Last weekend was fun times!  I ran a Half Marathon down one of my most favorite canyons.  That alone, usually calls for bliss.  However, this year called for more bliss.  In addition to running with some of my favorite running buddies, my brother joined me for his very first half!  This is utterly amazing and special, folks!

Why you might ask?  Well, this cool dude took a serious turn towards a healthy lifestyle and over the last year or so, he has dropped nearly 200 pounds and he can run like the wind!  He eats incredibly healthy, watches portion sizes like a hawk, and he exercises like a champion.

With his permission, he has allowed me to share his Before-After photo.  A.Maze.Ing!  Need I say more?

So, needless to say, this Half Marathon was indeed a blissful one for more than one reason.

True to form, this half marathon started bright and early.  Race time was at 6am, and we loaded the busses at 4:30am to be taken to the drop-off point in the canyon.  It was still dark when we got there.

Race day is always soooo much more fun when I’m in good company.

 

 

I ran with my brother throughout the entire race.  We ran the whole way and only stopped at a few of the aid stations for water.  Here we are at mile 9-ish.  We had some family members come to cheer us on.  While they only saw us for a minute, seeing their faces and hearing their cheers was a nice re-charge for us!

After crossing the finish line, I was so excited to see two of my most greatest supporters!  My hubby has given up so many Saturday mornings so that I can get my long runs in.  Trust me; this is a huge sacrifice for him.

And, my little angel has often times spent more time in the jogging stroller than she would ever care for.  They are both troopers and I’m lucky to have their support!

Seriously!  I had such a great time.  One of my most memorable 13.1 miles ever.  We’re all committing to do it again next year.  Come join us!  We would love to have you.  You have a year to get ready.  No excuses!

It’s a new year and I know A LOT of us make some sort of healthy-related resolution.  So, for a little inspiration . . . I bring you Katie!

Katie is one of my dear friends.  She’s had two beautiful children and once she was done nursing that second baby she decided to work hard and pull her weight back down.  She would tell me how she was skinny once and how she even loved running and she wanted to get back to that awesome place.  So, she buckled down, started exercising diligently, and also started eating right.

Needless to say (because the pictures pretty much tell you what happened) she did it with smashing success.  Her pictures tell a lot of her story, but here are a few of her stats:

• She dropped 67.5 fat pounds!
• She dropped over 21.3% in body fat!
• She melted a total of 61.75 inches off her body!

If that doesn’t inspire you to want to shape up this year, then I don’t know what will!! You want to take a double take, don’t you?  You can . . . check out the pictures (click on the picture if you want to see it a little bigger)!

I love seeing the slimming effect through her mid-section!  Plus, her face and neck are so slim and so pretty!  She seriously can’t go anywhere without people commenting on her awesome results.

When she wrapped up her program with me she had plenty to say about it.  She said to me, “What I loved about this program is that it taught me how to EAT and how to eat like I should!  Food was always my biggest issue.  I could never fully grasp the smaller portions more often in the day, and this NAILED it for me.  I finally can eat the way I have always known I should.  I was fueled all day, never felt hungry, and loved craving the good foods!  The workouts have always been easy for me, but I loved learning new exercises from you and trying new things.  My life is forever changed in how I look at food and how I will put it into my body.  I’ve loved seeing the results and hearing what others have to say about it.  It’s so fun to walk into a room and see people’s jaws drop because I look so great.  I know I still have more to lose, but I am completely happy with these results so far!”

Katie is a rockstar!  She took the challenge to lose the weight the right and healthy way . . . through exercise and proper nutrition.  On top of all of this, she ran two (not one, but TWO) half marathons this past summer/fall!  I’m kind of jealous because one was in California at the Disneyland Resort!  She knows how to have fun and she even incorporates the fun into exercise!  She pretty much rocks!

I think I’ve said it before, but I really L.O.V.E. my job!
If you’re looking for a little extra help and guidance with a program that is specifically tailored to your individual body, feel free to visit my Lose Weight/Get Fit page and/or contact me for more information.  I would love to help in any way I can.  Let’s make 2014 a good and  healthy year to remember!

New Year, New You?

It’s a new year and I know a lot of people like to set weight loss goals right now.  So, I figured it would be fun to offer a Friday Feature that included a success story!

Meet my friend Belinda.  She is pretty darn awesome!  She decided that she didn’t want to wake up old and unhealthy one day, so she decided to take care of business now!  Belinda is a BUSY woman.  She’s a mom with VERY BUSY kiddos, she works full time, and still managed to figure out how to fit a healthy lifestyle that includes exercise and nutrition into her life.  Anyone can do it if they TRULY want to, right!?

