![]()
![]()
"All about me...?"
Well, it used to be...
At the age of 34, I was almost 200 pounds, 5'5", and wearing size 18-20.
I was miserable, desperate, and for the 500th time in my life, I loathed the thought of going on "another diet."
I blamed it on having a baby, over 2 years earlier, though I knew the honest truth--it wasn't "baby fat," it was real fat, and it wasn't going to go "bye-bye" very easily!
![]()
Chubby Cheeks Are Cute -- When You're TwoOne day in 1996, my dad was injured on the job and was hospitalized for a few days. In the hospital, he had a double room. On the other side of the partly-closed curtain, I saw a man's gauze-bandaged foot -- actually, only half of his foot! When we walked out of the room, I asked my mom what had happened to him. I figured that he had been in an accident too. She said "No, he has diabetes. You can lose parts of your hands and feet--it is a very serious disease. People who are overweight have a chance of getting it, and you should be careful with your weight because you do not want it." Later on that day, I noticed that as we walked up a flight of stairs at the hospital, I was winded at the top of the stairs, and my mother, who was 59, was not. My mom and dad had always been a normal weight, and my brother was so skinny as a child that we could count his ribs. I, however, was a totally different breed.
I was an adorable, "chubby-cheeked" baby.
In Kindergarten, however, the chubby cheeks were still there. Through grade school, I can remember going to Montgomery Wards to buy school clothes with my mom. When we entered the children's department, she always asked the saleslady where the "chubby" sizes were. Nowadays "chubby" kids can escape that term; now mothers can ask for "loose fit" or "relaxed" styles. Three years later, in third grade, the chubby cheeks were even chubbier. How I dreaded P.E. class, and prayed under my breath that the coach wouldn't ask us to "pick teams." I was always one of the last to be picked. And I was never, ever the Captain.
In 7th grade, we entered junior high, and the official beginning of young romance. I liked a boy in my class named James. One night, I told my parents that I wanted to lose weight, and they volunteered to take me to Weight Watchers. I am sure my parents could not afford the membership fees, but my mom took me to the meetings every week. I lived on apples and large dill pickles as snacks for several months, and finally lost about 15 pounds. That was a huge loss for me, and I began to feel better about myself. Every weight loss over the next 24 years would end up being short-lived, though, because to lose weight, I had to eat less. Something I did NOT want to do!
It's hard to believe, but in those days, we had no idea what a fat gram was! And I had no idea what exercise was. I loved to read for hours on end, and devoured books at the library--especially biographies. I loved reading about other peoples' lives. It helped me escape, for awhile, from my own.
Diet, After Diet, After Diet... Over the next few years, when my weight went up, I would struggle to get it down again, mostly from skipping meals, fad diets, or some occasional exercise like swimming or water-skiing. I was never thin, however, and stayed in the size 10-14 range, while all of my friends wore 3's, 5's and 7's. I tried every diet that became popular--the grapefruit diet, the vegetable soup diet, the protein diet. Most of them did not work.
In college, I sat in the cafeteria and watched boys approach my roommate to talk, but I was never included in the conversations. I was the "invisible college roommate." Probably not very invisible, at a size 12-14. In my third year of college, I was working full-time and going to school full-time. Since I didn't have time to eat, I had managed to make it down into a tight size 8.
A friend of mine at work set me up on a blind date one night with a friend of her husband's. We fell for each other immediately and got married 4 months later. During the wedding planning, I was also working and going to college, and eating at Taco Bell every day! I did not know the beef burrito with sour cream had so much fat--as I said, we didn't know about fat grams back then.
I quickly put on so much weight that I thought I might not fit into my wedding dress! I did fit into it, but as soon as we were married, I was back to Weight Watchers. Again. I stuck with it (I had a new husband for motivation), and lost down to my goal weight of 128. For me, SKINNY.
I couldn't stay there, though, and went up and down between 135 and 160 for 10 years. When I would go over 150, I started panicking, and would go back to keeping a log of everything I ate. I would use Weight Watcher check-off lists for my food exchanges. I was always afraid that I wouldn't have enough to eat, or that I would have to go to bed hungry, so I "saved" all of my food exchanges for later in the day.
As a result, I was eating a lot of calories too close to bedtime. But I didn't know that was bad for me, I was just "checking off" my list every day!
