Success Stories On Weight Lifting Programs

Many of us know the importance of having lean, muscular and healthy body. It ensures our health, not to mention boosts our confidence level. But being caught up in the hectic lives we have the plans for weight loss or workout routines just remain plans, and the image we have in our heads of a stronger, healthier 'me' just remain fantasies. The truth, we will never have time for the really important things in life, we will just have to make the time. This is what Cheryl Rasmussen, a mother and full-time employee at Sun Microsystems did to get rid of the body image she hated, and embrace the figure she always wanted.

Cheryl Rasmussen had always had trouble with her weight. She had been a yo-yo dieter since high school and had never been able to find the time to consistently follow any workout regime. But in 2001, when she had her first baby and put on 50 pounds, reaching a 200 pound mark, she was devastated. The weight didn't go anywhere over the next six months. This was the height of depression for her. She describes her feelings at the time as, "I was depressed about the way my body looked and out of breath all the time. I had this negativity hanging over my head. I was still in maternity clothes five months after giving birth. I felt I should have been happier and that I was letting my family down. I needed to do something to be healthy and to be a positive image for my child and my husband."

At this moment, she decided to take a step for herself and her family. On her earlier weight loss bouts, her sister had given her a book called the Body-for-LIFE book, which had a 12 week challenge to lose weight and build muscle. The accompanying website of the book also holds a contest where people compete to achieve the healthiest possible body image within the 12 weeks. She began the challenge the very next day, and so did her sister. They both entered the contest and became a source of great inspiration and motivation for each other.

To succeed in her muscle building challenge, Cheryl invested in weight building equipment like dumbbells and began training three mornings a week as well as doing cardio workouts on alternate mornings. Having a full time job and baby aren't the best conditions for a workout, so she just made the time by starting out her day at 5 a.m. for about a month, Cheryl trained at home because she was embarrassed by her body, but after that, when she gained more confidence about her training, she began to workout at the office gym. After training for six weeks, everyone started noticing the amazing changes in her and complimenting her on her wonderful new figure and health. She was actually encouraged to go out and buy nicely fit training clothes to train in instead of her usual baggy sweatshirts. She also invested time in planning her meals on the weekends, preparing home-made lunches to take to work so she could have 6 healthy but small meals in a day. By the end of 12 weeks, , Cheryl was down to 145, her target weight, she's 5'81/2 " in height. She had lost 23 pounds and 18 total inches, cutting her body fat to 17 percent and dropping 8 dress sizes. And the best part, she won the Body-For-LIFE challenge 2002! Cheryl is still maintaining her weight and figure.

• Emma Bullock
• 26/06/2009, 10:59 PM
• 0 Comments