I would like to share the incredible transformation underway with my client and friend Stacy Victor. Stacy and I met in July when she inquired about starting personal training. She had no regular exercise routine and had been slowly gaining weight for the last few years. At the time her diet consisted of frozen meals, take-out, restaurant lunches and dinners, sandwiches, sweets, liquid calories and other processed foods.                                                                                                                                

She was very honest with herself from the start. I consider that the biggest factor in her transformation. She knew that big lifestyle changes would be needed to achieve her goals and she was open-minded to change and so-called "un-conventional" nutrition and training.  

The objective was clear. A complete diet overhaul was the first priority. I instructed Stacy to cut out all of the following for 30 days, a nutritional reset if you will. No processed foods, no sugar, no dairy, and no more than one glass of red wine a day. She started tracking everything she ate, a practice she continues to this day. 

There have been struggles. After our first few workouts Stacy had a hard time walking up and down stairs because her legs were so sore. We had to take large and frequent breaks in training to let her recover. Many exercises had to be modified and customized to be completed. There were tons of exercises that we tried and couldn't do in the beginning. She couldn't press a bar or dumbbells overhead, she couldn't squat below parallel without any load and running for more than a few minutes was a serious challenge. 

These were simply obstacles in her way. One by one, Stacy has hurdled, leaped, flew and flat-out crushed every single one. After losing 10lbs/4.4kilos in her first month Stacy decided that this whole-foods diet was right for her. Now when she went to the grocery store the check out attendant told her she made him feel bad about his diet when he rang up her cart. Before she started the program she was soda, sandwiches and chips five times a week. Now she was cooking lean meats and healthy vegetables. Her energy was up as well as her confidence and she became much more active outside of the gym.

As Stacy's weight began to drop we started taking much smaller breaks in her training. She was running longer, squatting heavier, and she was now pressing dumb bells and bar's overhead. It's now October, just three months since we started and Stacy is down 25lbs/11.3k. She's now squatting 123lbs/55.9k. Her waist measurement is down 4.5 inches. The circumference of her arms is down 3 inches and her legs are down 4. Stacy had also been struggling with migraines for years, since shifting her diet they have almost completely disappeared. 

I would like to thank Stacy for her all of her hard work and dedication. She's patient, positive, relentless and always has a can-do attitude. In every training session she has given her all and pushed herself past her former limitations. She's been eager and willing to increase in weight and repetitions. Stacy's approach is simple. She believes that you can accomplish anything when you put in the effort and little by little you will see you will see the results. 

~Jonathan Hanna

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