There were so many reasons my attempts to lose and maintain weight were sabotaged -- no exercise, late eating, limited vegetable and complex carbohydrate consumption, and many more...had I known what I know now, how I could have avoided so much suffering!
Eating for Two When I got pregnant with my first baby, I was so relieved! Finally I could eat for two! And I did. Mostly M&M's. I gained 50 pounds, and delivered a 9-pound baby at my highest weight of 198. I lost 15 pounds the week I had the baby, and then not another ounce after that.
I stayed between 175 and 195 for 2 1/2 years. I was buying sizes 16 and 18, and one day had to buy a 20. Clothes shopping was horrendous--especially when it was time to buy a swimsuit.
Did I mention we lived in Florida? Well, in Florida it is swimsuit season practically year-round!
It was at that time when my dad was in the hospital. I knew I was miserable. I knew I was at risk for diabetes. My husband, who exercised regularly at the gym (which was, by the way, just across the busy street from our house), said that he wanted me to exercise so that I wouldn't have an early heart attack.
Who thinks of having a heart attack in their early 30's? I thought he was being ridiculous. Actually, I had gone to lots of aerobics classes. I would go twice in a week, then I wouldn't go again for 3 months. Then I would go for 4 weeks straight, lose a few pounds, and quit for 6 months or a few years. And sometimes I would go regularly, once a month!
I never made any friends at the gym, and when, on occasion, I asked someone to go with me and exercise, they never showed up. Exercising alone is like going to church alone--no fun at all.
I thought of exercise only as a medium through which I would lose weight; not for better health, not for more energy, not to relieve stress, and certainly NOT for enjoyment!
Desperate Housewife After the hospital incident, and after a shopping trip that required me to buy a dress in a size 20, I decided to start going to the gym twice a week, on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. I went faithfully for several weeks, and was not losing weight (I think I lost about 2 pounds). I was even more depressed. I could have done that without exercising!
Finally, I approached my aerobics instructor after class, whose name was Mike Carducci, and told him what had happened. The first thing he said was, "How many times are you coming here a week?" I said, "Two." He said, "Well, you need to come at least 5."
I ABOUT FAINTED. Five days a week?
Did he think I was training for the Olympics?I had never heard of anyone exercising that much! My husband just went 2 or 3 times per week, and he was in great shape. I gave him several excuses about why I couldn't devote that much time to the gym...he replied, unsympathetically, I might add, "Well, what is your priority?" He said I had to make it my first priority.
His crazy idea that I should devote my life to exercise kept running through my mind for the next few days. After all, he was fit, muscular, and healthy. Maybe I should try it... But I did not like the nursery at that gym, and I didn't want to put my 2-year-old in there every day...oh, what to do?
The Line in the Sand A week later, one night when I was particularly depressed, I told my husband that I was going to start going to the gym EVERY NIGHT, even if they had to eat TV dinners for a year!
He said, "We love Swanson!" He didn't argue with me one bit. First, because he did want me to start going, and secondly, because he knew from the look on my face that I was serious.
I had weighed and knew I was approaching 200 pounds, which was my "line in the sand" that I wasn't going to cross. So I started "really" exercising.
I was so sore; my body had no idea what was going on. I could go through the first 30 minutes of class fairly easily; but then I really started getting winded and tired.
I would think, "Surely she is almost finished," and then the little pencil-thin aerobics instructor would say, "One more time from the top!" Every time I heard that, every muscle in my body groaned. I kept going, though.
I NEVER walked out of a class early, and tried to go every day. Since I would miss some days because of doctor visits, or my son being sick, I averaged about 5 days a week. If I could, sometimes I went twice a day.
The Health Food Store I began to lose weight fairly quickly, but I was literally starving myself. I went back to my Weight Watchers training and started writing everything down that I ate. I kept mainly a calorie count rather than exchanges, and stayed between 1000 and 1200 calories per day.
I started trying to learn about health, and went to the health food store one day to buy a diet drink powder. Several types of those were popular at the time.
I didn't know what to buy, so I asked the clerk. She asked me, "How much protein do you want?" I said, "I don't know, how much should I have?" She asked me how much I was exercising, and I told her. I didn't even know how protein was measured. She told me I needed 40 grams a day, minimum, just for proper brain function and tissue health. So I went home and added another column to my Food Diary, called
protein grams. I was already tracking calories and fat. By that time, the fat gram had been identified as the demon of the food pyramid. As far as I know, scientists still didn't know about "good" fats and "bad" fats yet. I had not heard of it anyway, so I was diligently keeping any and all fats OUT of my diet.
