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My youngest client, I'll call her Sarah, is a senior at South Tahoe High. She has chosen weight loss as the subject for her senior project, which the entire community can see at the end of the school year.
She and her mother came to me in February to see if I could help her achieve her goal. Sarah told me that she had gained 25 to 30 pounds during the past few years.
She had all the drive and motivation of any 18-year-old who looks at the calendar ahead to the month of June and sees the word "prom" almost vibrating off the page.
The teen had experienced this large weight gain most likely because of: changes in hormone levels; a more sedentary lifestyle due to increased schoolwork and a part-time desk job; and more "date" dining with her boyfriend.
I told Sarah that if she really wanted to get healthier and lose the fat, she needed to make a few life changes like: increasing her aerobic activity; starting resistance training to build muscle mass; and cutting out the refined sugars and saturated fats in her diet.
I also told her I have two types of clients - the ones who bring me money, don't listen, and don't see many results, and the ones who bring me money, do listen and see fabulous improvements in their health, appearance and self-confidence.
In other words, it doesn't matter what I preach, it's what Sarah and everyone else practices that makes the most difference. I'm like a coach, a motivator, a teacher. But it's up to the student, individual, client - you - to do the work to lose the weight.
Sarah chose to listen. As soon as she began to see results, she was even more motivated. Even with her busy schedule, she made time to get to the gym. When she wasn't working out with me on weight training, core strengthening and flexibility, she was on the treadmill four or five days a week.
She pushed herself when I coached her to do just one more abdominal crunch when she really wanted to quit 10 crunches earlier. She stuck with the leg machine until her strong legs finally gave out and she couldn't push it up again to free herself without my help. (This is why it's important to have a spotter for specific exercises.)
Sarah increased her muscle mass, boosted her aerobic activity and changed her eating habits. Here are her results after 10 weeks:
Body fat: Reduced by 1.2 percent
Body Weight: Lost 12 pounds
Inches: Down 20.25
Sarah has proved to herself and others that there is no magic pill that will help achieve health and fitness goals. It's about starting a program and staying true to yourself because you want and deserve a great life.
- Rhonda Beckham is a nationally certified personal trainer, with teaching certificates in Pilates and kick boxing.
Is dieting the answer?
UCLA researchers released a report in the April issue of American Psychologist after studying 31 weight-loss studies that determined long-term dieting is not the answer to staying trim. The SoCal gang said one- to two-thirds of the participants put the pounds back on after dieting.
Help me Rhonda
Rhonda Beckham is owner of Help Me Rhonda and Perfect Pilates, a Pilates instructor at Lake Tahoe Community College and Sierra Athletic Club, and a personal trainer operating out of Sierra Athletic Club and the Tahoe Keys Marina Fitness Studio. Reach her at (530) 208-6369, www.TahoeTrainer.com or rhonda@tahoetrainer.
She and her mother came to me in February to see if I could help her achieve her goal. Sarah told me that she had gained 25 to 30 pounds during the past few years.
She had all the drive and motivation of any 18-year-old who looks at the calendar ahead to the month of June and sees the word "prom" almost vibrating off the page.
The teen had experienced this large weight gain most likely because of: changes in hormone levels; a more sedentary lifestyle due to increased schoolwork and a part-time desk job; and more "date" dining with her boyfriend.
I told Sarah that if she really wanted to get healthier and lose the fat, she needed to make a few life changes like: increasing her aerobic activity; starting resistance training to build muscle mass; and cutting out the refined sugars and saturated fats in her diet.
I also told her I have two types of clients - the ones who bring me money, don't listen, and don't see many results, and the ones who bring me money, do listen and see fabulous improvements in their health, appearance and self-confidence.
In other words, it doesn't matter what I preach, it's what Sarah and everyone else practices that makes the most difference. I'm like a coach, a motivator, a teacher. But it's up to the student, individual, client - you - to do the work to lose the weight.
Sarah chose to listen. As soon as she began to see results, she was even more motivated. Even with her busy schedule, she made time to get to the gym. When she wasn't working out with me on weight training, core strengthening and flexibility, she was on the treadmill four or five days a week.
She pushed herself when I coached her to do just one more abdominal crunch when she really wanted to quit 10 crunches earlier. She stuck with the leg machine until her strong legs finally gave out and she couldn't push it up again to free herself without my help. (This is why it's important to have a spotter for specific exercises.)
Sarah increased her muscle mass, boosted her aerobic activity and changed her eating habits. Here are her results after 10 weeks:
Body fat: Reduced by 1.2 percent
Body Weight: Lost 12 pounds
Inches: Down 20.25
Sarah has proved to herself and others that there is no magic pill that will help achieve health and fitness goals. It's about starting a program and staying true to yourself because you want and deserve a great life.
- Rhonda Beckham is a nationally certified personal trainer, with teaching certificates in Pilates and kick boxing.
Is dieting the answer?
UCLA researchers released a report in the April issue of American Psychologist after studying 31 weight-loss studies that determined long-term dieting is not the answer to staying trim. The SoCal gang said one- to two-thirds of the participants put the pounds back on after dieting.
Help me Rhonda
Rhonda Beckham is owner of Help Me Rhonda and Perfect Pilates, a Pilates instructor at Lake Tahoe Community College and Sierra Athletic Club, and a personal trainer operating out of Sierra Athletic Club and the Tahoe Keys Marina Fitness Studio. Reach her at (530) 208-6369, www.TahoeTrainer.com or rhonda@tahoetrainer.
