Before, during and After Shoots

Alright here they are my before, during and after shoots.

I worked out with Whitney M. Cole for 7 weeks 3 days a week & 3 days a week on my own.

I ate healthy and lived healthy. Please let me know what all of you think. I feel like I have some more to do but dang I think I have come a long way.

Whitney changed my life and she can change yours too.

My trainer kicked my ass and abs.

http://www.whitneymcole.com/

Diets Vs. Changing Your Life

I am coming to the end of this process. I have been working out about 6 days a week for the last 7 weeks. Even though I will be finished working out with Whitney M. Cole, I feel like this is the beginning of the rest of my life. With her help I am a changed person. How I eat, workout and maintain a healthy lifestyle is forever changed.

I grew up in a home where dieting was the norm. I think I began my first diet when I was 9. I know, at 9 years old I had decided I was fat. I know I am not the only person who started dieting at such a young age. Through the years I have tried multiple diet plans: cabbage soup, grapefruit, raw and some others. They were all hard and I always gained the weight back. Dieting is a short term way to lose a few pounds. But if you learn how to eat healthy you don't have to diet. You can change your life.

My parents did not know how to teach me because they did not know either. My trainer has taught me things that I will take with me through the rest of my life. Frankly that is the reason I went to Whitney, I lacked the knowledge. The kind of knowledge of what is living healthy. Dieting is much harder then learning how to eat. I eat a lot of great things that are tasty. They are fresh and yummy.

Whitney has taught me how to live. Currently in my fridge I have a consistent supply of avocados, spinach, eggs, broccoli and hummus. I can eat all day and not feel hungry. I have more energy. I want to go to the gym daily. I feel like I look better and I absolutely feel better.

But this is not the end of living healthy for me. I plan to keep working out and eating right. I have taken control. Next week you will see after pictures.

For all my friends and family who have been reading this. I urge you to go to the gym, eat better and talk to a trainer. They really know what they are talking about. For those of you in LA, I think Whitney M. Cole is the best.

Her site http://www.whitneycole.com/blog/?p=444

Everyone Has Bad Days

When I started this workout eat right plan, I had decided that I would have 2 really bad days. My Bridal Shower and Valentines Day. Last Sunday was my bridal shower. I had been excited for this day for a while. I went off my diet and went over board. I ate as much as I possibly could. You might recall that it was super bowl sunday as well. So not only did I eat pasta, cake, calamari & chocolate. I went home and then had pizza. My stomach hurt I was on the floor in pain. Literally on the floor in pain. Maybe this was a little extreme. I don't think everyone should have a day like this. According to the scale I gained three pounds in a day. LOL. But it is ok.

EVERYONE HAS BAD DAYS.

The next day I went right back to my regime of eating healthy and continuing my exercise.

Valentines day was yesterday. But because of the week before

I did not go out of my way to eat everything. We were planning on dinner and movie. I wanted to eat chocolate & popcorn. I made concessions. I had my usual breakfast 2 eggs and a latte. I decided to eat a light lunch some broccoli and hummus. When we to the movies I had a little popcorn and a small 72% dark chocolate bar. When we went to dinner I had a chopped salad with dressing on the side. I was able to eat some bad things but I also stayed on track with my calories. I was not on the floor in pain as I had been the week before because I ate to much. I felt great this morning when awoke. I did not gain or lose any weight from yesterday.

The point of all this: Is that you can still have some things that are bad for you. In fact I think it is important to have some things to look forward too. Weather it be a day at the movies with a little candy or maybe a night with pasta. Just try to not go over board. And most importantly don't beat yourself up over it. EVERYONE HAS BAD DAYS. Just get back on track the next day.

My trainer Whitney M. Cole is not mad at me for last Sunday. She told me that I have been doing extremely well and that she has been proud of my dedication. She did think I was went a overboard. But again she pointed out everyone is human. It is OK. She even gave be some recipes that are

healthy and an indulgence. We made cupids arrows this week (Chocolate covered hearts.

