Susan Lost 11 Pounds!

Susan Barry - February

Susan Barry -March

Are you following the women in our Ready to Change Your Life program?

In the first month, Susan lost 11 pounds (current weight: 159 lbs). “I love the food,” says Susan. “It fills me up and I am preparing the same type of breakfasts for my kids. The food provided by Home Cuisine (1200 calories per day) has made this process easier, and I don’t eat out as much. We used to eat out a lot.” Susan not only has lost pounds and inches, but she is also down one whole pant size. That’s pretty good for her first month!

Beside the food, Susan has a trainer to help her get started and to monitor her progress. A trainer, especially at the beginning, is really essential. “A trainer provides workouts that they can monitor so our clients are safe, have good form, and have fun and interesting and progressive workouts,” says fitness trainer Maria Bernard, who trains at Baptist/East Milestone Fitness. Being monitored when you are first working out is so important, and even more so for Susan, who has a herniated disc in her lower back. Knowing this, Maria can alter exercises for Susan so she is safe.

Core exercises are important for all fitness regimes, but especially for people who suffer with lower back issues. Back strengthening exercises and strength
training are also incorporated and important for overall body fitness. To make Susan’s cardio workouts more interesting, Maria has Susan working out on three different machines for 10 minutes each. Maria says it’s easier to do 10 minutes on three machines rather than 30 minutes on one. It just makes the work out more interesting and different.

The buzz item over the past years in the fitness world is TRX, and Maria likes to use several different core and strength training exercises on this popular body weight-training device.

The medicine ball is another popular core- and upper body-strengthening item. As shown in the photo, Susan is holding an 8-pound medicine ball. This exercise incorporates core strength, balance, upper body strengthening, and mental focus. Mental focus is important. Mind over matter, you keep telling yourself you can do it, you focus on your form and on the very present moment. All essential for a new, healthy and balanced lifestyle.

When used properly free weights are a great calorie burner, along with building strength and muscle mass. In another photo, you will see Maria guiding and spotting Susan as she lifts a total of 30 pounds.

Maria knows what Susan’s limitations are. She also knows how to safely increase her workouts so Susan can achieve her weight loss goals. Milestone is a facility that offers a variety of machines and classes. Baptist East Milestone Fitness has
two pools and offers yoga, Pilates, spinning, and much more.