Sizzlin’ Summer Slimdown Lives!

Mae Lynn absolutely proves that you can learn to be a “lean eater”. It might take a little time, but anything worth doing is worth sticking with. Learning to eat is no different than any other kind of learning. Repetition of the right things leads to mastery. One day at a time gets you from fries to fantastic!

“Just thought you would want to see that S3 has not fallen by the wayside around here. We’re getting ready to head over to Maine for Henry’s surf lesson. I’m having breakfast while packing our lunch.

I always used to pack for Henry due to allergies, but now it’s everyone! Here’s breakfast and lunch. The salad has romaine, spinach, leftover coconut chicken, fresh tomato, avocado, sunflower seeds and Coach Nancy’s salad dressing. Breakfast is the rest of the avocado so it doesn’t turn brown, more sunflower seeds, and Greek yogurt with a side of strawberries and cottage cheese.

It’s a long way from lobster rolls and sweet potato fries, huh? 😉

That’s what a year with you guys has done for me. Thank you.” – Mae Lynn

Success Story – Jon Chorlian

It is always a tremendous feeling as a coach when a client embraces change right away and is rewarded by tremendous results for taking the leap and making it happen. Jon is one of many such clients. It is my hope that his success will show you what can happen when you commit fully. Thank-you Jon, and keep enjoying life!

“Dean,

I want to thank you for everything that you and Get Fit have done for me.

As you know, I have been going to Get Fit for 8 months.  My story is probably like a lot of people who have started at Get Fit or are considering going to Get Fit.  I’m 46.  From age 20 to age 40 I went from about 150 pounds and being in great shape to about 160 pounds and being in good shape.  Since 40, though, the wheel started to fall off a bit and by the time I started at Get Fit I was up to about 180 pounds and was in (at best) OK shape.  Finally, I accepted that this pattern was going to continue unless I really made a big change.

From the minute I first opened the Get Fit “welcome packet” I bought in.  For me, this was pretty easy because it was so obvious to me that while you run a great business, you really do care about each of us at Get Fit and will do everything that you can to help us to be healthy and fit.  For me, one of the most valuable things that you do is to sift through all the fitness/health/diet science (which can be overwhelming) and distill out for us what is really important (and therefore we can actually follow).  As you have taught me, those “pillars” really are:

•    Whatever you weigh, you will be healthier and feel better if you exercise/train, but really weight depends on what and how much you eat (as you say, you can outeat any exercise regimen …)
•    If you want to lose weight (and then maintain that), the diet rules are pretty simple:  Eat more frequently but smaller meals; eat protein and fruits/vegetables at most of those smaller meals; don’t eat “crappy” carbohydrates; limit “good” carbohydrates (whole grains, etc.) to shortly after exercise; and try to limit the number of calories you drink (no cream/sugar in coffee, etc.).  And just as importantly, make sure you do this 95% of the time, not 100% of the time – in other words, you still have to treat yourself sometimes …

During my first 3 months training with you and following your advice, I consistently lost about 2 pounds/week , and got down from about 180 pounds to about 155 pounds.  For the last 5 months I have stayed right at 155 pounds.  Quite simply, I feel great – just in general, but also playing hockey and doing other things I love.  Also, almost none of the aches and pains that I was getting used to as I got older, and I haven’t been sick at all (not even a cold this winter).

I realize that staying this way for the rest of my life is going to take a lot of continued work, but you have taught me how to do it.  Thank you.

Jon Chorlian”

Success Story: Susan Moseley

We absolutely love it when y’all share how your hard work at Get Fit NH has made a difference in your life. I received this wonderful email from Susan, who has made some amazing changes in her life over the past few years. She embodies hard work and dedication, and is always looking to expand her knowledge. Thank-you for choosing to train with us Susan, and keep getting better!

Hi Dean,

I know this is long overdue…, but here goes

    How do I love Get Fit NH?
    Let me count the ways:

1) I’ve lost 35 pounds in the last 3-4 years (and went from close to a size 16 to a size 8), but this past year at Get Fit is the first time I can remember losing fat and gaining lean muscle.  The first photo is me two years ago on a bike trip in Italy, after having worked really hard for 6 weeks to get in shape for the trip.  The second is a few weeks ago in Bow, NH.  And, yes ladies, bike shorts with the padding are far less attractive than yoga pants!

