It seems we Americans are fatter than ever! I thought I would post this inspirational story for any of you who are (like me!) trying to work off those unwanted pounds! Keep fighting the good fight! YOU CAN DO IT!
Via the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
A little more than three years ago, tax attorney Debbie Lestitian was a 220-pound, first-time mother with barely enough energy to work out five minutes on an elliptical machine.
Today as the Brookline resident approaches her 40th birthday, she’s a 135-pound mother of two who is so fit that she can lift more weight than some of the men at her gym, the Rivers Club in Oxford Center. At nearly 5 feet, 7 inches, her body is so well-sculpted she donned a bikini this summer and competed in the figure division of a bodybuilding contest.
She finished fifth of five, but the other four contestants were in their 20s. Next time, Lestitian said, she’ll compete in a larger competition with age divisions.
Ironically, though, the way she looks — and it is the kind of good looks that draws a lot of attention — is icing on a cake she has no interest in.
“This was never about the way I look,” she said. “This was about being fit and strong, about being able to run after my kids.”
And there’s a lot of running involved. Her kids are active toddlers: Chloe is almost 4 years old; Ryan is pushing age 3. Add in the fact that Lestitian continues to work 25 hours a week (60 during tax season) at Rothman Gordon, P.C., Downtown, and you wonder how she ever made time to devote to one-hour workouts five days a week.
Adding to the import of her accomplishment is the fact that she became pregnant with Ryan soon after she reached hit her goal weight — at that time it was 128 pounds — for the first time. After delivering him, she was dismayed to learn she had gained back 63 pounds.
She had to start all over again.
How?
The answer is simple: self-discipline. In fact, Lestitian said it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call her self-discipline “obsession”.
“That’s the difference between Debbie and a lot of people,” said her personal trainer, John O’Day. “Debbie’s drive, her self-discipline is what made the difference. She was able to stick with what I gave her.”
What O’Day gave her was a mixed regimen of exercise and nutrition. Directing the weight lifting and other strength-building exercises is his job during the time they spend together each week (two hours now; one hour in the beginning). He outlined cardiovascular training for her to do on her own — she can do an hour on the elliptical now — as well as guidelines for healthy eating.
O’Day didn’t give her meal plans; instead, he gave her lists of foods from which she had to design her own. He suggested she eat five or six small meals totalling 1,500 calories a day. Lestitian would have preferred the meal plans, but she acknowledges now that O’Day’s approach was the better way.
“He’s changed the way I think about food,” she said. For example, she has learned to eat a protein like chicken with her breakfast oatmeal. The small multiple meals have become a way of life. Some days her lifestyle means making three dinners: one for herself, a modified one for her husband, Bill, and one for the kids.
Because she is so goal-oriented, Lestitian is a trainer’s dream.
“I really try to do my best. If he says do 10 repetitions, but I can do 12, I do 12. I still get nervous before a workout. I’m not sure I’m going to be able to do it. You try not to disappoint the coach,” said the former high school softball and basketball player.
But she never disappoints her trainer, who called her his most motivated client.
Though O’Day and Lestitian never do the exact same things two days back-to-back, observing one of them provides a good overview of their routines.
One recent day went something like this:
three-minute warmup on the elliptical machine;
lateral pulldowns with 60 pounds of weight;
barbell squats with weight increasing from 95 pounds to 135 pounds;
stiff-legged dead lifts increasing from 75 pounds to 85 pounds;
walking lunges while carrying two 20-pound dumbbells;
sprints up and down the gymnasium hardwood floor;
seated dumbbell press with 20-pound dumbbells;
barbell curls with 45 pounds;
inclined abdominal crunches and reverse abdominal crunches;
stretching.
Are the workouts fun?
“No,” Lestitian said. “I like coming to the club. I’ve made lots of friends and that’s fun. It’s a relaxing time for me and that’s fun. Buying cool clothes [she wears size 2 trousers, down from a high of 18] is fun. But workouts I wouldn’t say are fun.”
But reaching goals are fun for her, too, and she and O’Day believe her habit of goal-setting is what allowed her to reach her desired weight — twice — and keep it off.
She began her transformation by losing 30 pounds with the Jenny Craig weight-loss program. Then she decided the only way to keep losing more would be to exercise. A longtime member of The Rivers Club, she walked into the fitness part of it for the first time on June 1, 2002, and was immediately motivated by the woman who was working the desk.
Lestitian told her she wanted to lose 30 pounds. “She rolled her eyes and said, ‘I hear that all the time,'” Lestitian remembered. “It made me really mad. She actually motivated me.”
A couple months later, someone at the club suggested she would progress further if she hired a trainer for a few sessions to show her how to use the equipment. She subsequently teamed up with O’Day.
During the reducing stage she set poundage goals and met them quickly.
“Seeing results — it was exciting,” she said. “I couldn’t believe the way the weight was peeling off.
“When I got to 150 [her original ultimate goal], it wasn’t good enough. I wanted to lose more.”
And she did, until her second pregnancy came along. After six weeks away from lifting to recover from Ryan’s delivery, she went back to work on reaching that goal weight again.
When she did that, she needed another new goal. This time she decided to run in the 2004 Great Race. She gave herself six weeks to get ready and made it, running with other women from The Rivers Club.
The next goal was the bodybuilding contest this summer.
Now, she said, she needs another goal and is considering her options. Although someone has suggested a half-marathon, she’s leaning towards a bigger bodybuilding competition.
She learned a lot in her first event — for example, the other women stuck out their butts for the rear pose while she tucked hers in — and she’d like to put those lessons to work in a show large enough to have a master’s division.
