Sheila before

You most likely won’t lose 100 lbs over night, or even in a few weeks… (unless your on The Biggest Loser), but it can realistically happen slowly and with lifestyle changes and long term commitment.

“I started my journey in June of 2007. I was always a larger girl, but never really dieted. I just became fine with the way I was, however I did not feel healthy. After I kept talking about losing weight I finally made the decision to go to a gym and get a membership. The manager then convinced me that working out with a trainer 2 days a week was a good idea. That’s where I originally met Dawn. It was the best decision I ever made, and money spent!

Something just clicked, and I decided that I was going to accomplish this no matter what. It was a huge sacrifice of time and a life change in how I view, prepare, and eat food. Now, 100 lbs lighter, I feel better than ever, have more energy, and will lead a healthier lifestyle from now on.” Sheila Lozano 12/09

I met Shiela Lozano almost 3 years ago. She was 270+ lbs and wanted to get healthy. We started off working out 2 times a week together. In addition she was working out another 3 or 4 days on her own, with specific homework I gave her. Sheila knew she had to change her eating habits as well, and was ready for the change. Instead of putting her on a ‘diet’ I gave her healthier substitutions for the foods she was already eating and liked. Knowing she had a long road ahead of her, I did not want her to get ‘bored’ of her workouts so I made sure I changed them up every time we worked out together. Now, almost 3 years later, I don’t think we have ever done the same workout twice! Sheila has been very consistant with her workout and eating habits and is living proof that being fit is a life long commitment of daily decisions to make time for exercise and healthy food choices.

Words cannot describe how proud I am of this woman. Sheila has shown determintation, commitment, incredible hard work (lots of sweat!), strength, temprance, balance (dessert is ok) and patience in her journey to become the fit and strong person she is today. Along the way she has to learned how to run and completed her first half marathon!!!

Congradulations Sheila, I believe in you, like you have believed in yourself

The Survivor Diet:

My brother told me he had lost 8lbs in the past 2 weeks and thought he was on the right path - following The Survivor Diet and The Prisoner Workout. I took a deep breathe and began to educate him on the healthy, balanced way to get fit and lose weight. He listened silently and then retorted “I was just doing what the people on Survivor do, they only eat rice, exercise all the time, and lose a ton of weight”. I explained to him that when Read More »

We exercise to burn calories, so why would we want to undo this by eating before and after a workout? For one, we need energy to carry us through our workouts. I have actually caught a person, or two, while fainting in the middle of a training session. Oops they tell me, I was too busy and forgot to eat. Dizziness and nausea are the first signs of lack of fuel. We need energy to burn energy, the key here is to make sure you are burning more than you are consuming. We don’t get the green light to eat whatever we want just because we worked out - a huge misconception among many. Additionally, after we workout our body needs food to feed our hungry muscles. We need to quickly (within 30 minutes) get food into the blood flow following exercise. Protein and carbohydrates before and after weight training can enhance recovery, allowing the body to spend more time on building muscle rather than repair.

Some good pre and post workout snacks are : Read More »

I invite all you healthy minded people to give your 2 cents on finding healthy food to eat for lunch downtown Seattle. I know it is a challenge to eat healthy when ordering out, but many of our choices can fit into a healthy meal plan. For instance a client of mine recently introduced me to Red Bowls, on 3rd&Columbia. The ‘Good Heart’ is delicious if you are looking for a vegetarian option, and the ‘Radical’ is great if your in the mood or some sushi. Want a salad, try Cocoa Banana salad bar on 2nd & James, or Market Fresh on 4th & Marion (just stay away from the hot foods side).  Please comment with your healthy favorites!