Ann,

It was a pleasure working with you for the last four months.  As a personal trainer you are professional, knowledgeable, respectful, and thoughtful.  When you first came to my house in late January, 2011, I was depressed and uncertain that I would ever lose the 50 pounds I’d gained over the last three years.  My stress in teaching and the way I was treated by the higher education bureaucracy led to my eating to comfort myself.  I decided the stress of teaching in such a poor environment was foolhardy and so I retired in 2008.  When you started training with me, I felt your determination to see me gain muscle and lose fat. Yet I still wondered if I could ever get rid of the excess weight. I was ashamed of my body and just wanted to crawl in a hole and hide. You slowly coaxed me into enjoying our twice weekly hour workouts. I never felt you gave up on me or thought I was a lost cause. Every time you were here I felt your dedication to my well-being. Slowly over the last four months I became more motivated as I slowly realized I wasn’t wheezing when we did obliques.

Then you told me about the benefits of intense training for 15-20 minutes every day or every other day. It involved my climbing my stairs, up and down, three times at normal pace. The next set of 2 would be double-stepping, that is, taking two steps at a time and doing that twice, and then taking a minute break and doing 3,2,3,2,3 2,3, 2,3 and  2,3. In between each set, I rested a minute and caught my breath. Then I did three more up and down the steps, and so on, doing 6 sets of 2 and 3. All totaled it took me about 20 minutes to complete the circuit.

Yesterday was our last time together until finances allow me to make another appointment. In place of a personal trainer, I am doing the step exercise of getting my heartbeat to 120 and then resting a minutes between sets. Today I noticed that I’m feeling better about myself physically and mentally. I must be getting the endorphins going because after the exercise, I feel more energetic and ready to greet the day and do what’s necessary.

You told me several times that I’d soon reach a point at which I’d begin to notice inches coming off.  You have always encouraged me not to think in terms of pounds lost but in muscle gained and thus inches lost. This morning I had a breakthrough. I put on my pants as usual but I noticed that they were a bit saggy, not a whole lot, but a tiny bit. It certainly has made your words come through and I think I’ve reached a point at which I hope to concentrate EVERY DAY on doing the 20-minute workout and seeing the benefits of eating smaller meals and more nourishing food as well as exercising.

I haven’t been on the scale since my last doctor’s appointment in January. In fact he was so pleased with my blood test results, he said I didn’t need to see him for 3 months, which means I’ll see him the day after Independence Day. Then the nurse will weigh me and I am certain I will have lost weight. I was initially concerned about losing pounds – fast. However, after talking and working with you, Ann, I realize that the muscle is more important to me. My ultimate goal is to become my normal weight and maintain my muscle tone. The heck with losing pounds; I want results in inches that make my clothes feel bigger and fit better (when I lose pant sizes). This morning I told myself that I’m on my way to restoring my normal weight and will do it however long it takes. I concentrate only on my eating habits and the exercise routine to get me to my normal weight again.

Thank you, Ann, for having faith in me and helping me to restore faith in myself. I am feeling so much better today and hope to continue my routine from now on. I hope to see you soon, Ann, and when I do, I hope you’ll smile that lovely smile you have and will actually SEE the difference in my muscle tone and inches lost. You are special and anyone who works with you is pretty lucky to have such a dedicated personal trainer. You’re the best!!

Judy

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