Go check out blog on her site for healthy recipes.

http://www.whitneymcole.com/blog/

Whitney M. Cole Websites

http://www.whitneycole.com/blog/?p=444

FaceBook http://www.facebook.com/whitneymcole.trainingandnutrition?ref=ts

Diet.com http://www.diet.com/dietblogs/read_blog.php?title=Having+a+bad+%28food%29+day%3F+&blid=18391&sh=1

Exercise.com http://www.exercise.com/blog/view/having-a-bad-food-day

WHITNEY M COLE / CHISELING LA'S ELITE
Personal Trainer, Pilates Practitioner & Nutrition Counselor
Diet.com Fitness Expert & Wellsphere.com Health Maven
Dimensions Weekly Health & Fitness Editor
whitney@whitneymcole.com
www.whitneymcole.com
310 728 9346

Trainers are great even for one session.

I know I know I know. Not everyone can afford a trainer, I get it. I have always turned to trainers because they have been able to give me the tools I need to change my life.

Because it is not dieting it is changing your life style.

But maybe you can hire them for 1 or 2 sessions to learn some basics.

I was telling Whitney my trainer about my sister and how I could not explain burpees to her. (Below Whitney M. Cole explains them)

http://www.diet.com/dietblogs/read_blog.php?title=Full+Body+Exercise?+&blid=18050

She said wells she should get a trainer and than I explained that she could not afford a trainer.

Maybe I should give you some back story. Because of this blog and the fact that I am getting married and most of my family are in the wedding, they are all exercising and getting fit themselves. My sister and I have been talking diet and exercise almost everyday. She is also working out 6 days a week on her own.

When I told Whitney that she could not afford a trainer right now, she suggested hiring a trainer for 1 or 2 sessions. If you tell the trainer that you want to learn a few strength training exercises that you can do on your own. Be up front tell them it is only for one session. Then you can use those exercises in your exercise routines. Let them know what you want to work on and they can show exercises for your problem areas.

Trainers know how to teach you because it is their profession. It is hard to go to a gym when you don't know where to start. Everyone can do cardio. Don't get me wrong cardio is important, but to lose weight and maintain weight everyone needs to do strength training. Muscle burns twice as many calories as fat. That is why guys lose weight quicker than women. Also a pound of muscle is 1/2 the size of a pound of fat. A trainer can help, they have always helped me.

Trainers have always made me learn more about exercising. But my current trainer Whitney M. Cole has changed my life. It has only been 5 weeks but how I eat, exercise and think about health will be forever changed.

=)

Check out her website. She has great recipes and advice. You can always email her or maybe you want to try out a session.

www.whitneymcole.com

Progression Photos

Here it is the before and 3 weeks with whitney m. cole photos.

Now I am making bad faces because I did not like taking these photos. But as you will see I look a lot better. In terms of weight. I did not need to lose much weight, but I wanted to tone. I have been eating really healthy and working out 5 to 6 days a week.

Alright here it goes before and 3 weeks in

Before 3 weeks

Before 3 Weeks

Before 3 Weeks

I am starting to see definition in my stomach, my butt looks better and my arms look better.

What is amazing to me is that you can change your body in as little as 3 weeks. You need focus and the ability to make time for you. The eating part is easier than I thought it would be because I am eating good things for me and I am not starving. Working out is a must.

Whitney M. Cole has been giving me the tools I need in the gym. She has me run 2 miles at the beginning of each sessions. I increase my speed throughout that 2 miles. Then she trains me with strength training.

What I like most about the exercises she has me do is that I can do most of them at home with a free weight and a yoga ball. She is giving me the tools to keep in shape for the rest of my life.

I hope you like the picture I will have more for you in a few weeks.

:)

http://www.whitneymcole.com/

Nutrition (Pasta Roni Is Not Cooking)

Growing up we always had frozen food in the fridge and junk food in the cupboards. Even if it was diet junk food. I went to college and I would cook Pasta Roni on the stove. My roommates would make fun of me because I thought this was cooking. I even said but it is made on the stove not in the microwave. I did not know people seasons their own chicken or that a sauce could be made from scratch. Even at thirty I did not think I could cook. I have even joke about it with my Fiance.

Whitney has made me learn to prepare my meals and in the process I have been learning to cook. One of my favorite meals is her recipe. I get the red & yellow curry from trader joes (I like to mix them) I marinate chicken strips for 2 days in the sauce. Then I bread them with almond meal and cook them. I add some steams green beans and it is awesome.

