The Slow Road to Success
What started out as a desire to lose weight evolved into a rewarding profession.
On Oct. 4, 1993, I was 33, a single mother of two, a full-time employee and very uncomfortable with my appearance.
I remember the fear of embarking on a journey to lose weight. My first problem was my history. It wasn’t my first attempt, and I had never completed the goal. My second problem was that I always went to extremes.
This time I was going to take my time and be consistent. Since I had tried cutting out the junk food altogether in my previous attempts, I decided I would gradually change my eating habits. Instead of four to six candy bars a day, I’d eat three to five. Instead of barely drinking one or two cups of water, I drank two to four. I began to experiment with low-fat and nonfat foods and added more fruits and vegetables to my diet. I also started walking on my block from one end to the other at least three days per week. Within five weeks, I had lost 12 pounds.
I hadn’t begun a structured exercise program because I wanted to prove to myself I was serious. Now I was ready. I started going to a gym three or four days a week and walked briskly on the treadmill for 20 minutes, visualizing myself walking into a room with a sexy dress on or at the beach in a bikini.
After losing the 12 pounds, a few people began to take notice. By December I had lost 25 pounds and acquired many believers at work and in my family. I began to explain what worked for me, and helping others increased my motivation and momentum.
By February 1994, I had reached my goal and had lost 40 pounds. I was excited about health and fitness and wanted to learn more. I enrolled in a correspondence course and became more motivated to help others. Then I saw an ad for becoming a certified personal trainer. I decided to go for it. I passed the exam in August 1995 and became a certified personal trainer through the American Council on Exercise. In the same year, I produced a health and fitness newsletter as a community service, and I started my own personal-training business. I just completed a fitness instructor certificate program at UCLA Extension and will take the exam for health fitness instructor for the American College of Sports Medicine this month.
Along the way I’ve learned something. No matter what your goal, when you prove you’re committed, others will offer support. However, friends and family get tired of hearing what you say you’re going to do. They do want to see you succeed but can’t help you if you don’t demonstrate that you will persevere.
Name: Mariko Reems
Age: 37
Occupation: Insurance claims representative and fitness instructor
Old weight: 172
New weight: 132
Time to get there: 4 months