Needless to say (because the pictures pretty much tell you what happened) we did it with smashing success.  Her pictures tell a lot of her story, but here are a few of her stats:

• She dropped 57 fat pounds!
• She dropped over 17.3% in body fat!
• She melted a total of 42 inches off her body!

If that doesn’t inspire you to want to shape up this year, then I don’t know what will!! You want to take a double take, don’t you?  You can . . . check out the pictures!

I love seeing the slimming effect through her mid-section!  Plus, look at those hot, sexy legs!  Belinda sent me a nice email when she officially wrapped up her program.  She said, “This program has taught me to do what is necessary to remain healthy.  I gained muscle tone and I can wear the same size I did in high school and am healthier than I have ever been at 46!  I feel better than I have in forever!”

Belinda is a champ.  She took the challenge to lose the weight the right way . . . through exercise and proper nutrition.  She pretty much rocks!

I think I’ve said it before, but I really L.O.V.E. my job!
If you’re looking for a little extra help and guidance with a program that is specifically tailored to your individual body, feel free to visit my Lose Weight/Get Fit page and/or contact me for more information.  I would love to help in any way I can.  Let’s make 2013 a good and  healthy year to remember!

I haven’t done a “Friday Feature” post for the past few weeks, so wouldn’t you say we’re due for one today?  And, wouldn’t you agree that some of the most fun “Friday Feature” posts are success stories?  So would I!  I want to share another one with you today!  This is one where my client wasn’t even local.  Like, I’m talking she doesn’t even live in the country! Thus, we “met” on a weekly basis via Skype or phone calls.

Meet my beautiful friend Jennifer.  Jen and I have been friends for just about 10 years now.  Among a gazillion things, during those 10 years we’ve both seen each other graduate from school, get married, and start families.  Jen is married to a super awesome guy who has a super cool job that allows them to live in foreign countries.  Jen currently lives in the Philippines. Yep, the Philippines!

She had her sweet baby boy just over one year ago.  She was struggling with getting her pregnancy weight off and so we teamed up to see what we could do.  We “met” every week on Skype to keep her program right where it needed to be.

Needless to say (because the pictures pretty much tell you what happened) we did it with smashing success.  Her pictures tell a lot of her story, but here are a few of her stats:

• She dropped 15 fat pounds!
• She dropped over 6.5% in body fat!
• She melted a total of 18.5 inches off her body!

Now, isn’t that inspiring!?  I mean, she wasn’t huge to begin with and she went from lean to much leaner!  You want to take a double take, don’t you?  You can . . . check out the pictures!

And . . . Here’s her “sexy” side view.

Belly fat . . . GONE (plus smaller & toned legs and arms)!  You wouldn’t even know this girl had a baby unless you could see him yourself (oh, and you should because he is absolutely adorable)!  Jen sent me a nice email when she officially wrapped up her program.  She said, “Em, thank you for helping me to accomplish my goals. This is not the first time you have been a positive force in my life and I am grateful not only for this but for what a great friend you are!!”

She also told me that everywhere she goes the locals will tell her she is “sexy” because they say sexy like we might use the term “hot” here in America.  My favorite part about this is that Jen usually says, “Thank You!” because she worked hard to get these results, therefore she gladly takes the compliment.

I must brag about Jen and her journey because she accomplished these results by not only living in a foreign country, but by traveling home to America and making a trip to Hong Kong (Disneyland) while on her program.  And, you guessed it; she still lost weight!  It’s possible, it really is possible.  I’m SUPER excited because Jen is coming back home to America for a couple of months this summer and we’re planning on running a half marathon together.  Oh, how sweet that will be.

I pretty much L.O.V.E. my job!

You ready for a success story that will blow your socks off (or at least motivate you to try a little harder)?  Meet my friend Alicia!  This girl is incredible and she has completely changed her life in ways that she never thought she could.  I have enjoyed going through her weight-loss journey with her because she not only changed her body composition, but a new-found confidence now shines through and she’s one awesome woman!

With her consent, she has allowed me to share her story with you.  She’s struggled with her weight ever since she was a teenager.  She continued to gain weight and before she knew it she was over 300 pounds.  She ached with almost every move.  She had reached a point where she was was so uncomfortable with the way she felt, she knew she needed to make a change.  Thus, she started to make a change and lost 20 pounds on her own before she allowed me to jump on her journey.  She was skeptical with me at first because she hadn’t really had much success over the years, but after the first two weeks of great losses . . . she claims she was hooked!  I was hooked working with her because she followed her plan to perfection, had the drive, and thus she produced fabulous results.

