Liewsville woman shed pounds to enlist in army

As Ashley Barrett-Carter left Ryan Memolo’s Army recruiting station following their first meeting more than a year ago, the staff sergeant thought, “I’ll never see her again.”

Sgt. Memolo had seen overweight applicants before, including some who dropped the pounds and returned to enlist. But those people exceeded the weight requirement by 20 or 30 pounds.

Ms. Barrett-Carter needed to lose 100.

But two months later and 20 pounds lighter, she came back. And she kept returning to Sgt. Memolo every few weeks to report more weight loss.

Today, the Lewisville resident has shed a total of 113 pounds. She met the enlistment requirement and is preparing for basic training.

“It’s given me the courage to follow through and serve my country,” she said.

Ms. Barrett-Carter, 21, started contemplating a military career a few years ago. She said she maintained a “normal” weight during high school but then started gaining. She weighed 263 pounds and wore size 22 pants when she first met Sgt. Memolo.

The Army’s weight and body fat requirements vary based on height, age and gender. Sgt. Memolo gave Ms. Barrett-Carter a target weight of 160 pounds.

Startled to hear that her weight surpassed the Army’s standards by such a large margin, Ms. Barrett-Carter that night tore apart her pantry, pitching anything that she considered unhealthy.

Her doctor advised her to shed the pounds slowly — about 2 per week is considered healthy weight loss.

Ms. Barrett-Carter estimates that she had been consuming 5,000 calories a day, more than twice the recommended amount. She reduced her calorie intake and started exercising daily.

She hung a pair of size 7 pants on her closet door as a reminder of her goal. No fads. No pills. No as-seen-on-TV gut-busting contraptions. Not even a gym membership.

She didn’t diet; she changed her lifestyle.

“I didn’t stop eating normal food, I just started rationing,” she said. “I still eat rice; I still eat ice cream. It’s just about how much you eat. … You have to control the urge to eat the entire half gallon.”

Ms. Barrett-Carter initially gave up fast food, sweets and junk food. Her daily exercise started with walks around the block. She couldn’t go any farther.

As her endurance increased, she added jogging, stationary biking and weights. She enrolled in a physical education class at Richland College, where she was working toward an associate’s degree, and the instructor helped devise a workout regimen.

When Ms. Barrett-Carter reached 200 pounds, she indulged cravings once or twice a week with small helpings of previously off-limits foods. After hitting 180 pounds, she was exercising 90 minutes a day.

Every few weeks, she took the size 7 pants off the hanger to try them on. At first they barely touched her knees. At 200 pounds, they reached mid-thigh. And when they finally slipped over her hips and buttoned at her waist, Ms. Barrett-Carter joyfully danced around the house.

“It didn’t just fall off. It took a lot of changes on my part,” she said. “It just got easier and easier as time went on. Eventually I looked at it, and those little mini goals suddenly became the huge goal that I wanted it to be.”

Ms. Barrett-Carter avoids fast food, though she acknowledges that “eating out of a box” is easier and cheaper than buying fresh foods and cooking them. She exercises five days a week, running a mile, doing sit-ups and pushups and completing the routine from a workout video.

Sgt. Memolo says Ms. Barrett-Carter is well-prepared for nine weeks of basic training, which she’ll follow with 18 months of nursing instruction at Fort Sam Houston near San Antonio. Her husband, Jerrod Carter, will stay in the Dallas area to continue school.

Adjusting to her new size has taken time. Sometimes Ms. Barrett-Carter still walks to plus size area in clothing stores before realizing those clothes are too big. Airplane seats no longer feel snug. And the constant exhaustion has evaporated.

“I didn’t even realize how much it was affecting my life,” she said. “I have more energy. I’m healthier. I’m able to do everything I want to do in a day.”

Jeanne Barrett said her daughter’s outlook transformed along with her appearance.

“She made a commitment to change her life,” said Ms. Barrett, who has followed her daughter’s example by altering her eating habits and replacing a living room couch with an exercise machine. “She’s inspired me.”

In her quest to join the Army, Ashley Barrett-Carter lost 110 pounds over the course of a year. Here’s how she did it: .

Basic principles

Weight loss occurs when you expend more calories than you take in, either through diet, exercise or both.

Ms. Barrett-Carter followed her doctor’s advice, which coincides with healthy weight guidelines by the National Institutes of Health.

Exercise

For weight loss, the NIH recommends at least 60 to 90 minutes of moderate physical activity daily.

