I saw a friends transformation over this past year on Facebook and it was so dramatic and amazing, I asked her if I could share. She was nice enough to answer a LOT of questions for us and share her pictures as well!  Her son completed the challenge with her, and I love that they worked together as a family! He made an amazing transformation as well, and I admire them both so much for sticking with it and being such great examples to inspire us in our own journey.

Super high kick for my friend Stacy and her son!  

You can post comments for her below and she’ll be checking them! 

Here is her story….

My name is Stacy Tomko, I live in Vermont with my husband.  I have 2 children, a daughter, age 21 and a son, age 16.  I turned 40 in March of 2011.

When I think back to high school, I don’t really remember being in good shape, just thin with a teenager’s metabolism.  I never really noticed much of a weight problem until my husband and I were married for a few years, so I would say, I really started the weight gain in 2005.  I have struggled with weight gain/loss since then.  I would get to a certain weight and then just say “that’s it”  I tried L.A Weight Loss and lost 20 +/-lbs but then it got too expensive to continue, so the weight was put back on plus more.  I then tried Jenny Craig and loved it.  I lost 20 +/- lbs but again, it got to be too expensive and again, the weight came back on.  I got to a point where my weight was just under 200 lbs and out of control.  During 2010, I got extremely depressed, sought out counseling and was very unhappy with all aspects of my life.  That’s when I knew I needed something to change.   The other diets/eating plans tried in the past just weren’t affordable as a lifestyle.

What is your experience with exercise over the years?  I have always enjoyed walking but never really joined a gym and I despised running.  I felt more comfortable working out to dvds like Tai-bo, etc.

How would you describe your diet in the past? What sorts of things would you eat?  Did you eat out a lot? Who cooks at your house? Did you ever eat fast food?  My diet has been 90% of my problem since I’ve been married.  I do all the cooking, which I am great at!  I love to experiment with new recipes which is not a good thing.  I am not a fussy eater so I pretty much love everything I make.  My husband loves my cooking as well, but he has the metabolism of a speeding bullet and has always struggled trying to gain weight.  We have gone out to eat at least once or twice a week.  We love trying new restaurants and never worried about what we were eating.  I have also indulged in fast food, as I was a hockey parent.  Any parent of a hockey player knows that it is close to impossible to eat healthy during the months of October through March.

What made you decide to do this latest challenge?  At the end of 2010, I heard about a 2011 Body Transformation Challenge that was going to start in January sponsored by our local recreation department and run by a local personal trainer/nutritionist.  That challenge was going to start on January 10, 2011 and last for eight weeks.  Included in this challenge were weekly weigh-ins, bi-weekly measurements and a one hour nutrition/fitness class.  The class talked about how to eat, when to eat, what to eat and what kind of exercise to do.  I learned a lot about the calculations to determine my caloric intake, protein intake, how much water to drink and how much exercise to do in order to lose the weight.  On the first night, I weighed in at 188.6 lbs, which was my heaviest and I was a size 16.  I was hoping to lose 20 lbs during this challenge and had no expectations of winning but to just lose some weight.  In March at the final class, I weighed in at 170.4 for a loss of 18.2 lbs.  I also lossed 12.5 inches total.  I was very happy with this, since I didn’t have to pay for any special diet plan or gym memberships.  I did take some strength classes 3 days a week and joined jazzercise for some cardio.  But realistically, I was able to eat regular healthy food which I could also prepare for my family.  Below are before and after photos of the first weight loss challenge.  I laugh when I look at these photos because I never realized I looked as bad as I did in the before photo and in the after photo, in March, I actually thought I looked good!

January 10,2011 – Starting

March 8, 2011

 

 

 

Even though the eight week challenge was done, I knew that I was not.  I thought to myself, “if I could just lose 20 more lbs, that would make me happy.”  Just as I was trying to figure out how I could lose the next 20, there was an announcement made that there would be a new weight loss challenge starting on April 5, 2011.  The Spring In2 Action weight loss challenge was a little different as it was a team challenge where each person would chose a partner and the team with the most percentage of body weight lost would win $2,000.  My 15 year old son (at the time) was overweight and was extremely interested in doing it with me, however, he was motivated by the cash and not the weight loss.  On April 5, 2011, my son and I called ourselves “The FeatherWaites” and went to our first weigh in.  I weighed in at 170.8 lbs and my son weighed in at 193.8 lbs.  During this challenge, we both joined a gym and worked out together, ate together and went to all the classes together.  We were extremely committed as we did not want to let each other down.  On the final night, we actually thought we were going to win the big money with him weighing in at 155.6 lbs totaling a 38.2 lbs loss along with 20.25 inches lost.  His loss equated to 19.71% body weight dropped in eight weeks.  I weighed in at 144 lbs totaling a 26.8 lb loss along with another 16 inches lost.  Unfortunately, we came in second place but actually winners in the end.

