My 16 week transformation- before and after pics

Can only repeat what everyone else has said! Inspiring transformation and you look way better in your 'after' pics... not least of which is because you look and appear so much happier with yourself!

Thanks so much! So true I am a much happier and healthier version of myself!

Wow!! You look incredible!! Great job!! :flowerforyou:

Your stomach is SO flat... I'm really interested in exactly what you did for your workouts. I know I need to step it up in that area, which is my plan for after the holidays are over and things have settled back to normal, so I'd love some advice!

Edit: Question. How tall are you?

Thank you so much for your sweet compliments! I am 5"7. My stomach still has a ways to go, but we are getting there and it has come along way from where I started. Ab exercises were my weakness and broke me down several times throughout my training!

My workouts with my trainer were very intense and she would pretty much work each muscle group when we met. This meant lots of lunges(stationary and walking with weights), squats, step-ups with weights, tricep dips, calf raises with weights (toes straight, turned in and turned out) jumping jacks, jump rope, push-ups. Machines-leg extensions, leg press, lat pull downs, cable machines, etc. Free weights was lots of bicep curls, hammer curls, tricep kickbacks, rows,chest press, etc. We would also do 100 calorie workouts on ellipitcal where I would go as hard as I could for 10 calories and then recover for 10 calories and then repeat. Towards end I did tabata- this is interval/circuit training where you do a specific exercise for 8 sets- so for example bicep curls for 20 seconds and then rest for 10 sec then repeat. Next may be lunges or squats. Let me tell you that is a high intensity workout that I felt for days. No workout was ever the same, she was always changing it up on me which kept me motivated too!

When I would go on my own I would try to work a specific area like legs one day and arms next. I also did most of my cardio on treadmill, Ellipitical, and some Zumba classes here and there. However I did start running some and I was never a runner, so I would use local HS track to run. This was a slow progression with just walking first and then running corners and walking straight areas. Then finally running straight areas and walking corners to running completely around track. Sometimes for a change I would run track until I got to bleacher section and then run up and down steps until I got back to track and then off I would go again. I also starting running some 5K's or smaller races- I have done 3-5K races and have bettered my time each race.

I remember the first race my goal was just to finish and I did 37:59 and I walked a good portion and really fought through the struggles of fighting against myself and my mind. Next race was only a 2.2 mile race and my goal was to run entire thing and I did, even finished sprinting to finish line. My next race was on Thanksgiving with 1500 people, I ran entire thing and improved my time by 4:32 and I just finished another race before Christmas which I bettered my time by another 1:16. Next on my list is another 5K end of January with my trainer and several other of her clients. A now dear friend that I met through my trainer that happened to live in same town as me is trying to twist my arm to do a triathlon in July 2011.

My main advice it to make time for you, it's so important to put yourself first for a change! My life was crazy with having two boys (one is a freshman in HS and one is a Kindergartner), so you would find me at gym at all hours- that may be 10 pm at night or at track while they were at practice. You just have to make yourself do it! If I can help in any way I am here for you, support of my family and friends was one thing that helped keep me going!


When I started I could not even do walking lunges across room with 5 lb weights without having to stop numerous times for break, when I was ending my time with trainer I was doing them with 25 lb weights. I could not do 1 regular push-up when i started, when I ended I was able to do sets of 15+ with my feet up on bench and hands on floor. I couldn't do 1 minute of jumping jacks, heck I couldn't do more than 5 total in a minute.