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Before:
169 lbs
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After:
124 lbs
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Vital Stats
Name: Barbara Eckonen
Email: bah_tc@hotmail.com
Before: January 2007
Weight: 169 lbs
Chest: 36"
Pant Size: 13
After: February 2008
Weight: 124 lbs
Chest: 32"
Pant Size: 5
Why I Got Started
I always felt embarrassed to be overweight, but I never tried to get in better shape because everybody used to say that I was cute, I had pretty face! So, I forgot about my body and before I knew it I was fat! On May 2006 I started to date my actual husband.
He is the owner of Tropical Gym, a personal trainer and a bodybuilder. I started to go with him to the contests and help him with his preparation. He was always in amazing shape and I was 169 lbs. That made me think about my body, how I want to look and live.
Click Image To Enlarge.I Always Felt Embarrassed To Be Overweight.
Troy never said anything about my weight, but he started to teach me how to cook and eat clean, how to exercise right, how to have patience to see the results and he motivated me to do my cardio, which was always torture for me!
Click Image To Enlarge.Troy Motivated Me To Eat Clean And Exercise.
How I Did It
Troy started training me a few days a week and I started to do 30 minutes of cardio 3 times a week! The first months were really hard for me to understand how the diet and my body work! After a while I started to lose weight and understand better what is good and bad for me!
When I started I was 169lbs and wearing size 13! I used to take two kinds of medicine for depression! Now I am 124 lbs and wearing size 5! I don't take any kind of medicine and have never been so happy in my whole life!
Click Image To Enlarge.Troy Trained Me A Few Days A Week.
My hair and skin are a lot better than few years ago. Troy was my motivation and now my old and big pair of pants is my motivation too! Once a month I try my old pants for motivation to show me what I have already accomplished!
Click Image To Enlarge.Once A Month I Try On
My Old Pants For Motivation.
Diet
Before I moved in with Troy I used to eat really badly! I always ate everything but never looked at calories or carbohydrates. When I moved with him my first question was "Where is the salt and sugar?"
For me, it was super strange and hard to understand. A few months later I was drinking just water and eating clean like him. But I did not lose any weight until that time. One day Troy told me to make a smaller portion of food. After that day I started to lose weight.
Click Image To Enlarge.I Was Drinking Water
And Eating Clean Like Troy.
Now I eat 5 or 6 times a day, but very small portions (each portion is the size of the palm of your hand). In my breakfast I love to eat oatmeal with fruits or egg whites with spinach, tomato and a whole wheat toast. My snacks are protein bars, yogurt, rice cakes or fruits.
At lunch and dinner I always eat a small portion of carbs, protein, fat and water. I love to eat chicken marinate (lemon and pepper or teriyaki) with whole wheat pasta and mandarin segments.
I also make my own hamburger with ground beef (7% of fat), one egg and bread crumbs. I cook it with olive oil and after it is done I put a slice of fat free cheese on top of my hamburger and eat it with asparagus or make a sandwich with one toast, tomato and pickles.
I always eat a very small portion, every 3 or 4 hours and I drink a lot of water! Once a day I drink a protein shake.
Training
When I started I did not train very hard! I am from a country where everybody does liposuction or anything else easier than working out! I started working out 3 times a week. Troy trained me for one hour and I used to do 30 minutes of cardio.
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Liposuction
Liposuction is a cosmetic surgery operation that removes fat from many different sites on the human body. Areas affected can range from the abdomen, thighs, buttocks, to the neck, backs of the arms and elsewhere. The fat is usually removed via a hollow tub and a suction device.
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After a while I knew what I was doing and I started to train by myself. I did a lot of step classes alone and just 30 minutes a day. Now I am training very hard with circuit training. I like it a lot because take me between 30 and 45 minutes to work out and I sweat a lot!
After that I run 2 miles. It takes me between 20 to 22 minutes! Every day you can do 30 to 45 minutes of cardio and circuit training. I always do 4 or 5 sets of 20 or 25 reps using light to medium weight! You never rest between each exercise!
Click Image To Enlarge.Barbara & Troy.
Monday: Back, Chest & Cardio
Thursday: Cardio
- Elliptical Machine/Walking: 45 Minutes
Friday: Shoulders, Arms & Cardio
Suggestions For Others
Always listen to somebody smarter than you. At the peak of my progress I was lucky enough read an article with Marzia Prince which was another source of motivation. Everybody tries to give me advice and opinions.
I always listen at Troy because he is the only person that I know who has an amazing body. A lot of people tried to make me sad, to stop me or just gave me bad energy. I had very bad days but I never gave up!
Click Image To Enlarge.I Had Bad Days But I Never Gave Up.
Some days are really hard (especially for us women and our hormonal system). We want to see the changes in our body in one month and that is not how it works! So work hard, eat clean and keep the good energy around you! I am sure you will achieve your goals!
