Tracie at the beginning of her program		This is not Tracie's teenage daugher. Tracie September 2003

Hello!

How will I get in shape for the second half of my life?

That was the question I posed to myself after surgery sidelined me for many months. I was in my mid 40s. I certainly didn't feel old, but at 163 pounds, I looked matronly and out of shape, and I found myself hiding behind others in group photos taken at a family reunion in August 2002.

I had read that lifting weights, eating small meals several times a day, and reducing the amount of fat, sugar, and processed foods one eats would bring all kinds of health benefits to women my age. After doing some research, I decided to try Body for Life for 12 weeks.
 
Through it, I rediscovered the joy of lifting weights ? something I had done in my 20s. But I couldn't get a handle on guesstimating the food, and kept finding myself trapped in a "diet" mentality ? if eating a fist-sized portion of carbs was good, eating even less was better. Soon, my weight loss plateaued at 153 and my energy level sank.

At the end of the 12 weeks, I scouted around the Internet for something more precise and found the Physique Transformation Web site. I read every word ? from the e-book, to the success stories, to the money-back guarantee ? sometimes twice, to get my head around the concepts. Everything it said flew in the face of conventional dieting "wisdom."

I started my first rotation on pure blind faith that that the program would work. Putting my faith in someone else, or something else, is difficult for me. So even when I gained four pounds in conditioning and felt like I would pop, even when I plateaued for 12 days in the middle of my first round of fat-burning, I kept telling myself to see the rotation through to the end.

The faith paid off. At the end of my first rotation in April 2003 ? on my 47th birthday ? I had gone from about 30 percent body fat to 22.8 percent, and from 153 pounds to 139 pounds, from a tight size 14 pants to a size 8, and, perhaps even more important, from a total blood cholesterol reading of 212 to 141!

But I hadn't reached my goal of 18 percent body fat. For that, I would need a second rotation, and I jumped right back into the game. The scale didn't move as fast the second time around, but it seemed that my body looked different every week. Something good was happening! At the end of rotation 2 in August 2003, I had reached 128 pounds and 19.2 percent body fat.

Although my results are more modest than those achieved by others in this success gallery, I am thrilled!  My body looks VERY different to me, I am in a whole other place mentally than I was a year ago, and my health is MUCH improved. I like the way I look. I love feeling strong and confident. I look on the outside the way I feel on the inside. My husband can't keep his hands off me. (Hmm - perhaps that's why the photos he took are blurry? )

Here are my beginning and ending stats:

Starting stats (August 2002)
height: 5 foot 5
weight: 163
% body fat: 32
bust: 37
waist: 32
hip: 41.5
Left thigh: 24 right thigh: 24
Left calf: 15 right calf: 15
Total cholesterol: 212

Final stats (August 2003)
Weight: 128 lbs.
% body fat: 19.2
bust: 34.5
waist: 25.5
hip: 35.5
Left thigh: 20 right thigh: 20.75
Left calf: 14 right calf: 13.5
Total blood cholesterol: 141

There are all kinds of reasons people lose weight and drop fat. The most important reason for me? I want to live a long, healthy life. Using the tools offered through the Physique Transformation site, I have discovered a method that puts me in control of my fitness goals.

To Ric and Bart: Your sincerity, honesty and commitment to your customers' success set an example for businesses everywhere. I am a fan forever! To everyone on the PFA support board: Each of you is AWESOME!

Sincerely,

Tracie