Ms. Barrett-Carter started with 10-minute walks and later added jogging, weights, sit-ups, pushups and stationery biking. She eventually began exercising 90 minutes a day.

To maintain her weight, she works out for an hour five days a week, including one-mile jogs, sit-ups and push ups.

Diet

To lose 1 or 2 pounds a week, the NIH recommends cutting 500 to 1,000 calories a day.

Ms. Barrett-Carter initially cut out fast food, junk food and sweets, but later allowed herself to eat small portions.

A typical day consists of oatmeal for breakfast; an apple or banana for snack; half a sandwich, soup, fruit and water for lunch; a granola bar for an afternoon snack; and for dinner, skinless chicken, fresh fish or pork with small portions of side dishes.

dallasnews.com

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Interview With Jeanette Jenkins - Author of "The Hollywood Trainer Weight-Loss Plan"

I recently spoke with Ms. Jeanette Jenkins, while she was out touring the country, promoting her new book, The Hollywood Trainer Weight-Loss Plan. She is a genuinely caring person, who values family and friends. No wonder the stars love her!

Ms. Jenkins: I love the inside photo of your mother and yourself. Tell me about your reason for writing The Hollywood Trainer Weight-Loss Plan and how it is related to your mother, Karen Jones.

I was supposed to publish The Hollywood Trainer Weight-Loss Plan in January. Then I received a call that Mom had had a gallbladder attack. I was raised by my mom—she was my sole parent. I had to prioritize; I quickly realized how I would be devastated if I lost my mother. It’s important to have a mental and spiritual connection with your family and not always be motivated by external factors.

I was under pressure to get the book out, but decided that I had to go to Canada to make sure my mom was OK.

Publishing in May is a Mother’s Day gift, and a blessing in disguise. Mothers are the number one provider, and sacrifice their own time for their children and families.

However, they need to find time to incorporate family into healthy living because we need them.

That’s my connection—to inspire other women to motivate themselves.

How did you become a trainer to the stars?

I moved to LA ten years ago from Canada. I was originally born in Hollywood, my parents divorced, and Mom took us kids to Canada. I moved back afterward. California is the mecca of fitness. Wanting to do what I love to do, LA was the place to be for the most lucrative income.

I chose Hollywood and received referrals; Christina Applegate among other celebs would show up in front of my class. I knew I was doing something right! Then I got a call one day, “We’re looking for a trainer for Queen Latifah.” All of these clients have come from a personal referral.

Location is the case. I capitalized on the Hollywood thing. Queen Latifah is so inspiring, she lifts people up around her with her gift of entertainment. I wanted to help people live healthy lives through my Hollywood Trainer Weight-Loss book and DVD.

Your forward is written by Queen Latifah. She states, “Here’s the real deal: Jeanette knows how to keep me motivated, and how I can motivate myself when she’s not around.” While on your program, Queen Latifah lost 25lbs in less than six weeks.

How do you motivate your clients?

I motivate clients through education. If you can explain and help people understand who they are, they will be interested. No preaching. “This is why this motion is difficult for you. Your aerobic level is very low.” I have them get initial assessments for fitness, blood, resting and active metabolic rates. I want them to understand what’s going on in their bodies. For resting and active metabolic testing—I encourage everyone to get this.

Today, we know you are biologically an individual. The things you’re going through environmentally and socially will affect hormones and how you burn calories. Clients get results quicker with me than with other trainers. Beginning assessments help me avoid trial and error.

What other stars do you train?

Kimora Lee Simmons—she inspires me. She’s only 30 years old and has two children. Taryn Manning, she’s been through a lot in the industry and she keeps coming back on top. This month she is on the cover of Stuff Magazines 100 sexiest women issue and she has a starring role in Fox’s new Prime time show Drive.

How often do you hit the gym?

Every day. I practice what I preach, and mix it up. Right now I’m traveling to promote my book. This morning I had to be on a show. My wake up time was at 5:45 AM to do treadmill first, before hair and makeup. I plan for it.

What does your eating program incorporate?

Oatmeal without milk. I believe in using raw dairy, not pasteurized, to be as close to nature as possible. I’m a berries person and include them four times a week with the oatmeal.

I eat French toast and buckwheat pancakes with berries the other three mornings.

Sometimes I’ll have eggs and chicken sausage.

I eat four meals a day, every 2 to 3 hours.

What’s your message to women who have delivered babies?