So over the next few days, as I added up my calorie, fat, and protein totals, I noticed a disturbing fact. My protein grams were practically non-existent. One day I would have 10, one 15, and on a high day, 25-30...nowhere near the 40 I needed as a minimum.
What was I eating, you might ask? "Good" foods, such as milk, oatmeal, fruit, yogurt, some veggies, salads, baked potatoes, grilled cheese sandwiches, soups, and some broiled chicken and fish, but certainly not enough. I was a carb eater. Not necessarily BAD carbs, but carbs nonetheless.
So I went back up to the health food store and bought a low-fat protein powder that provided 40 grams of protein per serving. I made a protein shake every morning in the blender, with water, ice, a little milk, and frozen strawberries. After only
5 DAYS, I couldn't believe how I felt !!! The best way I can describe it is that I felt like my "eyes were open." I felt awake! I'm not saying I was brimming over with energy. . . but I knew I felt VERY different.
Have you ever felt "tired," and so you went to lie down on the couch to rest for a few minutes, and when you got up, you still felt tired? I was used to walking around all day long, wanting to go lie down on the couch to "rest," so I would "feel better." At least I thought that would work. If you lie down on the couch and actually go to sleep, then you probably do need some rest--that is called "sleepy." Sleepy is OK, if you need some extra sleep!
But a "tired feeling" that stays around all day long is not normal. I had no idea !! I had always felt that way.
12 Months to a New Career A whole new attitude toward life started at that moment...
Aerobics had become a little easier, mostly because I had lost some weight, and it was easier to move, and jog, and "grapevine," with a few pounds gone. I had also developed a friendship with one of the aerobics instructors. She told me how to exercise, and encouraged me. I dropped those pounds in front of her eyes, and all of the people in my classes were quite impressed with my efforts.
I lost 10 pounds a month the first few months, and then when I got closer to my ideal weight, I lost around 5 pounds a month.
And I was no longer starving myself. I was eating sufficient protein, fruits, and vegetables, taking my vitamins, and feeling better. After I had lost 60 pounds, and was keeping my weight around 130-135, the aerobics supervisor approached me and asked the strangest question I had ever heard in my life: "Anita, since you are here every day anyway, why don't you take this class and learn to be an aerobics instructor?"
After trying to decide whether I should have a fainting spell or die laughing, I asked, "Well, how hard is it?" She convinced me that it wasn't rocket science, and so I decided to try it. That was the summer of 1997.
I went to the Bally Total Fitness training course, taught by the Supervisor over all 5 Central Florida Bally locations, Leda Metz. She actually made us memorize the names of all the major muscles! I didn't think that was really necessary, just to get in front of the class and call out some marches and grapevines, but I did what she said!
She made us sit with our eyes closed on the floor and raise our hand when the aerobics music started and ended the musical phrases, which were always in sets of 8 and 32. I got lucky on that one, since I had played 4 instruments in school.
Whew. At least one thing was easy. It was quite another thing to be doing one movement, and thinking about what was to follow it, and to actually call it out to the class beforehand. With some practice, I accomplished that task too. Several weeks later, I sat with my group of trainees and received a Certificate of Completion, and was hired to work as an aerobic instructor, the week that I turned 35 years old.
I worked at Bally Total Fitness for 3 months, and then went to Miami, Florida, for the AFAA national certification exam. I passed the test with the highest score in our group, and drove all the way home thinking about the unbelievable changes that had occurred in my life in almost exactly 12 months.
I had gone from being tired, depressed, miserable, and overweight, to fit, energetic, and what most people would call "thin."
I never felt thin, however. One of my students put a label on it for me. She told me that I had what was called a "body image" problem. Because I was an overweight child, I probably would always see myself (in my mind at least) as "fat."
Despite that, my low self-image did receive a tremendous boost and I had, possibly for the first time in my entire life, a "normal" level of self-esteem.
The Best Job I've Ever Had!I enjoyed teaching aerobics so much! I loved the music, the people, and the fact that I only had to work for an hour and then I could go home!
And I was able to bring my son to work with me, so I never had to arrange babysitting. I knew all of the nursery workers there by name, by that time, and my son David liked going with me to work.