 

My son, before and after: 

 

May 31st

 

 

Shortly after the Spring In2 Action challenge, our family went on vacation to Maine for a week and had a great time.  We went camping and spent the days at the beach.  We did indulge in some “no so good food” but also got plenty of exercise each day.  There was a new challenge that went for another eight weeks through the summer but I decided to take a break and my husband and I bought kayaks which we used almost every weekend.  You would think that kayaking would be a great workout, but unless you do extreme kayaking, it is really just a little upper body workout and I decided I needed more.

I did a lot of thinking during the first two challenges, especially since I turned 40 in March.  It was already a great first half of the year but I really wanted to go out with a bang.  I knew that I had gotten in pretty good shape but I wanted to end 2011 in the best shape of my life and so I joined the last weight loss challenge of 2011.  The Fit 4 Fall Weight loss challenge started on September 20, 2011 and went for twelve long weeks.  This was the longest challenge yet and was designed to get those who joined through some of the holidays like Halloween and Thanksgiving.  After taking the summer off at the gym and enjoying some summer time  drinking and eating, I weighed in at my last challenge at 156.4 lbs.  Yes, I gained 12.4 lbs during the summer but I was going to take it off FOREVER!  This challenge was very difficult not just because of the 12 weeks but also because, I worked harder this challenge than any other challenge.  I joined a new gym where I didn’t know anyone and I started running.  I know I said I despised running but I also did a lot of research on line and found that running was the best fat burning exercise.  I started running ½ mile then walking and a few days later, I would try to run a mile then walk and eventually built myself up to where I could actually run 10 miles!  Let’s get one thing straight…..I still despise running but it really works!  Between the strength training I was doing  and the cardio I was getting from running, I found myself working out 6 days a week and taking one day off.  However, the one day I would take off, I would find I was extremely irritable and ansy.  My diet was 100% healthy, eating 6 times a day with each meal including a protein and a carb.  It’s that easy!  Final weigh in for 2011 took place on December 13, 2011.  I weighed in at 123.2 lbs and lost another 12.5 inches.  In less than one year, I lost 65.4 lbs and 41.75 inches and am now in a size 2! I have not been to a fast food restaurant since December of 2010 and am proud of it.

 

 

My understanding is that it’s a year long challenge that you completed – is that right? So, it wasn’t a year long challenge but ended up being a year long journey that I decided to take in steps.   Did the length of time intimidate you in the beginning? If I thought from the beginning it would take me a year, I might have dropped out, but you have to make small goals that you can reach instead of goals that seem impossible.

How did you keep motivated?  I’ve learned many things this past year and one of them is how competitive I am.  I wanted to beat others that joined the challenge.  This was my motivation.  Tips and ideas? My personal tip was to find someone in the challenge whose body type and starting weight was comparable to mine and then my goal was to beat them!

Did you do your challenge alone or with friends or family?  I did the first challenge alone and the last two, I did with my son.

Was your family supportive? My family was extremely supportive, especially my husband, he joined the same gym as I did and we always worked out together. How would you categorize their interest in fitness and health at the beginning of your challenge?  My son was never into health prior to the challenge but was always active in sports.

Did you have supportive friends? This has been the most challenging subject that past year.  With the weight I’ve lost, I have also lost some friends.  Everyone thinks losing weight is such a happy experience and for the most part it is, however, you never hear about the down side to losing weight.  Some people, for whatever reasons were jealous, envious and even act resentful when I started losing a lot of weight.  I think part of it had to do with the fact that I was so focused, my social life took a backseat at least through this last challenge.  Some of my friends seem only to be able to socialize around food, which makes it difficult for someone who chooses not to eat the garbage or drink the alcohol.  There were about 6 or 7 weeks that went by where I seemed to disappear off the face of the earth diving into the workouts or spending my time at the mall shopping for smaller clothes and when I did finally decide to go to a social event, my friends would say, “You need to stop losing weight”, or “Oh my goodness, are you eating?”  They would eat something fried or sweet and say, “seriously, you can have one”  They just couldn’t get it I guess.  To answer your question, No, I really did not have any supportive friends.  It is difficult for me to socialize with them even now.  (Note from Betsy: Funny- when I really got focused on fitness, I found I gravitated toward people who had the same values. Not that I don’t like my other friends, but I find I look at the world in a more similar way with my fitness friends. Finding friends like that make it all much easier and now that you are doing more fitness type things, those  new friends will come!)

