Pam Gouws Success Story

Pam Gouws came to see me for a consultation in early July of 2009. Pam was the heaviest she had ever been in her life after giving birth to twin boys the year before. Although she was doing some occasional cardio and some light weight training, she needed to turn things around and start losing weight now!

 In addition to her twin baby boys, Pam also had a five year old son so she was certainly busy with taking care of three young children. As so often happens with many parents, they give all their time and attention to their children and neglect to take care of themselves. Nearly one year after having her twins, Pam found herself weighing more than she ever had in her life.

 On our first meeting on July 14, 2009, I took measurements of Pam so we would know where we were starting from before we began her Exercise and Nutrition Program. Here are Pam’s stats before beginning the 12 Week Transformation Program:

Pam and I started out training two days a week. Because Pam’s weight training experience was pretty limited, we began with a full-body workout routine training each major muscle group in the body in one workout. I started Pam out with only 2 sets per exercise for the first couple of weeks and gradually increased each exercise to 3 sets.

Our goal with the Exercise Program was to gradually increase her muscle tone and strength as she lost bodyfat. Many women are afraid to weight train because they mistakenly believe that they will add lots of muscle mass and become bulky. This is a common misconception among women about weight training.

The truth is that muscle tissue is extremely hard to develop, whether you are a man or a woman. Women, in fact, have even more difficulty building muscle tissue because their bodies produce much less testosterone (the hormone responsible for building muscle mass and strength) than men do. Because of this physiological fact, women are in no danger of dramatically bulking up simply by engaging in a few weight training sessions per week.

My goal with Pam’s weight training program was to progressively increase the intensity of each workout by increasing either the resistance used or the amount of repetitions performed each and every workout. Because Pam was new to weight training, it was possible to make progress on a weekly basis.

 I knew that by increasing the amount of muscle mass on her body, Pam would increase her metabolism and begin losing bodyfat at a greater rate. Many women (and men) who try to lose weight by only doing cardio and decreasing their caloric intake end up losing muscle tissue as well as stored bodyfat. As a result, their metabolism can slow down because it is muscle tissue that is responsible for increasing the metabolism.

The only way Pam would be able to hold onto and even increase her muscle tissue was through weight training. Unlike many women who only use very light resistance in their workouts, Pam was gradually increasing the amount of weight she was using each week. The results were dramatic!

Here is one of the first workouts that Pam did on her weight training program. This was her very first workout on Tuesday, July 14th:

The real key to changing the body is to lose bodyfat while gaining muscle tissue. That is why the Nutrition Program is so crucial in changing the look of the body. I designed Pam’s Nutrition Program based on her weight, age, schedule and food preferences.

Pam was actually eating two different diet programs. The first one was for the two days that she was weight training with me. The other diet was for the days when she was not weight training.

On the weight training days, Pam was eating approximately 1730 calories with 170 grams of protein, 120 grams of carbohydrates and 57 grams of fats. On her non-weight training days, Pam was eating 1500 calories with 160 grams of protein, only 86 grams of carbs and 58 grams of fats.

Pam was very meticulous about writing down everything she was eating. She wasn’t very dedicated to writing out her diet journal the first two weeks but, as she started to make some progress, she began to realize how important it was to record everything she ate everyday.

 After 4 weeks of beginning the 12 Week Transformation Program, we took measurements and weighed Pam again and here were the results:

These were some positive results. Pam lost 10 pounds in the first four weeks and reduced her bodyfat percentage by 5%. She also lost one inch from her waist, 2 inches off her hips, 2 inches off her thighs and almost one inch off both her calves and arms. In addition, her strength had really increased and Pam was now doing 3 sets for each exercise so her strength and muscle tone had really improved.

Although she was making good progress, Pam wanted more. After four weeks on the program, Pam got serious about her cardio. Up to this point, she had been doing cardio maybe once a week. She was now doing cardio twice a week and sometimes three times a week.

Pam was also very meticulous about her diet. Each week when she came in to train, we would spend a few minutes going over the last seven days of her diet journal. I was looking to make sure Pam was eating enough calories (many people who are trying to lose weight tend to under eat to speed up the fat loss process) and I was also watching how many carbohydrates she was consuming. If the protein was high and the carbs were moderate, I knew Pam would keep making progress.

At eight weeks into the program, Pam was really making fantastic progress. I could really see the difference in her face because it was so much leaner. Pam told me that one of her girlfriends actually walked right past her at the health club because she didn’t even recognize her. Here are the results of Pam’s measurements at the 8 week point:

Wow, Pam made remarkable progress over the last four weeks. Her weight dropped 14 pounds and she reduced her bodyfat percentage by another 3%. The difference in her measurements was really amazing. Her waist (a good indicator of bodyfat) dropped 4 inches in only 4 weeks! Her hips and thighs went down an inch and her arms also got a little smaller.

I noticed that even as Pam was getting stronger in her workouts and using more weight on all her exercises each week, she was still losing inches all over. Even her arms and thighs were getting tighter and smaller and not bigger and more bulky. So much for the myth that heavy weights will make women bigger.

Pam was even more driven over the last four weeks of the program because she was planning on going to a wedding in California. She already had her dress picked out and she wanted to get to 185 pounds in order to fit into the dress.

On Wednesday, October 14th, we took our final measurements at the end of the 12 Week Transformation Program. Pam was overjoyed because she exceeded her high expectations for herself. Here are the final results compared to where she started:

Talk about progress! Pam lost 35 pounds and reduced her bodyfat percentage 12% in only 12 weeks. She also lost an incredible 7 inches off her waist in three months. Her hips went down 5 inches and she lost 2 ½ inches from her thighs. To say that Pam needed a new wardrobe is an understatement! Check out the picture of Pam with her old jeans for further proof of the remarkable transformation she achieved!

Congratulations to Pam on all her hard work and dedication to making a change in her body. By only weight training twice a week and following her diet meticulously, Pam was able to completely change both her appearance and her life. She was also much stronger, which really made a difference in picking up her rapidly growing twin boys.
         
Are you ready to make a difference in your body and your life?
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