When I started working at Bally Total Fitness in Orlando, Florida, they gave me the easiest classes to teach -- Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings at 10:30 a.m. Mostly seniors and new mothers. They were a fun group, and I was able to make mistakes (quite a few!) and the class members helped me when I tried to improve. I was teaching only Low-Impact aerobics.
The Step class teachers needed me to substitute for them from time to time, and so I thought I'd go to a Step class to see how they did it. Oh my! I had no idea what they were doing! I had to hire a fellow instructor, Rebecca, to teach me how! I paid her $15 a session, and I am sure she thought I was hopeless. I am NOT naturally coordinated -- I can't hit a ball with a bat, or a racquet; actually, I hate it when flying objects are coming through the air at me. So I never played many sports!
Did I say many? I mean ANY.
I had to work on my Step quite a bit, but eventually I was able to teach a simple routine. Luckily, it was like riding a bike, and within the next year or two, I was teaching Double Step and Advanced Step classes.
During my first year of teaching, the IDEA Convention was held in Orlando, and so I volunteered to be a Staff Assistant for the entire 3 days. I helped register enrollees, and was a door monitor and helper in the training sessions. I learned so much that weekend -- it took me almost a year to implement all of the ideas I got there. Later on, Bally held certification training sessions for Power Flex and Resist-a-Ball. In addition, I volunteered to be a staff assistant at the Sara's City Workout conventions.
A New Concept -- Weightlifting in the Aerobics Room About 7 or 8 years prior, I had been in an auto accident in front of Wal-Mart and injured my neck. It was the typical "whiplash" injury (you know the story, doctors say nothing is wrong when they look at the x-rays, and they have very little help to give for the intense pain, except anti-inflammatories and pain pills).
I even tried chiropractic. I had to learn to live with the frequent headaches I had when I slept on my right side too long, or carried something that was too heavy.
At that time, a new program called Body Pump had come out of New Zealand, and was taking the aerobics world by storm. Body Pump brought barbell weightlifting into the aerobics room -- where the women were! Up until that time, I never ventured out into the weight room -- where the MEN were. At that time, no one was talking about osteoporosis and bone density like they are now.
I thought the purpose of weightlifting was to get big muscles!
I wasn't sure I wanted big muscles; but at that time I was following DeAnn wherever she went. So when she went to PowerFlex training, I went to PowerFlex training. It was OK--not as fun as aerobics, but at least a change to keep everyone from getting bored!
After teaching Power Flex for awhile, I noticed that the headaches started to be more infrequent. After teaching for about 2 years, the headaches were almost gone completely. I had strengthened not only the muscles in my neck, but all of the muscles around them, and had given my spine muscular support, so that had alleviated some of the cervical stress.
Wow-- another benefit from this thing called exercise.
Baby #2
I got pregnant again (no more M&M's !!), and had a healthy 8 1/2 pound boy in 1999. I taught aerobics up until the day he was born, and went back to work 3 weeks afterward.
I felt great and lost all of my "baby weight" in a short time. In addition to helping me maintain weight, the weightlifting was helping strengthen my bones and prevent osteoporosis.
I learned to teach Kickboxing that year, and learned that Kickboxing required a great deal of strength.
Our classes had "real" boxing bags that were hung from the ceiling. We thought we were amateur "Rocky's!" (If you can sing the Rocky theme song by heart, I know how old you are!)
Saving Lives I had started working at the YMCA, and became acquainted with the YMCA's philosophy of family fitness, exercise, and recreation. I really enjoyed working in the Y environment and with the employees there. The members who came to my classes were fun and interesting--some were in shape, and some were not.
I'll never forget a "40-something" man who attended my "Beginning Step" class. His name was David. He wasn't in very good shape, but not overweight, really. He didn't move very fast, and I wasn't sure if he would be able to learn Step!
I invited him to the regular Low-Impact classes, because I thought he might do better in there. He started coming to Low-Impact, made lots of mistakes, kept trying to learn Step, made a lot more mistakes, and yet he didn't quit!
I saw him twice a week for about a year. When I left that job because we had to move, he made a point to talk to me the last night I taught his class. He said that his cholesterol and blood pressure had come down, and he was so thankful for my encouragement and for helping him learn to do aerobics. He made all of my efforts worthwhile with just those two simple sentences.
I stayed after class many, many times, telling my story to others, and encouraging them to keep going. I taught my classes the things that I was learning, as I continued to devour fitness books and magazines.