I also have learned to bake chicken. I put a tiny but of olive oil on chicken add some seasoning bake it at 350 for 30-40 minutes and right there I have healthy chicken. I then might steam some broccoli or something else that is green. (Because I need my greens) I always cook a little extra chicken because I can then add it to a salad the next day.

I realize that I can cook and I am starting to think of my own recipes. I get excited to go to the store and I plan out meals for the next few days.

When I talk to my sister who is a mom she says the hardest thing with eating healthy, is cooking for her kids. From my experiences with Whitney M. Cole I am learning that I will be able to cook healthy for both myself and future kids.

End of 2nd week

I worked out 5 days this week. I feel great. I am starting to notice the my butt and stomach are looking better.

Mis Step

In an attempt to eat better I decided to cook for my girlfriends. We planned on a Saturday night out. I made chicken with broccoli and a salad. My salad had lettuce, spinach, pine nuts, goat cheese, tomato and onion. Everything was delicious. Amy made the drinks after all it was girls night out. I opted for the low calorie Vodka soda.
My mistake I drank to much. I did not make my own drinks and I got really sick. More sick then I ever had been. I was sick into the next day. Although I had eaten good all week Sunday became my downfall. I ate pizza in an attempt to get over my hangover. It did work. I dont get why greassy food make you feel better after a night of drinking.

Lessons learned. I really have to make my own drinks and I can not have more than 3 per night.

At least I aimed for eating right.

1st Week

Before working out with Whitney M. Cole this week I ate as much as possible. I am sure you all know it feel great when the bad stuff is going down. But your energy level is low and the thought of working out or eating right is am impossibility.

I think one of the thing I like about working with Whitney is how much she stresses nutrition. I have lost weight before and I am now familiar with working out. But my knowledge of how I should be eating is limited.

As new year came around I had begun mentally to prepare myself to start eating right. Because I had worked out with Whitney before I knew I needed to start my food journal right away. On my first day I started with 2 eggs and a banana. I had a light salad for lunch. I also had a nonfat sugar free ice blended vanilla latte. When I showed Whitney she pointed it out right away. She said I could still enjoy my lattes but I needed to cut back on sugar. Even the artificial sugar. I learned there that "calorie-free" doesn't necessarily translate to "good for me." Whitney told me to cut the amount of artificial sugar packets by one this week and by one again next week... Eventually, my lattes would taste sweet enough sans sweetener as my taste buds reawakened. I'd dulled their sensitivity with 3 and 4 packets of sweetener in these lattes among other treats...oops!

2nd Day.

I had a latte with non fat milk and 2 splenda. I am cutting back from 3 and I will get down to 1.

Today Whitney talked to me about greens. I wanted to go home after our workout and have linguini with marinara sauce. Whitney did not want me to fill up on just pasta. She said if I went and steamed some broccoli I could have the pasta. I did and I love steamed vegetable. I did not fill up on pasta and I ate a whole bag of broccoli. I felt healthy and it has only been a few days.

About Me

My name is Christina and I am thirty years old. I am about 5'4" and around 123 pounds. I have not always been thin. I have had to work at it for many years. 7 years ago I was 170 pounds. That is me below.

With the help from previous trainers I learned how to work out and count calories. They tought me that you burn so many calories in a day and if you eat less then you burn then you will lose weight and vice versa. This was a concept I knew nothing about. In fact my parents did not know anything about nutrition and exercise. I lost 50 pound over the course of 2 years and have kept it off for the last 5.

I have maintained my weight for the last 5 years. But I have never achieve my goals of having a flat stomach or a butt I would want to look at. I still feel like the fat friend. I want a toned body. I know that I will have to work for it by working out and eating right. But the truth is I do not know what eating right "is." I knew from my previous experiences that I needed to find a trainer.

This last summer in my search I found Whitney Cole.
She does not mess around.
I had thought calorie counting was all I needed, she taught me a way of eating and cooking healthy. I lost body fat and started to look better. But I knew I needed to dedicate my life style to Whitney.

Jan 2010
I am getting married in 3 months
I am getting fit with Whitney in 6 weeks
Whitney will train me 3 times a week and I will keep a food diary and this blog to watch my progression. I have already completed week one. Please read my next entry as I will tell you about my 1st week. I have taken a before picture and will post it next week after completing my second week.