I prefer to address women before delivery. On the mental and spiritual side, women lead careers, have a changing hormonal situation, and lead busy lives. Under stress, the stress hormones (including cortisol) will go to the child in the womb. Women need to decrease their schedules and find a place of peace. As a sign of affirmation—take a day off. We do too much, shut down, make parameters. People will respect them if you set them; make peace in your life.

I see many African–American women with fibroids, which feed off estrogen. They need to decrease amount of estrogen produced. Under a microscope, fibroids have more estrogen receptors than any other kind.

Estrogen is affected by the cortisol, and cortisol is sometimes created by stress.

Find out what’s causing you to be unhealthy rather than getting a prescription to take care of the symptom. Don’t feed yourself with caffeine. Fight or flight, the rise of cortisol, is increased by diet pills, caffeine, and the rush rush go go of life. Cut it off.

Your book comes with The Hollywood Trainer Workout DVD, a great feature to the program. Who will best benefit from it?

I’ve had experience making my own DVDs. They are necessary to help people. I’ll open up Shape magazine, and look at the pictures of the exercises. They can only show so much of the exercise. That’s where motivation and results come from.

For the DVD, I chose 8 to 10 back up people. They include a variety of ethnicities and ages: a 63 year old grandma (She’s in great shape!), a pregnant woman, a 40 year old female with kids, a man aged 40 and another in his 30’s.

It’s important to show how this exercise is for anyone, for people just beginning to workout. The routine is all low impact.

Your recipes look delicious and nutritious. With your busy schedule, do you cook and prepare ahead?

Yes, I made all my own recipes and I love to eat!

Page 27 explains the proper footwear and fit for the feet. This is unusual in a diet book and is a welcome feature. Do I need a special shoe for the workout?

Yes. It’s important, especially if you’re overweight or if you have pain. Don’t wear $7 Target shoes. Some people spend little on the comfort of their feet, but they’re driving a Mercedes. Are you feet flat, do you pronate or supinate? It’s important that your feet are comfortable. Then you’ll stick with the program. Muscular-skeletal issues will be avoided too.

I especially like the Today’s Affirmation boxes for each of the 21 Days. How do they go hand-in-hand with the exercise Weight-Loss Program?

Motivation is a layering effect, involving education, fun, and a little bit of love. I reward or compliment. Everyone needs to feel loved. Through The Hollywood Trainer Weight- Loss Plan, I use daily Personal Affirmation. Next is the workout. Then the meal plan, fitness tip, and nutrition tip of the day.

One tip a day is given. Too much information at once isn’t useful. If the reader wants to read more after the tip, about healthy fat for example, she can read the whole section on the subject in the back.

What else is part of The Hollywood Trainer Program?

Learning to Love yourself!

Besides the book, I have DVDs, teach classes in LA, and I often speak at expos, and other events around the country.

What do you want the reader to take away from The Hollywood Trainer Weight-Loss Program?

Today people have a choice in health, either wake up and once a week collect your pharmaceuticals, or you can wake up and take your grandchildren to the park. There’s so much out there to enjoy. My book can inspire people to change their lives for the better.

Ms. Jenkins, thank you for the interview. Much success to you and your Hollywood Trainer Weight-Loss Plan.

Thank you.

Via blogcritics.org

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Jen Sall weight loss success - from "Fit but fat" to slim

Jen Sall, 36, managed to lose over 42 pounds, starting from 196 lbs. Her example shows that traditional weight loss is worth and can lead to perfect results with proper dedication! Here's her story:


"Hey, fatso! Get out of the way!" a voice yelled as I pushed through the crowd heading into a concert. How rude, I thought, feeling sorry for the target of his nastiness. And then the truth kicked me in my size-16 rear: He was talking to me—I was the fatso!


Me, the once hard-bodied, soccer-playing girl who had moved to Boulder, CO, for college 12 years ago; got addicted to skiing, rock-climbing, and hiking; and eventually called it home. Me, who'd quit my pack-a-day habit so I could run faster, only to gain 15 pounds in 6 months. Me, who'd put on almost 40 more by staying in a relationship that was so miserable I ate my way through it.


It had been easy to ignore my weight. After all, I was still running and competing in mountain bike races, but the truth was, after a 20-minute jog, I was so wiped out that I'd retreat to the couch and do my favorite exercise: powerlifting a bag of Doritos and a pint of ice cream.


At the end of 1999, my boyfriend and I broke up, and alone at a New Year's Eve party surrounded by cute, thin people, I forced myself to face the facts: I was fit but fat. Even though I loved exercising, I hated dieting, and this is where it had gotten me. I downed a few Cosmos and some fudge, and the pity party was over: I was ready to get slim.

