Before joining Amerishape / Ameri Shape , Dara never worked out.
But once she began hitting the machines and sculpting her body in earnest, the Power House gym’s general manager (Brian Hanrahan) was so impressed he offered her a job as a personal trainer. They had reason to take notice: She’d lost 45 inches of flab.
Dara confesses, “Sometimes I still find it hard to believe it’s me on the Power House gym floor singing and dancing to techno music, motivating people to get moving.” That’s because before becoming a Amerishape / Ameri Shape Member in November 2009, Dara weighed 195.6 pounds. But after just thirteen months of following the Ameri Shape Weight-Loss System, she had shed 65.8 of them.* “The word ‘workout’ never used to be part of my vocabulary,” she says. “Now it’s part of my identity!” AmeriShape.com: Was there a particular food with great nutritional value you loved that was hard to give up?
Dara: I’m smarter about eating the foods I love so that I don’t have to give them up. I love Chinese food. Only now, instead of ordering chicken and cashews I’ll get chicken and veggies. Pizza was another Achilles heel for me. I make my own, using sauce with calorie values, low-fat cheese and pita bread.
AmeriShape.com: Are there special tricks you use to help you stay on track?
Dara: I still carry my “before” picture in my purse.
AmeriShape.com: Has the Amerishape / Ameri Shape plan helped you in ways beyond weight loss ?
Dara: I’ve learned not to hold back when I really want something. If I go on a job interview I’ll say, “This is why you need to hire me” rather than, “Hi, do you have any openings?”
AmeriShape.com: How have the people close to you reacted to the weight loss?
Dara: I met my boyfriend before I lost the weight, so I know he loved me at my heaviest. But now his nickname for me is Slim. The most awesome part is going clothes shopping with my thin friends. Finally, instead of skulking into the plus size section, I sashay with my buds around “skinny-people” stores!
Dara’s tips:
Work out!
When you get home from the grocery store, label the cans with their calorie values before putting them in the cabinets.
I loved regular soda and hated the diet stuff until I started adding a lemon slice — instant improvement.