Her pictures tell a lot of her story, but here are a few of her stats:

• She dropped over 107 pounds (that’s practically a whole person)!
• She dropped over 17% in body fat!
• She melted a total of 64.75 inches off her body (that’s over 5 feet, people)!

Now, isn’t that inspiring!?  You want to take a double take, don’t you?  You can . . . check out the pictures!

Alicia was nice to share the following with me.
“I love meeting with you every Monday and I find myself on Sunday looking forward to it!  Even when it has been a rough week I still look forward to Mondays, and yes, I would be lying if I said there weren’t rough weeks involved in this process.  That being said, this has been the easiest weight loss journey I have taken.  I never dreamed that I would be 110 lbs less than I was before, but I am!  I love how I feel and look now!”

I love this girl and I’m so thankful she allowed me to share in her experience.  She is a beautiful person and I’m still impressed with her ability to accomplish what she did.  She inspires me and continues to inspire many others around her.  I hope her story has inspired you too.

With this being a “New Year, New You” kind of week, I thought it would be that much more inspiring to share a success story with you today!

I have so many inspiring stories to share, but decided to share Susan’s story because she inspires me for a GAZILLION reasons!  For starters, she is INCREDIBLY humble!  It took a lot of begging on my part before she finally consented to allow me to show you her pictures.  While she has NOTHING to be embarrassed about (in fact, she has everything to be proud of), she is NOT one to brag.  So, I’ll be doing all the bragging while she’s probably reading this and partially dying inside to have someone talking so much about her.  Love you Susan!

I will say, she finally consented because she wants other people to know that it is possible to change your body and your habits.  She wasn’t so sure it was possible for her, but through a program that outlined her nutrition and exercise plan, she accomplished something she never knew she could. Despite her crazy (yet awesome) life, her age, and her schedule . . . she passed her goal and is maintaining it beautifully!

Her pictures tell a lot of her story, but here are a few of her stats:

• She dropped over 26 fat pounds!
• She dropped over 10% in body fat!
• She melted a total of 22.5 inches off her body!

Now, isn’t that inspiring!?  You want to take a double take, don’t you?  You can . . . check out the pictures!

Susan was so nice and generous and said to me, “Thank you for taking me as I was and for sincerely loving me and teaching me how to accomplish a goal I have NEVER been able to do.”

She cruised through her program by putting in some hard work, a winning effort, and a conquering attitude.  I may have taught her a thing or two about nutrition and exercise, but she taught me other valuable skills/traits along the way.  We developed a special relationship throughout her journey and it’s one I still treasure today!  I love this woman more than words can say.  I wish you could all be friends with her because she would change your life in SO many ways.  She has mine!

I’m soooo excited to share a success story with you!  This woman is an inspiration to me, and I know she can be for others too.  I feel privileged to have had the opportunity to work with her and I am so stinkin’ proud of her efforts and her overall results!

With Malinda’s consent she has graciously allowed me to “brag” about her by telling a little about her transformation.  Malinda is a beautiful mom.  She had been overweight for some time, but with the help of her sisters, decided to do something about it.  She lost a little bit on her own and then decided to team up with me to help her get to her final goal a little bit faster.  Boy, am I glad she did!

I started counting her calories and writing her exercise plans each week.  She worked hard and followed her program so well!  She’s allowed me to share her pictures with you.  And, as if the pictures don’t show enough of her success, here are her overall stats:

• She dropped 59.3 fat pounds (how awesome is that?)
• She dropped 16.4% in body fat (her body fat is now 20.4% – which is better than average; she is one fit girl!)
• She melted a total of 35.75 inches off her body (whoa!)

How can you not love that?  She is one skinny babe, and a fit one to boot!  Check her out in these before and after pictures!

 

When she reached her goal I was incredibly happy for her, but sad for me because I wouldn’t get to see her on a weekly basis.  We became great friends.  I love going through this journey with others because I get to watch a beautiful transformation . . . inside and out!  It was fun to watch Malinda’s inner beauty and confidence grow throughout the process.  She is awesome.  She shared the following with me:

“I have to tell you this – if it was not for you I would not have made it to my goal as soon as I did.  You have been an inspiration to me and taught me a lot of good things about my meals, cardio and exercise routines. You are the best nutrition and fitness coach ever.  This is a life changing event, not just a one time deal, it is forever.”

GREAT JOB Malinda!  Keep up the great work!

What do you think?  Isn’t she inspiring?