Last updated : Friday, June 12, 2009

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From 500 Pounds to Fit and Fabulous

Amy Barnes weighed close to 500 pounds. As a mom with two very active boys, she knew she had to make a revolutionary life change. Swearing off fad diets and diet pills, Amy lost 335 pounds the old fashioned way. Now, she runs a successful business that gives others the tools and motivation to do the same. Read on to hear her remarkable story.

Q: How long were you overweight?

A: I have really been overweight all my life, or for as long as I can remember. I weighed more than 10lbs at birth, so I guess I didn't have a great start. Over the years, I continued to put on weight. Food was my addiction, just as alcohol is to an alcoholic. I used food to celebrate, to mourn, out of boredom and for comfort. I gained weight through both of my pregnancies and never took off the "baby weight". I used food as my survival tactic to get me through a four year abusive relationship. I had lost control over myself physically and was pretending to be happy.

Q: What finally triggered you to take action and lose weight?

A: Just five years ago, I was living in a battered women's shelter; I had no job, no home and no car. I weighed over 400lbs and had a BMI of 52%! I knew that my boys needed me, and that they needed me to be healthy both on the inside and out. With continued counseling and no more fad diets or diet pills, I was on a quest to change my life. I had to make it a revolutionary life change. There were so many times I was tired, weak and frustrated, but knew I couldn't give up. I know if I can triumph over the struggles of both abuse and obesity, anyone can do it. I am a survivor.

Q: Had you ever tried before to lose weight?

A: Yes. I have tried every fad diet on the market. I am a marketer's dream! I bought into every quick fix and every infomercial that told me I was guaranteed to lose weight "or my money back". I tried every diet pill, both over the counter and prescription. If I really concentrate, I cannot remember a time in my life that I wasn't trying the new diet or pill on the market. To no avail, nothing worked because I was not tackling the root cause of my obesity and the root cause of my addiction to food. Society has made it so that we believe that there are these quick fixes out there to help you lose weight, without changing what you eat or without exercise and hard work.

Q: What were your challenges? Did you ever fall back into old habits?

A: My challenges were and are like everyone else's, I suppose. I felt like I had to give up all the foods that I loved. And I was overweight. I hated exercising. I hurt in places I didn't even know could hurt. Once I started my transformation, I never fell back into bad habits. I traded one addiction for another. I traded my addiction to an old unhealthy lifestyle, for one centered on fitness.

Q: How did you stay motivated?

A: Initially, my kids were my motivation. I was all they had in this world, so I decided to be healthy and active for them. Then of course, gradually, you see your body start to change. Exercise became easier as the weight came off. Seeing my body react and change positively to the changes I was making in my lifestyle became my motivation.

Q: How did this decision to lose weight change the course of your life?

A: This is not an easy question to answer. I quit my job in corporate America to help other people find the peace and happiness that I had found through a healthier lifestyle. Everyday now, I get to help people write their story of fitness success, just like I did. Everybody deserves a happy ending. That's what I use as my tag line because its true. I am healthy, happy and get to spend my life motivating others now. If I can lose 340lbs, I truly believe anyone can lose weight and lead a healthy lifestyle. I just guide them on their journey. I am so excited about my own future and that makes me excited about the future of others that we have an impact on!

Q: Tell me about the company you created. How do you help people reach their goals?

A: Inside & O.U.T. Fitness is a company that I created to help people change their lives from the inside out. Without changing yourself on the inside first, the changes to your outside will never happen, or never continue. O.U.T. stands for Once Upon a Time. We believe that everyone deserves a happy ending. Inside & O.U.T. Fitness wants to help people write their stories.

Inside & O.U.T. Fitness is different approach than any other program I have ever seen. IAO manages the expectations of our clients by identifying the root cause behind their addiction to food. We provide people with the tools, skills, and resources to change the way they eat and exercise. At Inside & O.U.T. Fitness, we monitor and hold people accountable for every aspect of their life that they want to change. Our goal at Inside & O.U.T. Fitness is to work ourselves out of business.

Q: I know you don't like to use the word "diet". Why not?

A: I never liked to call it a diet because I guess in the past, all of the other fad diets NEVER worked for me. After going on a "diet", I gained all the weight back I had lost, and usually more. I am sure so many others out there can relate to that. So, I needed to make it a complete 360 degree revolutionary lifestyle change. I found out through changing how I ate, when I ate, and how often I ate, that I could still eat the foods I liked without feeling deprived. Inside & O.U.T. Fitness has incorporated nutrition management as part of our mission to help others. We believe that this a crucial step to success, without changing how you eat and how you think about food, you will never lose the weight. When I finally stopped letting food control me and my life, and I was able to take control over food and how I felt about it; the weight dropped off, all without calling it a diet.

Q: What's your favorite healthy snack?

A: I have created many recipes over the years, learning how to cook all of my favorite foods GUILT FREE. I am in the process of putting all of these recipes into a cookbook called "GFF, Guilt Free Food". I really have two favorites: my 8 Minute Apple Pie, and my protein powder ice cream.

Q: What do you think is the most effective workout?

A: It really depends on your fitness level. When first starting out, I walked. That was really all my body could handle, along with light resistance training. As the weight started to drop, I continued to lift weights, which helps tone. Increasing muscle means increasing your metabolism, which in turn contributes to losing the weight. I am a huge advocate of group classes! The time goes fast; there is an instructor to push you to your anaerobic level in order to effectively burn more fat; and with others in the class, you make friends who have similar interests to yours and those friends can also hold you accountable to your workouts. I also have written a blog about interval training, it brings working out to an entirely new level. You can read it here. 

Q: What's the best piece of advice you can give to people that want to lose weight?

A: First, make the commitment to finally do something for yourself, no excuses. Everyday, you have to find a time that you will put yourself first; this keeps people fully committed. Once you feel that conviction, you can take the next steps to moving forward toward a healthy lifestyle. Second, set and identify reasonable goals and expectations for yourself. Set weekly, monthly and sometimes yearly goals. I always say that every journey needs a map, and setting out to change your lifestyle is no exception! Despite what marketers tell you, there are no quick fixes when it comes to adopting a healthy lifestyle. Life may force detours, but with a sound strategy, you can stay on course. It's for this very reason we cared the Inside & O.U.T. Fitness's 21 choices program. It's a great roadmap to help you stay on track and navigate around those detours. Third, the key to maintaining successful habits is to keep monitoring your progress and not to lose accountability to yourself. Remember, we live in a world full of temptations and it's easy to slip back into bad habits if you don't stay focused on why you made the changes in the first place. The biggest goal here is to be the best you can be for yourself. I can reflect back on many changes I made in my life and they all required striving to be something better than I was at that moment.

Amy Barnes is a fitness professional, offering personal training, nutritional consulting and motivational speaking. Her goal is to inspire people to take action and get moving! Over the years, she has learned that the best way to stay in shape is to make it your lifestyle and not a quick fix. Amy's program incorporates movement, sound nutrition and positive thinking. Amy feels that through her struggle with weight loss, it is now time for her to give back. Fitness is not just a career now for Amy, it's her life. Click here to go to Amy's Web site. 

 

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