michael,
Leslie, Andy and Fotis who are the ones I interact with the most.
Oh, and I should also mention fellow member Lori T.--though she's
not an official trainer, her daily dose of humor and exercise advice (not to mention her
perfect form, butt out) motivates me.
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