I joined a gym that had a much-buzzed-about trainer, Marcus Eave. (It was impossible not to notice the perfectly sculpted muscles his clients displayed.) I finally snagged a coveted spot in his Spinning class and concluded that even on my sales-job salary, springing for his $80-per-hour private sessions once a week would be worth it.

Proving Myself

"I can't take you on," Marcus said, when I asked him to be my trainer. He only had time for clients who were really committed to getting in shape. Apparently, he didn't think I was, and I hadn't been at the gym enough to prove otherwise. I glanced at a woman parading around in fab fitness wear, and thought, If she can be a member of the buff-client club, so can I. It almost killed me, but I exercised every day for 2 weeks and cut back my calories. When I showed up 5 pounds lighter, Marcus said, "Okay, you're in." His prescription: cross-training, to build up my strength and stamina. My drill was to work out five times a week, whether strength training or running and biking out in the foothills.

What I'd lacked before was consistency. I'd go 10 days between workouts. Now I was going to be lifting weights and doing cardio 5 hours a week. As an athlete, I could handle this challenge. I was less sure of his diet suggestions. I'd convinced myself I could eat anything if I worked out hard and threw in the occasional crash diet.


Marcus explained why my strategy wasn't working: It was almost impossible for me to burn off as many calories as I was taking in each day unless I made exercise my job.


Clean Machine


The diet I'd begun was a start, Marcus said. I'd eliminated sugar, but if I wanted to really lose weight for good, I'd have to make more permanent changes. He pushed me to eat five or six small meals a day—rather than three large ones—to curb cravings.

Moving in Slow Motion


I was all geared up to start shedding pounds, and nothing happened. I wasn't losing a thing! Where were the 5-pounds-a-week losses I was used to from my crash diets? I wanted to try it my way again, but Marcus kept insisting I eat. "Give it time," he said. I visualized his thin clients and agreed. I outlined my meal plans and prepared preportioned snacks of raw almonds or cashew butter and ZonePerfect bars so that I could fuel up on minimeals all week.

After a couple months, I definitely felt fitter. I loved impressing Marcus by doing a one-armed push-up off a medicine ball, but the slight changes in my shape were barely registering, which made it, at times, very difficult to resist sweets.

For a long time, the experience remained more about the journey than the destination. It took months of hard work for the 2 pounds I was losing each month to become noticeable to me or anybody else.


A Thinner, Fitter Me


Half a year later, I got my reward at long last. I was in a dressing room and realized that for the first time since college, I had choices. That first glimpse of success gave me the resolve I needed to keep at it. Now, 5 years later, there's no fatso in sight. I've gone from a size 16 to an 8. I've lost 42 pounds, shaved more than 2 minutes off my mile time, and packed on a lot of sleek, toned muscle. That's not to say that it's over. My get-fit journey continues—and will for the rest of my life.

Via health.yahoo.com

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Benefits of physical activity

Getting slim on the job

Nicole Beagle's prom dress is magenta tulle with spaghetti straps and a bodice studded with rhinestones. She hasn't tried it on since 1999, but in August, she plans to wear the dress as a bridesmaid.

The only hitch: The energetic 23-year-old grew from a size 5 to a size 11 in the years after her prom night. But Beagle didn't go on a diet, join a gym or try weight loss pills to shed the extra pounds. Instead, she got a job.

Four months ago, the East Hartford, Conn., resident started working for the junk removal service 1-800-GOT-JUNK. Since then, she has dropped two dress sizes — and 25 pounds — on her way to fitting into that late-'90s gown.

Hauling junk in the hot sun might have once been the last resort of summer-job seekers who couldn't snag a spot dishing ice cream or guarding swimmers. But as young people become more health-conscious, the fitness perks of such jobs have started to count in their favor.

On a job in South Windsor, Conn., recently, Beagle and her junk-crew partner, Scott Mocek, tackled a pile of unsold goods from a tag sale. Boxes of clothing and kitchenware sailed easily into the back of their truck. Chairs and bureaus posed a bigger challenge. The company charges for junk by volume, so Beagle and Mocek tried to break larger items into smaller, more condensable pieces. One after another, Beagle slammed heavy wooden chairs against the asphalt driveway until the legs and arms broke off.

"It gives me an adrenaline rush and a workout," she said. "It's amazing how many calories you burn just filling up a truck."