2) This really should be number 1. The coaches at GetFit are by far the best of any coaches, personal trainers or group trainers that I’ve ever worked with.  I’ve worked with Erin for a year and feel as if I’ve had a personal (and very personable) trainer the whole time. Megan is a fabulous new coach and Dean is an incomparable resource of knowledge and community.    

3) I could have worked out at home, but I would never have achieved the same results as I have at Get Fit. Working out with a group and seeing others succeed is a powerful motivator. Got to love the zany, talkative and hard working 4:15 class.

4) I love the daily emails. Even though I read the Science in the Public Interest, Tufts and Mayo Clinic nutrition/health newsletters, I always pick up something important to consider from Dean’s emails.

 5) I could go on with many more impressions, but since so many GetFitters stay and train for 1, 2 or more years, I’d be stating the obvious.

     Thanks,
         Susan

Declare YOUR Independence

As we celebrate what is now obliquely called the “Fourth of July” (Isn’t that like calling Cinco De Mayo the “5th of May”, only a lot worse? – but I digress) I want you to think about some of the things you can declare your Independence from now and forever.

Here’s a few to get you started, but let’s hear yours too!

Repeat after me: “I declare my independence from…”

Negative people. Enough said.

Time Vampires. Facebook, texting, email, tv. Stop living someone else’s reality. Make your own.

Thoughts that I “don’t deserve” to be what I know I can be. Healthy, fit, a size 4 – whatever you want.

Pill pushers and weight loss gimmicks. There is no “magic pill” – stop looking.

Food company lies. No matter what they say, some things just aren’t healthy for you to eat.

Too much sugar. It’s everywhere, and yes, it is addictive and it is toxic when you eat too much.

Couch potato syndrome. Training for 1 hour a day and sitting on the couch or lying in bed still qualifies you as a couch potato. Get outside, get moving, and enjoy life!

Excuses. Easy for me to say, harder to live. But when it comes down to it all excuses usually fall into two broad categories. Time and Priorities. We all have 24 hours in a day, and we all need to decide what is really important enough in our lives to take action on. Wishing on a star only happens in Florida and California.

How about you?

What things can you declare your independence from that will move you closer to your goals, dreams and hopes?

What say you?

Success Story: Jill G

Keep the success stories coming in! There is no better feeling as a coach to have someone send us a note telling us how thrilled they (or their doctor, or spouse, or even kids) are with how their body is changing, looking and feeling. Thank-you!

Jill sent us this latest update and great news. Keep it up Jill!

“Today I had a follow up visit at my doctors office to discuss my lab results. I have been diagnosed with high cholesterol for nearly 20 years. I like many people cannot take any medication for it. The side effects are bad.  I was prepared to hear the results I always get,  it’s too high.

Well not today!

My doctor told me my results were better then perfect. My good cholesterol was off the charts good. Having lost a brother 6 years ago to heart disease and both parents having heart issues this comes as the best possible news ever.

My doctor said all my hard work has paid off. Changing my lifestyle almost 2 years ago and joining this amazing team at Get Fit has definitely paid off. A big thank you to all of you for creating an environment that I want to be a part of everyday and for pushing me a little harder every day. I couldn’t have done it with you!!!” – Jill G.

You ARE Making It Happen!

“Guess what!?! I went shopping this morning….I bought size 18 pants! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!! I was wearing size 22 before I met you and Get Fit NH!!!!!” – Lisa 6:15 Epsom

“I went shopping and saw a cute pair of Size 6. I bought them because they fit. I wasn’t even shopping for me.” – Doreen 9am Epsom

“Physical results. As I have been saying for several years I wanted to reduce the number of meds I take. Today I am off the triglyceride med since I have lost the weight, exercise like we do and the nutrition plan we follow. Also cut the blood pressure med in half and may cut the Lipitor in half once labs are back. So once again I am grateful for the tools you have given us to work with!” – Greg

“By the way, I cheated a bit last night (Sunday) by eating something I should not have eaten (2 chocolate chip cookies – obviously loaded with additives and sugar), and I woke up with a horrific migraine headache this morning.  Prior to my down-fall with those darn cookies, I have not eaten anything with additives for the last 5 weeks.  Five weeks also coincides with me not having any migraine headaches.  This is unprecedented, since I have suffered from migraine headaches usually a couple of times a week prior to getting off sugar and additives.  This has been going on for the last 25 years!

