Trainers can fall off the wagon too… just like YOU!

People tend to think that it’s easy for trainers to stay in shape. Well, let me tell you it’s NOT! We have hard times too and get caught up in work and life and sometimes can let ourselves go too, just like everyone else.

I know, because it happened to ME! Just because we are Trainers… doesn’t mean that we don’t have our challenges too to stay in shape. We  ARE  human… ya know. LOL.

I have been a trainer for 25 years now and was named Ms. USA in 1996 and turned Pro that day at the USA Bodybuilding Championships! I weighed in at 104 lbs… ripped and hard!

Over the last 4 years do you know what I found out?

You lose it if you don’t use it!

I retired from competing in 1996 after turning Pro, but still worked out pretty good up until about 2005, when I got a horse and started riding and showing again. At that point, I stopped working out and kinda started to slack on making healthy eating choices. I was still pretty active, but just didn’t do any weight bearing exercise.

Because I had so much lean mass and had been in great shape before… it took a while before I noticed what had happened to my body… It had gotten FAT!

Don’t get me wrong… my weight was still around 100-105 lbs… which wasn’t a problem. And how can 100 lbs. be fat, right? But when I got my body fat tested… my body fat had gone up to 23.6%!!! And my lean mass had gone way down. So you see… my weight hadn’t changed that much on the scale, but when I saw my body fat % and took my BEFORE pics… I could see a HUGE difference in my appearance AND I was shocked! My lean mass to body fat ratio had changed ALOT… and that’s what happens when you don’t exercise and make bad food choices. You lose muscle mass and gain body fat. And the more lean mass you lose… the harder it is to lose the body fat. You NEED lean muscle mass in order to lose the body fat! And you can’t always go just by the scale. You have to take BEFORE pics, get your body fat taken, & take measurements, as well as weighing yourself on the scale, so you can see what’s really working and what’s not.

Bottom line…

You have to exercise and eat healthy! There’s no getting around it if you want to look & feel your BEST! Especially as we get older because of our naturally declining lean muscle mass. As we age our lean mass starts to decline, which makes it easier for us to gain body fat. Exercise, such as weight training and bootcamps, along with making sure we eat enough lean protein, helps us to keep that from happening.

Now that I’m in better shape…

I won’t be so embarrassed to show you my awful “BEFORE” Pictures. YUCKY!!

None of my friends, family, and clients believe me when I said I had let myself go.

Well… I have PROOF!

And of course you can’t tell how jiggly my butt was in the BEFORE pics, but let me tell… IT WAS! lol.

February 2010…

Body fat= 23.6%     Weight= 101.4 lbs.     Lean Mass= 77.9 lbs.

April 16, 2010…

Body fat= 15.1%      Weight= 102.8 lbs.    Lean Mass= 87.3 lbs.

If I can do it from the Photos you see below… so can YOU!!!

Photo on the Left is BEFORE.  Photo on the Right is NOW. (from April 24, 2010)

Photo on the Left is BEFORE.     Photo on the Right is NOW. (from May 2, 2010)

Let me just say… I don’t ever want to let myself go again! It feels too good to be in shape… I had forgotten how that felt. My contest is in June and I have 6 more weeks left and will continue to change and get leaner. I still have a ways to go, but also have come so far from where I started!

It’s definitely not an easy journey… to change your body and your lifestyle… but it’s one that is TRULY WORTH IT… If you put forth the EFFORT!

Aren’t  YOU  WORTH  IT???????

BELIEVE… and Stay Positive and True to Yourself…

Clifta Coulter Perez

Reno Personal Fitness Trainer

PS… Drop me an email at cliftafit@yahoo.com if you’d like help with a “New” or “Current” Workout and/or Food Program. 🙂

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