Beagle said she previously had trouble fitting workouts into a schedule packed with classes, work and baby-sitting for her young niece. Now, with exercise incorporated into her time on the clock, she can focus on fitness without losing time with her friends or family, she said.
She still has one dress size to go before she will be able to fit into the prom dress, she said. For now, it is a reminder of her goal.

"I look at it every time I go into the closet," she said.

In the fall, Beagle will begin taking night classes toward certification as an X-ray technician. A doctor noticed that she had a natural aptitude for reading scans when she attended an ultrasound with her friend, she said, and it will be a good-paying job.

While she is in school, she will keep her day job working for the junk removal company, she said. Although the clients are occasionally strange — she recalled one job in which they removed 30 computer monitors from a home covered in the number "666" — she said they are usually friendly, and she enjoys feeling trusted when they allow her to enter their homes. And as long as she's working in junk removal, she'll save money and time on a gym membership, she said.

Beagle is not the only employee to have noticed the fitness boost that comes from hauling junk, said Doug Stoyer, Beagle's employer. Mocek has lost 10 pounds in three months on the job, he said, and Stoyer himself notices a weight loss during the summer months, which are the busiest for his 1-800-GOT-JUNK franchise.

"I can tell by my own waistline what the season is," he said.

Another worker, Jean Francois, took a job with the company to get fit enough to pass the physical exam for prospective firefighters, Stoyer said. Having passed the test last week, Saturday was his last day at 1-800-GOT-JUNK.

Despite its effect on the biceps and waistline, junk removal leaves something to be desired as a full body workout, Beagle said. Heavy lifting leaves her lower body relatively untoned.

"The thing I still need to be going to the gym for," she said, "is my legs."

Via http://www.mailtribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070724/LIFE/707240307

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Best weight loss method - diet or exercise?

The well known truth about making weight loss success is maintaining the difference between calories consumed and calories burnt through metabolism and physical activity.

You can hear everywhere that the best way to lose weight naturally is through diet and exercises.

The group of doctors from the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana held a study that showed no difference between losing weight through diet plus exercises and dieting alone.

What we found was that it did not matter whether a reduction in calories was achieved through diet or burned everyday through exercise.

- Dr. Leanne Redman said.

Thirty-five overweight but otherwise healthy adults — 16 men and 19 women — completed the 6-month study. Twelve were assigned to a diet-only group; they reduced their calorie intake by 25 percent. Twelve were assigned to diet plus exercise; they reduced their calorie intake by 12.5 percent and increased their exercise by 12.5 percent. The remaining 11 subjects made no significant diet or exercise changes.

Redman and colleagues found that the diet-only group and the diet plus exercise group lost roughly the same amount of weight, albeit by different means. They lost about 10 percent of their body weight, 24 percent of their fat mass and 27 percent of their abdominal “visceral” fat — the deep internal fat linked to heart disease risk.

The sudy showed that both of the methods worked and people shed their pounds.

Of course you may think that physical activity is not necesaary anymore - if so, that's vary bad thought.

As the researchers point out, regular exercise can improve aerobic fitness and lower the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and certain types of cancer. This is your overall health enhancer.

The study also found that exercise did little to tone specific areas of the body. Fat was reduced consistently across the whole body and not more in any one trouble spot. The specialists concluded that every person has an individual way to store fat that cannot be overrided by weight loss. So we need specific exercises to work upon our problem zones.

Can we lose weight without exercising? Here are opinions from a message board:

I recently underwent a pretty major weight loss - I lost 50 lbs. in a year and 4 months. And I will honestly say that I lost the first 35 of them with no exercise whatsoever. I was lucky enough to stumble upon LA Weight Loss which taught me to eat right, in the right proportions - and never to feel hungry. I really do beleive that you need both, to maintain the weight loss and for heart health, etc. - but based on my own experience I can't help but agree that the weight loss part can certainly be done without exercising - it's all about what you eat.

I HAVE DONE DOZENS OF DIETS, AND IM NO SPORT OR EXERCISE FAN,AND I'VE LOST A LOT OF WEIGHTS ON THESE DIETS ESPECIALLY ATKINS. MY ONLY CONCERN IS THE HEALTH ISSUES DISCUSSED SO MUCH ABOUT TAKING ATKINS OVER A LONG PERIOD...AND THEN THEY SAY ITS FOR LIFE! AS I SAID I'VE LOST THE POUNDS WITHOUT THE EXERCISE, BUT WHEN I HAVE VENTURED INTO A ROUTINE OF BRISK WALKING EVERYDAY, I FELT MUCH MUCH BETTER AND LIGHTER TOO !

Via http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17278353/