I taught them the 5 Aspects of Fitness, how to begin their exercise program using the FIT principle, and my personal favorite: how I found the "Key" to keeping my weight off--the "F" word, which is, of course, FREQUENCY. NOT frequency of eating, frequency of exercise! I taught them that they didn't have to exercise hard, and they didn't have to exercise long, but they HAD TO exercise FREQUENTLY.
Over the next 5 years, I studied for more certifications, including two in Sports Nutrition. I have focused on nutrition more than anything in my reading, because of my past history of being overweight, and have found it to be a fascinating field of study. I share what I learn with my classes whenever I can.
One year in January, I had everyone take a 10-pound weight and roll it up in the front of their t-shirt (in front of their stomach), and then "jog" around the room. I explained that 10 pounds was an average weight gain for one year for adults over 35. I asked them if they wanted to weigh 10 pounds more by the next December-- and of course, the answer to that question was a resounding "No!" I explained that they already knew the key to keeping that 10 pounds off--they just needed to keep doing it.
I have stayed after class many times, telling my story, and encouraging the members to keep coming to exercise. I always have my "BEFORE AND AFTER" photos in my gym bag, and I post them on the bulletin board from time to time. When we moved to Oklahoma City, I worked at a gym called All-American and they posted a copy of my BEFORE/AFTER photos on the wall. It always surprised me when people came up to me and asked if that was really ME!
"Is that really YOU?" Well, it is a little embarrassing at times to admit it, but I am willing to go through the embarrassment if I can let someone know they aren't the only ones who have dealt with the problem of being overweight.
I was particularly proud when I left All-American, when we moved back to Florida), and many of my students told me that I had motivated them with my attitude and my teaching more than any instructor they had ever had.
My response is that it is just a natural response to try to give back to others what I've been given by my aerobics instructors, the personal trainers in the gym, the authors who have written and continue to write such informative health and fitness books and articles, the people who are formulating such superior food products for athletes, and, of course I have to mention, the students in my classes who never fail to forgive my mistakes, strive to be their best, and especially, the ones who ENJOY exercising, and help make it more fun for everyone.
Now, more than 10 years later, I am still doing the same thing -- teaching aerobics and encouraging others to GET FIT!
Now that my sons are older, I am doing personalized Weight Loss Counseling and Training, Wellness Seminars, Corporate Wellness, and Motivational Speaking, so I can continue helping others with their weight loss and fitness efforts!
My weight loss story was included as a "success story" in the latest book by Wake Up Publishers, "Wake Up Moments of Inspiration." I am honored to be a co-author with many successful people from all over the world and all walks of life, including Brian Tracy and Dr. Wayne Dyer.
It's not about me, anymore! Now it's all about helping others look and feel great.
![]()
![]()
![]()
What has happened since the MAKEOVER STORY?Here's the REST of the story.... How many times have you watched "The Biggest Loser" on TV?That show doesn't impress me...even my 3rd grade son could take someone who weighs 300 pounds, clean all the bacon, sausage, and hamburger out of their refrigerator, make them exercise an hour or more per day, and show you that they can lose weight!
Anyone can LOSE weight. The grand feat, the magna cum laude, the ultimate accomplishment, the coup d'etat, is to KEEP the weight off!
In addition to that, it's fairly easy to lose the first 10, 20, or 30 pounds. It's NOT easy to lose the LAST 10-20 POUNDS! How many people have you heard saying, "I just can't get this last 10 pounds off!"
That's where the rubber meets the road. Exact nutritional guidance and a prescription for exercise are necessary to conquer weight loss plateaus and achieve permanent weight loss.
Where does this guidance come from?You can hire a personal trainer for $40-$60 an hour. You can hang out in health food stores. You can spend hours on the Internet. You can talk to your doctor (if your doctor looks like Santa Claus himself, go get a new doctor). You can buy books, or go to the library. You can follow your aerobics instructor out to her car every day after class (what I did, since I didn't have the money for a personal trainer!). In short, go anywhere and everywhere you can to learn what you need to know about diet and exercise. That's what I did! Back in those days, we did not have the Internet, so I'll have to admit it is far easier today than it was back then. I found that once I learned that my body works much like a science project (more like a science experiment for me!), then it was much easier to have the "willpower" to eat what I needed to eat in order to get the results I desired.
