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| Before and Shredded |
"I'm good."
This past weekend, one of our loyal "Shredded" participants got married to her "boo" Sean Scott. Stephanie was the inspiration behind the entire Shredded program. For a little over a year, I encouraged her to join our weekly workout group. Each week she declined. Adamant that she was fine with the shape she was in and had no problem with her diet, she refused. In teaching Health and Wellness courses and working with athletes I have come to realize that people who are not happy with themselves physically act much like addicts of other sorts by justifying their behavior that they know deep down is detrimental to their health. To many of them simply saying that they are happy with their health is much easier and much more comfortable than doing something about it. Finally, about 10 months ago, Stephanie came to me and told me that she was ready to stop making excuses and give it her best shot. She gave herself goals both long term and short term that helped motivate her. Stephanie's main motivation to get started was her wedding. Many people don't have such a life changing event to motivate them but everyone has something.
"Hit the Ground Running..."
We began at about 75% of the intensity of where we are now. We used a circuit training approach to decrease body fat at a rapid pace. This allowed her to get a good workout in around 30 minutes with time left over to do extra cardio. She usually allotted herself an hour to workout. I have always believed that if you work out hard enough, you can get some serious results with just 30 minutes a day. We started her off with light weights and high repetitions. We stuck with basic lifts for the first few weeks doing about 6 exercises 12-20 reps each for 3-4 sets. The exercises consisted of bicep curls, tricep pushdowns, bench dips, lat pulldowns, assisted pullups, shoulder press, straight leg deadlifts, dumbbell chest press, and goblet squats among others (these are all linked to pictures). I usually tried to mix in some sort of agility exercise like box jumps or cone drills. These exercises elevate the heart rate and also require more focus during the workout. When we first started, Stephanie could barely jump on a bench 16 inches off the ground once, now she is clearing over 2 feet for 50 reps!!! Let me take this time to say that Steph's willingness to attempt these workouts gave her the opportunity to succeed. Many people feel like failures because they can't accomplish something they never tried. If you don't try, you won't succeed. Stephanie is a perfect example of someone who had doubt, mentally prepared herself, and accomplished goals.
"The mirror doesn't lie"
I encouraged Steph not to measure her success by numbers on a scale but by the way clothes fit and how she looks in the mirror. Those two things never lie. In fact, some weeks when she didn't lose any weight she would be able to tighten her belt up another notch. When you workout your body hits what we call a plateau. This is usually seen as a negative but is actually a good sign. This is your body trying to tell you that it is getting used to the demands that you have placed on it to this point. Now its time to work harder. Stephanie used these weeks for multiple workout days. I also encourage people trying to lose weight to not schedule multiple workouts but just do them whenever you have the energy to. NEVER limit yourself! These are proven techniques that will work, so when you hit a lull, step it up!
"Bologna"
Working out for some people is the easy part. Stephanie followed an eating plan that allowed her around 5-6 meals a day. Most people think that dieting means eating less. The word diet refers to the foods that you are eating. You can have a poor diet or you can have a healthy diet. She switched her bologna sandwiches and regular mountain dew to turkey breast, smart ones meals and diet mountain dew in the beginning. That switch in itself saved her several hundred calories a day. Pre-planning meals and having the will power to deny herself poor choices also allowed her to fit into pants that she wasn't able to just one year ago. Already having her next meal planned allowed her to minimize splurges and lose weight.
Stephanie deserves all the credit in the world for her results. She worked her butt off. I'm sure if you wanted to know specific on how many pounds, how many pant sizes, and how many times she had her wedding dress altered that she would tell you. One thing I know for sure is that she is much healthier than she was a year ago and the pictures speak for themselves. Congrats to Sean and Stephanie on their marriage and thanks Steph for proving to us that hard work and determination can work for anyone as long as they put their mind to it.
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| Ben, Steph, and I. |
Here is the female meal plan:
| Female Eating Plan | |||
| Meal 1 | Food Type | Quantity | Examples |
| Meal 1 | Protein | 15-20g | Eggs/Yogurt |
| Complex Carb | Half Cup | Oatmeal | |
| Meal 2 | Fibrous Carb | 1 serving | Salad or Veggies |
| Fruit | 1 serving | Apple/Banana | |
| Meal 3 | Protein | 4oz | Chicken Breast/Tuna/Deli Turkey |
| Complex Carb | 1 serving | Whole Wheat Bread/Pasta | |
| Fruit | 1 serving | Orange | |
| Meal 4 | Protein | 10-15g | Yogurt, Protein bar |
| Fibrous Carb | 1 serving | Salad/Broccoli | |
| Meal 5 | Protein | 10g | Shake/Bar/Tuna/PBJ |
| Fibrous Carb | 1 serving | Salad or Green Veggies | |
| Protein choices | Complex Carbs | Fibrous Carbs | |
| Eggs | Wheat Bread | Spinach | |
| Tuna | Wheat Pasta | Broccoli | |
| Salmon | Brown Rice | Zucchini | |
| Turkey Breast | Oatmeal | Cucumbers | |
| Chicken Breast | Baked Potato | Asparagus | |
| Cheese | Sweet Potato | Carrots | |
| Cottage Cheese | Granola | Cauliflower | |
| Lean Beef | Bran Cereal | Peas | |
| Yogurt | Beans | Green Beans | |
| Roast Beef | Popcorn | ||
| Squash | |||
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