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Success Stories
See how these men and women changed their bodies and minds, plus discover their nutrition and exercise tips.
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Pam Dickinson: Realizing Healthy Rewards
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After giving birth to her third child, Pam Dickinson just wanted to get back to her average 135-pound weight. "I was your typical 30-something mom who gained a few pounds with each child but thought this change to my body was inevitable," Pam says. "I sporadically went to the gym and thought I looked pretty good."
She started lifting weights for the first time and began working with a trainer, who told her about the Body-for-LIFE Challenge (a 12-week nutrition, supplementation and training program).
Pam and her husband decided to enter the Challenge together in 2000 and both achieved great results. "It changed our whole outlook on nutrition, exercise and commitment," Pam says.
Then Pam became pregnant with her fourth child and was unable to maintain the new exercise and nutrition plans. "Although many women can maintain some degree of physical fitness during pregnancy, I am not one of them." Pam felt sick early on and had to eat every hour to avoid nausea. She went from 120 pounds to 190 pounds by the end of her pregnancy.
She was never discouraged though because she knew exactly how she would take off the weight after the baby was born. Six weeks after the birth of her fourth child, Pam returned to her pre-pregnancy nutrition and training program and went from her 175-pound post-pregnancy weight to the 116 pounds she is today. This 38-year old mother of four from Lincoln, Mass., went from 35 percent body fat to 15; and a size 14 to a 4.
A family commitment
When Pam began the Body-for-LIFE Challenge, she made changes to her nutrition and exercise plans that really have been changes for life. Because her husband did the Challenge with her, they both continue to stay in shape and have an active lifestyle together. They enjoy activities like tennis, hiking, skiing, sailing and horseback riding and are more likely to do something active than go out to dinner and a movie.
Pam and her family eat together every night and the children eat what their parents eat. Like their parents, Pam says, her children enjoy eating healthy foods and she feels they are healthier and happier.
Forming a habit
Eating the way she does and working out every day are no longer part of a goal for Pam; they have become a way of life.
In the beginning of the 12 weeks it was the faith Pam had in the Program that kept her on course. The first two weeks of the Challenge she listed everything she would eat and then wrote down everything she did eat to check herself and stay on track. After a few weeks, it became more natural and after a month she really started to look and feel different.
"I tell my friends if you put water, flour and yeast together you are going to get bread, and if you combine high-intensity weight training and cardio with a balanced diet of six healthy meals a day, you will build a great body," Pam says.
Staying on track
With four children, a business she owns with her husband, and a number of volunteer activities and non-profit board positions, it is not surprising that sometimes working out isn’t the easiest thing to fit in the day. Yet when "monkey wrenches" get thrown in her way, and her scheduled workout time gets superceded by a sick child or an impromptu meeting, it is Pam’s supreme commitment to herself that gets her to the gym. Sometimes she is there at 6 a.m. or 9 p.m., but she makes it a priority.
Making it a priority has come with the realization that she is just as important as every other member of her family. "Although of course my family comes first in my life, I strongly believe I am one of the members of the family, and I deserve some consideration as well."
This consideration means her four daughters realize that "mommy needs her daily exercise," which also sets a good example for them. "I believe I am teaching my daughters that self respect is critical and is something you have to earn for yourself."
Honoring self promises
When Pam started on her road to the person she is today, she says she honestly didn’t think she needed to lose much weight; yet when she looks at pictures of the person she was before, she can’t believe how "overweight, tired and just plain old" she looked. "Now, when I make a commitment to myself to do something, whether it be getting that 20 minutes of aerobics done first thing in the morning, spending one-on-one time with my 3-year-old or getting my paperwork done by 5:00 today, I do it," Pam says. "And because I honor these promises, I feel like a winner each and every day. I am certainly happy with how I look on the outside, but I am most pleased with how I feel on the inside."
Pam’s workout schedule
Pam does 20 minutes of interval training on a stairstepper three days a week (Days 2, 4 and 6).
Days 1 and 5
Upper body (five sets of 10 repetitions except where noted otherwise)
•Chest: Horizontal bench presses, 25 push-ups
•Shoulders: Superset of front/side raises; military presses (one set of 12 reps)
•Back: Wide-grip assisted pull-ups; seated cable rows (one set of 12 reps)
•Triceps: Assisted dips; push downs (one set of 12 reps)
•Biceps: Concentration curls; hammer curls (one set of 12 reps)
Day 3
Lower body
•Quads: Smith machine squats (five sets of 10 reps); leg extensions (one set of 12 reps)
•Hamstrings: Smith machine lunges (five sets of 10 reps); hamstring curls (one set of 12 reps)
•Calves: Standing calf raises (five sets of 10 reps); seated calf raises (one set of 12 reps)
•Abs: (three sets of 15 reps each) Hanging bar crunches, leg lifts, toe touches, oblique ball crunches, lower back lifts
Day 7
Rest!
Pam’s nutrition plan
Pam drinks about 1 ½ gallons of water each day
7:30 a.m. Breakfast
Oatmeal with ½ cup non-fat cottage cheese, mixed with cinnamon and topped with raisins and sliced almonds
11:00 a.m. Snack
Protein bar
1:00 p.m. Lunch
Four slices of smoked turkey rolled in ½ whole-wheat tortilla with 1 tablespoon of low-fat mayonnaise and sliced dill pickles
3:00 p.m. Snack
Non-fat cottage cheese with ½ cup non-fat vanilla yogurt, topped with slivered almonds and ½ sliced banana
6:00 p.m. Dinner
Grilled flank steak marinated in teriyaki sauce
Cubed sweet potatoes roasted with orange flavored olive oil
Steamed spinach with 1 teaspoon garlic flavored olive oil
9:00 p.m. Snack
One half of a whole-wheat bagel with 1 tablespoon of all-natural peanut butter
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