Even Weight Watchers didn't teach me what I needed to know.I learned a LOT at the numerous Weight Watchers meetings I attended, but could never figure out WHY the weight dropped off so slowly and then would creep back on, once I stopped "checking off the boxes" and weighing my food. I got so tired of weighing chicken breast, I could have thrown that little diet scale through the kitchen window! But I didn't know any other way, so I was a revolving-door Weight Watcher member...and fell for every "fad" diet that came along...until I got tired of giving them my hard-earned money and found another way.
I learned to eat like an athlete, not like a bird.Once I started hanging out in the health food stores, and reading the labels on the food supplements they sold at the gym, I learned about "sports nutrition." Wow, what a revelation! I totally changed my outlook toward food. In the past, ALL diets focused on "Don't eat this, don't eat that."
Once I reversed that thinking, and started learning that if I didn't eat enough healthy food, including lots of protein, then my body wouldn't be able to function correctly---I found that the reason I was "always too tired to exercise" was because I was basically unhealthy and that's the reason I never had any energy. One of the main problems wasn't that I was eating too much, it was that I wasn't eating enough (of healthy food)!
I was tired of being tired! Once I started eating right, exercise was not so difficult anymore! My body finally had the proper nutrition it needed to do its job. Once I started eating enough protein, I had a startling discovery! I felt alert! Awake! Not like jumping-up-and-down energy, but that tired, sluggish, always-wanting-to-take-a-nap feeling was gone forever.
No more diet scales....I haven't weighed food in years. I eat as much as I want, of healthy food that is! Sometimes I overeat! Sometimes I undereat! But I try as much as possible to make sure I eat all of the healthy food my body needs, every day! Usually I go to bed thinking, "I should have eaten more of this or that today, oh well, I'll try to eat it tomorrow!" When you are eating the right kinds of foods, cooked correctly, you will never need to "weigh food" or "count points" again!
I'm not a Super Athlete!I'm just your normal American mom of two kids. I never intended to be a super-duper-triathlon-winning athlete. In fact, I am not athletic at all. When flying objects come toward my face, rather than hit them with a bat or a racquet, I duck! I was never good at any sport, and it actually surprised me that I could even do aerobics! When I started aerobics, in the 1990's, it was the tail-end of the Richard Simmons and Jane Fonda days. We did lots of knees, kicks, and grapevines... Then step aerobics and kickboxing caught on...and yoga and pilates became popular too! Thanks to Jack LaLanne and his Silver Sneakers program, now our (growing) aging population is exercising to the Big Band tunes of the 40's in fitness centers all across the country. All of this has kept Group Fitness (what it is called today) exciting and ever-changing. No one who joins today's fitness centers should ever have an excuse to stay home! There's always something fun and exciting happening -- this has kept me from quitting my exercise program over the years. It's never boring, and I love my job!
By the way, how did I ever get hired for the job of Aerobics Instructor? After I had lost all of my weight, my aerobics instructor came up to me one day, and said, "Anita, you're here every day anyway, why don't you just work here?" As much as I was there that year, she was probably surprised that I wasn't eating and sleeping there as well!
My goal has always been to just "NOT BE FAT!" I've had opportunities to participate in bodybuilding competitions or races, but those activities require the type of discipline that I am not willing to do. At one point, I was much thinner than I am now, and my gym members pulled me aside and told me that I really looked better a little fatter! I went home and looked in the mirror and realized they were right -- I looked like skin on bones! Now I stay in the 125-135 pound range, and I've been very happy with that size for almost 12 years. In fact, this has been the only decade in my entire life that I have been a normal weight for the entire ten years!
Yes, I have fat clothes and skinny clothes, just like every other woman in the world! But mine are only 1 size apart! I never allow my students to "keep their fat clothes" that are 3 sizes too big--those clothes have to go! During your weight loss program, realize that not everyone needs to be a size 2. A body fat analysis will tell you if your body fat percentage is in the healthy range.
Then "You Tube" came along --I stayed after class at the gym many, many times, teaching my members how to lose weight. Then "You Tube" came along! Voila! I could make one video and it could be shown to thousands! I love technology! I put up over 50 videos on You Tube last year and had well over 100,000 views.
I set up a widget on my blog that tracks where my visitors come from, and I have people from all over the world who visit my blog every day -- some are from countries with names that I can't even pronounce!
Many blogs and websites are posting my videos; I tried to count how many one day and I kept losing track of the number, so finally I gave up. My website name, "video fitness coach" dominates the first 10+ pages of Google.