What did you do for baseline tracking? During the first challenge, I actually logged my daily food intake but once I learned how my body worked, I was able to give up the logging. Body fat testing? fitness testing?  I did do a fitness assessment with my husband at the beginning of the last challenge.

Did you have a personal trainer?  No

What kinds of workouts did you do?  Cardio 3 times a week, strength training 3 times a week and plyometrics 1 day a week.

Whats your favorite workouts?  A 2.5 hour workout at the gym with weights is my most enjoyable workout with the best results.

Is there anything new that you discovered with fitness?  Although cardio is a must, strength training is a necessity.  Especially once you hit 40.  You start losing muscle mass every year so it is extremely important to get in the strength training.

Did you take any supplements?  Yes, I started taking Isotonix supplements in February.  It is a great tasting powder that is mixed with water.  I hate taking pills so this was right up my alley.  I take OPC-3, Vit C, Calcium, Vit B-12, Joint Support and Multi Vit.  My hairdresser is amazed at the condition of my hair whenever I get it cut!

What was your favorite ‘on target food’?  Protein, Protein, Protein.  Whenever, I would reach a plateau with my weight loss, I would up my protein and started losing again by the next weigh in.

What was your favorite cheat food?  Nachos!

Did you check your progress at different times throughout the challenge?  Like I stated early, we had weekly weigh-ins and bi-weekly measurements, but I became obsessed with the scale at home as well.  I needed to know what I was going to weigh in at before I weighed in.  During the last challenge, I would step on my scale 3 times a day.  Some researchers say this is bad, but for me, it was a must and by doing this, you also learn how certain foods you each affect your weight.

Did you have times where you felt you weren’t making any progress, and if so, how did you work past all that?  There were only a couple of times where I felt I wasn’t making progress at which point I would evaluate what I was eating and make a few changes.  Of course, that time of the month doesn’t help either!

Did you have an idea of what you wanted your outcome to be?  No, I originally just wanted to try losing 20 lbs, then I knew if I could lose 20, I could lose 20 more.  It wasn’t until the Fit 4 Fall challenge that I realized what I wanted the outcome to be.  I wanted to be in the 120’s, and be in great shape.

Stats before/after:

January 2011 my weight was 188.6, December 2011 my weight was 123.2

I lost 41.75 inches  (Seriously this is so awesome!!!!)

What do you think changed the most?  My waist definitely.  In January, my waist measurement was 41.75 inches.  In December 2011, my waist measurement was 27 inches!  14.75 inches lost from my waist was a huge change.

What do you think changed YOU the most?  My happiness.  When I started the challenge in January, I was depressed, stressed out, I had no energy and was taking anti-depressants.  I am now pretty happy in all aspects of my life.  My relationship with my husband and children has grown, I love being out and about with my new clothes and I have plenty of energy.  I don’t take any anti-depressants and am even more focused at work.

Emotionally, how are you a different person now?  I came up with a new saying a couple of months ago…”when you are happy with yourself, everything else falls into place”  Seriously, it is totally true.  I didn’t need to work on anything except the weightloss and now that I am happy with myself, all other aspects of my life just seem better.

What is your next step?  New Goals?  Ideas?   When this last challenge was finished, I thought I would feel relieved.  I couldn’t wait for the final weigh-in to be over but just as soon as I walked out those doors, I immediately felt lost.  I made many new friends who also did the challenges, I was accountable every week at weigh in and now what do I do?  Honestly, for a week after the final weigh in, I cried a lot, fearful of going back to the 188.6.  I had no one to talk to about it either, no one understood how scared I was and just kept saying, “you won’t gain it back”, “you’ll do fine.”  That did not help at all.  I wanted someone to tell me what the next step was.  I had to figure out on my own that my next step was to maintain and take it day by day.  I still get on the scale a few times a day which keeps me honest.  I had tossed around the idea of possibly doing a little body building….amateur of course, but that is a year or two down the road.

Anything else you want to add?  I would just like to say that many people say they can’t do what I have done because they are big boned or just not built that way.  It makes me laugh because that is exactly what I once said.  It is a long road and it is not easy, but it is possible for anyone!

Congratulations Stacy!   What an inspiration!!