I assure you….. I’ve learned a valuable lesson:  Those 2 cookies were not worth the pain I suffered from a migraine this morning.  Here I thought I had to live with a migraine for the rest of my life, but I now feel that I have a means of controlling it.  I am encouraged and hopeful.

P.S.  On the subject of additives, I’ve read recently that additives can cause depression. I am not surprised if some of your readers may be interested in that subject matter.” – Emy 9 am Epsom

(I’d love to post Emy’s picture so you know who to say thank you for inspiring you, but imagine that, it was fuzzy. I’ll do better on taking pictures or letting someone else take the pictures! Thank you Emy!)

“Success is not a reward……. It’s a consequence.” Coach Dick Vermeil

Consistent action taken each day produces results. So continue to make it happen to you.

To your Best Health,

Coach Nancy

Enough Already! Sizzlin’ Summer Slimdown Winners Here

The Buttercups, with Kai standing in for Carol!

679.2

I want you to mull that number in your head for a bit.

Because that is the number of pounds that were lost during 2013 Sizzlin’ Summer Slimdown, and we don’t plan on ever seeing them again.

679.2

Sweet job everybody – keep on Making It Happen!

I want to also offer a huge thank-you to those companies that provided prizes for our winning team. Your generosity is much appreciated by us and the prize winners.

Here’s a list of the prize package our Top Team received.

• Nadine from Baked Downtown Cafe’ & Bakery: Gift card, t- shirt and assorted teas
• Susan from New Hampshire Motor Speedway:  Gift bags – hats, cooler, and 2 tickets to the July race
• Christen from Peace and Balance Body Therapies:  1 Hour Massage (and let it be noted that our good friend Amy over at Chichester Massage was in if an Epsom team had won)
• Heather from Nike: 2 Nike Sports Band and 3 ladies Nike running hats
• Mark from Hood Dairy: Product voucher coupons
• Get Fit NH: Concord Co-op $50 Gift Card to each winner & Team Designed Custom 2013 “Bragging Rights” Clothing

Shout Outs:

Just wanted to recognize some individual S3 participants as well. Everybody on this list lost at least 5% body mass over the 7 week period. Don’t get me wrong, we are proud of everyone who put forth the effort and changed their body. Had to cut it off somewhere! 🙂

(P.S. – Women DOMINATED the top of this list. Love It!)

Lori Boucher-Nichol    8.75%
Katie Jordan        8.73%
Barbara Olson        8.25%
Colleen Leung     7.80%
Greg Swain        7.08%
Laurie Rivet        6.91%
Millie Lafontaine    6.04%
Dawn Vosburgh        5.96%
Gretchen Wolfe        5.85%
Janine Roussean-Evans    5.65%
Martha Swasey        5.64%
Katie Bean        5.54%
Stacey Haggett        5.51%
Linda Bayrd        5.49%
Jere Smith        5.36%
Carol Hawkins        5.17%
Jack Dianis        5.11%
Matt Wolfe        5.07%
Doreen Mathison        5.06%
Kendra Frye       5.00%

And the Winner Is:

Here’s what you’ve been waiting for. It was a very close competition, but in the end, there can be only one.

Congrats to Lori, Sue, Carol, Andrea and Colleen of Team Buttercups (as in “Suck It Up Buttercup”) for being the winners of the 2013 Sizzlin’ Summer Slimdown. If you see them, please congratulate them on a job well done. They scored the most points and lost the highest percentage of body mass (A total of 51 pounds) during the transformation – WOW!

We all look forward to hearing from you ladies soon.

2013 S3 Top 10

The Buttercups        53.16
Katies Cuties        51.30
The D’Reem Team        48.95
S.W.A.T            48.21
5am and you        46.22
Flab-U-Loss        43.35
WJH            43.14
You don’t know Jack    42.33
NHMS            41.71
Flip Flop        41.71

Success Story – Colleen Snow-Leung

I was very grateful to receive this heartfelt note from Colleen, and she was gracious enough to let me share it with the Get Fit NH family, and by extension the world! 🙂

“Hi Erin, Dean, Nancy and Megan,

Just wanted to say a huge thank you for all that Get Fit has done for me these past four months.