Fitness is a JourneyI named my first online tele-class "Journey to Fitness," because of the long road I traveled before finally reaching my destination. I have now turned it into a "podclass" and in the future, will put the entire 12-part course online and on DVD.
Weight Loss "Top 10" - The TOP 10 absolutely essential strategies you must know for excellent health and weight loss success!I received an email from one of my online members from Miami named Sue. She was asking about dieting. I sent an email back to her that had several main guidelines for nutrition and weight loss. Later, when I looked at that email, I realized that I had given her a "TOP 10 LIST" on dieting! Actually there were 11 on the list, but I condensed it down to 10 for the sake of having a catchy name for my new Weight Loss Seminar! (Don't worry, if you come to my seminar, I'll squeeze in that 11th point somewhere...!) I will also be teaching "Weight Loss Top 10" as a podclass online. The registration page is: www.videohealthcoach.com/register.html.
Wake Up, Live the LIfe You LoveIn late 2007, I heard about a book publisher that had put out several best-selling books that were centered around the "Wake Up Moment" theme. Most successful and powerful people say that they have experienced one or more "wake up" moments in their lives. These moments inspired them to change directions or choose another path, which later led to success or achievement. The goal of each Wake Up book is to touch the spirit and change the reader's life in a positive way through reading the inspirational stories written by their many authors from all walks of life.
My Makeover Story is featured in "Wake Up Moments of Inspiration," a "Wake Up" book that was released on March 19, 2009. This book is wonderful for a bedside table---many people love to read a short, inspirational story before going to sleep. Would you like to inspire your employees to improve their health and achieve their personal and professional goals? "Wake Up Moments" can be purchased in bulk at a reduced price to give as a gift to your employees, or to use as a fundraiser for your charitable organization.
Employee Wellness ProgramsI became interested in speaking for Corporate Wellness Programs in 2009. As a result of the recent political changes in America, it seems almost certain that healthcare costs will start to become shared by everyone. This means that if your neighbor is overweight and incurs thousands of dollars in medical expenses as a result, then it is likely that you might be paying for it. Wouldn't it be wise, then, to encourage your co-workers and employees to improve their health?
Healthy employees are happier and more productive. They have far less absenteeism and are more alert. Employers who search for opportunities to provide resources that will encourage their employees to improve their health will more than recover the cost of their investment with lower medical insurance premiums and a more productive workforce.
If you would like to schedule a Wellness Event Speaker at your business, school, or organization, contact me.
I drew the line in the sand...I remember the day I drew the line in the sand...if I can do it, you can too! Getting fit and healthy means that you have to give up a few things, whether it's extra slices of pizza, or not getting to watch your favorite show on TV because you have to go exercise at the gym (don't tape those shows, you don't need to be watching TV anyway!)
But what you get in return FAR OUTWEIGHS what you've given up....many, many, many times over. The sacrifices can't even COMPARE with the benefits. Many new dieters have their eyes focused on everything they "can't have," until they finally learn everything they "can have" as a result of losing the weight, that they "couldn't have" before, when they were overweight.
How about these trade-offs? A slice of pizza vs. being able to wear a sundress in the summer.
A chunk of cheese vs. being able to shop for clothes in the "normal" sizes.
A hot dog vs. not feeling like you are the fattest one at the party.
A piece of cheesecake vs. being able to wear a swimsuit at the beach, instead of a T-shirt and shorts!
A donut at the gas station vs. being able to fit comfortably into a seat at the movies or on an airplane.
A double cheeseburger vs. being able to go outside and play with your kids.
Don't you think the benefit FAR OUTWEIGHS the sacrifice? I do!
By the way, almost all of the foods listed above have lower fat/lower calorie versions that you can eat in place of the full-fat-bad-for-your-heart-and-health originals! Come to my classes and I'll let you in on all of my secret underground weight loss tactics!
A little help from a friend...Sometimes all it takes is a helping hand to lift you up, to set you on the right path, and to give you a little push to start you going in the right direction. I hope my Journey to Fitness and Video Fitness Coach programs will do that for each person who attends my classes.
Contact Me......if you would like to schedule an interview or appearance for your TV show, a radio spot for your morning or evening drive times, or a Wellness Program speaker for your next corporate health and wellness promotion.
Because of my "Wake Up Moment," I now...love the life I live!
Your Fitness Coach,
Anita Stone
CLICK HERE TO BE MY BUDDY ON BEACHBODY!
BESTSELLERS ON AMAZON:
