Testimonials

Ed Coleman is my fitness guru, my weight loss coach, and my verbal punching bag. Ed Coleman helped me lose 24% of my body weight in 15 weeks. I had a goal—to look rockin’ for my 10-year high school reunion. So January 1st, I started a diet and exercise regimen (as many of us do). By the end of February it was obvious I was doing something wrong and needed reinforcements in order to meet my deadline. One afternoon, disgruntled by the thought of 5 minutes on the elliptical (much less 30), I coerced Ed into giving me one of his treadmill workouts. Initially, it was a ploy to elude a solo workout (many IWF patrons can attest I am a “high volume” talker); however, it was the pivotal moment in my quest for hotness. I immediately signed up for a bi-weekly session—one day devoted to cardio, the other weights. To date, I have lost over 21 pounds with Ed and he assures me a flat, firm tummy by the end of August. He is my daily source of encouragement, who is forever willing to offer exercises and guidance outside of our training sessions. Ed, you have helped me transform my body…I owe my many recent dates to you. Thanks for making my workouts fun and my social life even better!

This Is Charly’s Story.
I grew up as the classic fat kid and my adulthood has remained the same way until a decision I made one year ago that will forever change the way I feel about food and my body. I’ve tried every diet and trick in the book to end this love relationship with food. It has been this way for as long as I can remember. In middle school I weighed 210, high school I weighed 220 and by college I weighed 240. After getting married, “marriage syndrome” set in and by age 23, I had yo-yo dieted myself to 320 lbs!! That is when I hit rock bottom and had enough. I was in denial all the way up to that point. People would tell me how pretty I am, and in my mind, that meant I wasn’t that fat. My family has always had health issues: obesity, cancer, diabetes, heart attacks, strokes, high blood pressure, etc. I finally realized that it wasn’t just about being fat; it was an open door to all these health issues. When I decided to make a real change, I knew that it could never involve another gimmick or diet fad; my issues went deeper than that. I started researching weight loss surgery and consulted my doctor about the idea. He told me the differences between the Lap-Band and the traditional Gastric Bypass. The Lap-Band is merely a tool to help me eat in moderation, but the rest was up to me. I had to make it work—that is, eating healthy and exercising on a daily/regular basis. I chose Lap-Band surgery and it gave me the boost I needed to get my life on track.
In the beginning, I was convinced that the Lap-Band was going to be my ticket to “Skinnyville,” but my troubles weren’t over. I thought I was going to breeze right through this, but mid-way through, I learned just how important daily exercise, drinking lots of water and eating the right foods are. I could choose to eat carrots or I could choose to eat potato chips. The band wasn’t my life-saver. The basics to weight loss are what we’ve been told all our lives – eat less, eat right and move more. I still have the OCCASIONAL treat, but not everyday. Now I eat for survival and energy needs, not just because. Over time, I wanted to eat strawberries over the chocolate cake. Now, all I drink is water; I never thought I’d be able to give up sweet tea. I simply worked on one thing at a time; replacing one bad habit with a good habit. Exercise has been very crucial to me since day one of this journey. I got in the gym 1 week after surgery and hit the treadmill and elliptical every day during my lunch hour. After a month, I started taking Ed’s kickboxing classes and soon after, Cindy’s dumbbell boxing classes. I believe 100% that exercise is a MUST to lose weight, maintain weight and simply to be healthy. There are so many great benefits to exercising. I exercise every day and now I do it because I want to, not to mention how great I feel after every workout.
I find it very helpful to keep a food and exercise journal. This keeps me accountable and helps me keep track of calories consumed and calories burned. Then, if the scale goes up or down, I can go back and see what I was doing. Setting mini goals has been beneficial as well. I work on losing 10 lbs at a time, and then on to the next 10 lbs. Along the way, I’ve had big goals, like meeting the big 100 lbs loss, reaching Onderland – 199, and of course, my goal weight of 175. I have to keep my eye on the prize or I lose focus.
Last, but not least, I found my very good friends, Christina R. and Pamela S., to be the best support system one could ask for, as well as my husband, Nick, who has loved me through it all. If it were not for them, their advice and encouragement, I would not be where I am today. Having good, solid support from family and friends that you can trust and rely on is very important.
One year later, I’m down 100 lbs, but I don’t owe it all to the Lap-Band. I owe it to myself! I have a lot of regrets about my weight problem--missing out on so many great things. I'm just glad I did something about it when I did. I know now I will not spend the next 50 years fat. I lived being fat for 20+ years and I will not let myself be that person ever again.