I loved Get Fit when I was there for a year before stopping due to personal life experiences, including the passing of my mom and then being pregnant. On the anniversary of my mom’s passing, I started boot camp again after taking just about a year off. I couldn’t think of anywhere she would rather I be on that day than starting to train again and feel good about myself.  

Through the S3 challenge, my husband and I have completely revamped what meal time looks like and have quit the snacking and no longer do I think about what to have for dessert after each meal.  I can’t say the same for Howie once he leaves the house but I am eternally grateful for his support in our home.  

Yesterday I went shopping and bought things two sizes smaller than what I had been wearing at the beginning of S3 and am fitting into most of my pre-pregnancy clothes.

Through learning the seven habits of S3 I now understand the saying, “You can’t out train bad nutrition.” I remained at the same weight the first three months of boot camp and then have lost a good amount of body fat (I think and hope) throughout the past six weeks.  

My goal for S3 was to lose weight, build muscle, feel good in clothes, especially a bathing suit this summer with my daughter, and run the Color Vibe 5K. While I wanted to skip my last goal this morning when it was raining and gross out, I didn’t mostly because of fellow boot campers who encouraged me, especially Lori and Kelly. I felt so incredibly accomplished at the end of the race.  

Thank you guys for your constant emails, Facebook messages and being there four mornings a week ready to make training fun and new every single day.  I am very thankful!” – Colleen

And we are very thankful for amazing clients like Colleen.

Keep Making It Happen!

Success Story: Katie Jordan

No we didn’t pay her for sharing her story. That’s $50 in referral rewards for telling someone else about Get Fit NH! (and the only picture of her I could find – oops)

Still don’t think you can do this “healthy lifestyle” thing? Take a minute to read what Katie has to say about the whole thing. Keep up the fantastic work Katie!

“Since joining Get Fit NH only 4 short months ago,  many things have changed. I’ve lost 34 lbs so far, and I’m stronger and have more energy than I’ve had in many years.

But even more important than the number on the scale going down is that I’m no longer worried about having Diabetes as I get older.  I experienced Gestational Diabetes with both of my pregnancies and did not like how it felt. The Doctor informed me that I was at a very high risk of type 2 as I got older!  

After having my daughter in July 2012 I knew I needed to make some changes. I needed to change the way I lived. I don’t want my children worrying about my health as they get older. For months I told myself to get up and do it, but made many excuses!

Nothing I had ever tried worked long term. I feel that being introduced to Boot Camp has been my life saver. I’ve done the “diets” and been to many gyms over the years, but I can honestly say for the first time…  I’m on the right track to a long life of health and fitness!  

I look forward to training when I’m not there. The coaches make it fun and encourage me to do things I never thought I could do!  BUT I CAN ! I will no longer sit on the couch watching my kids play and life pass me by!  I still have a ways to go but I’m going and I can’t thank you and everyone at Get Fit NH enough for helping me Make It Happen!!!”    – Katie Jordan

FMS Success Story

Since we implemented the FMS and SGT completely into our training system we have seen tremendous results. It has been really cool to see you all put in the work necessary to move and feel better. Coach Erin has done a great job spearheading the screenings and that will continue. Don’t be surprised if she taps you on the shoulder, even if you have a clear screen. We want to stay ahead of the curve, not wait until stuff starts creeping up.

Erin sent me this note, and it is a great encouragement to me to see the positive results of what has been a massive undertaking.

Keep up the great work!

“I just re-screened (client x) and it was another affirmation that we are on the right track. His knees have gotten a lot better!  Last time I screened him (2/11/13) he scored a raw score of 2 on the deep squat but with significant pain making his final score a 0 and purple band.  This time still raw score of 2 with a 0.5 on a pain scale of 1-10.  Pretty good improvement.  He said there is hardly any pain.

His trunk stability went from a 2 to a 3 which probably helped him recover faster from throwing his back out last week which he was very happy about.

Balance really improved on hurdle step and inline lunge!

Just thought I would give you an update :)”

Erin