Rene Bowen, left, and Candi Brim.
IN JANUARY Flair initiated a Fitness Challenge, following eight readers who responded to our call for people who wanted to shake up things with a healthier lifestyle.
Most wanted to lose weight, others wanted to better cope with health issues such as hypertension, while a couple wanted the satisfaction of completing a 5K run/walk. Their programmes spanned between one and six months. Some stumbled along the way but recovered and ran, walked, went to the gym, did pilates and yoga and changed their attitude. Reporter Nashauna Drummond recently caught up with five of the participants and brings back this update.
GRACE PARKER
When Parker, 47, wrote to us making a case as to why she should be one of our Fitness Challengers, she weighed 192 pounds and felt she needed toning up after undergoing an operation. Flair linked her up with trainer Phillip Williams of Body Dynamics gym in Portmore, St. Catherine, for a six-month programme.
UPDATE
She initially lost 20 pounds but confessed: "I have not been doing so well. I met in an accident so I had no transport for a while and then I changed my job."
Keeping up with her regime was a problem and she has regained some of the weight. Still, she adds, "I liked what I saw (the results) and I plan to go back."
THE TRAINER SAYS...
If you're not able to make it to the gym, there are simple exercises that can be done at home such as walking and sit ups, says Phillip Williams. He emphasised that watching what you eat is essential or the exercises will have little effect. He suggests that people wanting to lose weight should closely monitor their carbohydrate intake as the less carbohydrates you intake the less calories to burn.
"Remember that you are a replica of what you eat," he said.
ANDREA KERR
Thirty-seven year-old Andrea Kerr was 241 pounds and hypertensive with a host of other ailments when she started a one-month detox programme with nutritionist Paul Johnson.
Kerr said she was ready to lessen her stress and to be energised. After just a week of working with Johnson she lost 10 pounds but didn't stop there. "I lost some more after the 10 pounds then I gained a little."
UPDATE
The programme also helped to lower her hypertension. "My blood pressure is now 120/80 (with very little medication) and my other debilitating symptoms have improved dramatically."
The programme was difficult, said Kerr, because it was a complete change of lifestyle. She still loosely follows the programme by making some modifications to her lifestyle - investing in a treadmill and keeping in touch with Johnson. "I'm not a lost cause because I'm going back to yoga in January. It's a great stress reliever and my life is high stress with the children, work and studying."
THE NUTRITIONIST SAYS...
Paul Johnson noted Andrea's hindrances could be addressed through 'life simplification'. He explained that with school, work and a family, people sometimes lose track of the real priority which is their health." He added that sometimes it takes being very sick to motivate some people to change their lifestyle.
KIMBERLEY LENNON
Twenty-one-year-old Kimberly Lennon tipped the scales at 209 pounds before starting a hypnotherapy regime with therapist Chara Hunter for her Fitness Challenge programme.
UPDATE
Lennon says she enjoyed the first two sessions and felt they were working but subsequently lost contact with Hunter and has not tried another weight loss programme since.
SYBIL NEWTON-BRANT
Sybil Newton-Bryant and Candi Brim followed a 10-week training programme for the 5K Sigma Manufacturer's Merchant Bank Run/Walk with Gina Harrison of the Jamdammers Running Club.
UPDATE
When we caught up with 35-year-old Newton-Bryant, she said she had continued walking (after the April 4 Sigma Run) but has been struggling since the passage of Hurricane Ivan.
She noted that while going to the gym would be more beneficial, it was also more time consuming. Walking, she added, "doesn't use as much energy as running and it's very relaxing even though it's not a stroll, it's a brisk walk that makes you sweat".
CANDI BRIM
After conquering the Sigma 5K, Brim's dream was to run in the Reggae Marathon that took place on December 4 in Negril. She did a 10-week training programme with Gina Harrison.
UPDATE
However, exam schedule and damage to a ligament in her right knee derailed her plans. On the advice of her doctor, she has slowed down to prevent further knee damage.
"I'm alright now but I liked doing it because I was doing something that was in my best interest and it didn't take much out of me. I feel fitter, it's just the injury.
"It's a good feeling knowing that you're sticking to something that's in your best interest."
She advises anyone interested in taking up walking or running to get the correct gear because incorrect sneakers contributed to her injury. She is determined to get back into her running programme. "I'm going to try and push myself because I really want to run again. I'll see the doctor in January and see what he says I already have the (correct) shoes and I'm going to get my leg brace."
THE TRAINER SAYS...
Gina Harrison explained that there are three elements of a fitness regime - endurance, strength and flexibility. These can be achieved without going to a gym. Endurance means aerobics exercises such as walking and running; strength training can be done with weights or elastic bands; flexibility through yoga or gently stretching. Harrison also pointed to fitness tapes and television exercise shows as alternatives to the gym.
