Lifestyle Prior To Change
I have always been an active person, but after having children my needs came last and I no longer was as active or thought about what I was eating.
What was your turning point?
I would say my low point was seeing my pictures of myself from my daughter's one year birthday. We knew we were done having children and I thought I was making some progress, until I saw the pictures!
What Was Your Exercise Plan?
I didn't mess around! I hired a trainer and got started! I had 5 months to get myself "comp" ready. I was at the gym 6 days a week sometimes twice a day. I lifted heavy for a while then started doing higher reps and lower weights. That is when I saw the quickest results.
What does your current training approach look like?
I do 1-2 muscle groups per workout. We are learning that certain areas develop quicker so now we are focusing on the ones that need more work to polish them for my next competition.
What Was Your Diet Plan?
I eat! I eat 5-6 meals a day balanced with a lean protein, a veggie, and a carbohydrate. I drink a lot of water throughout the day to help flush out the fat.
What does your current eating plan look like?
- Meal 1: Oats and egg whites.
- Meal 2: Protein shake.
- Meal 3: Chicken breast with a large salad.
- Meal 4: Protein shake with salt free rice cakes.
- Meal 5: Tilapia with grilled veggies and a side of Jasmine rice.
- Meal 6: If hungry either grilled turkey breast or a protein shake.
What supplements did you use during your transformation?
I use and LOVE Muscle Gauge Nutrition whey protein powder, Beverly International glutamine with BCAAs, NOW multivitamins. I used these and still do! LOVE THEM!
What Is Your Life Like Now?
My life is more active. I am more aware of the foods I put into my body. I have a new passion for nutrition and exercise and work as a fitness counselor at my local Gold's Gym. I am training for another figure competition and am hoping to someday take this to the pro level.
Advice for others
My advice would be that everyone deserves to be healthy and happy. We owe it to ourselves. And anyone can do it. It takes a lot of dedication and planning but we only have one body so lets make it our best!
More From Marissa Freier
This has been an amazing journey for me. It's been just over a year since I started training and I feel that like not only have I changed my physique but have changed my life. And I am so honored to have my story told on so many sites/publications. I do hope to inspire other people to achieve their goals!
Thank you!
15 Comments
Wow i am so inspired by your transformation. I am 18 and trying to lose weight and tone up. I'm trying to lose 10 pounds and tone up in order to feel better. However, for some reason i am not losing or gaining weight i am just flatlining. It's so frustrating i eat only fruits, vegetables, and lean meats, and i work out almost every day but I see absolutely no results. How do you lose weight, and tone up? I have been trying for over a year now. I am currently stuck at 135, please please help or give advice, I would be absolutely grateful for any sort of information that would help. Thank you so so so much for your time.
Hi Erica Lynn!
My advice usually points toward diet. It could be so many factors, you could not be eating enough, maybe your body needs grains like oatmeal/sweet potato/etc. I always recommend lifting weights as well as doing cardio so you can build lean muscle to burn fat. The lack of carbohydrates and weight training may be what is causing the flat look. I know that even when I lift and not eat enough carbs, I get that flat look. There are a lot of great resources on here for workouts, I would recommend trying some :) I hope this helps!!
Marissa
Hi Marissa!
I am so happy I found this site. My husband guided me here. He and I like to consider ourselves gym rats and fitness gurus, but I find myself at 26, 5'6, 135lbs, and 8 months after giving birth, stuck at a plateau. I ate amazingly throughout my pregnancy, worked out, and dropped back to pre-pregnancy weight in two weeks. However, I too have the dreaded loose tummy skin, and fat. My legs, butt and hips are my worst areas, and the most frustrating of all is that my diet is IDENTICAL to yours, and I workout 4-6 days a week, weight train, cardio, etc. and I'm STUCK! I actually have gained 2-4 lbs in the last few weeks (hoping its just due to muscle gain.) Any advice on breaking a plateau when your diet is immaculate? I have eaten this way for years. Is my body just use to my healthy eating? I feel like I should have a perfect figure comp ready body with my diet and exercise. i just started taking a fat burner, and I am incorporating "beofre breakfast" cardio... We give ourselves 1 cheat day a week typically, just decided to space it out and try every two weeks to do a cheat day. When I say "cheat day," it means we literally eat whatever we want the entire day, with no limits. I hear this is good to shock your body. Any advice on this? Is it good? bad? Is my "cheat day" hindering my progress? Should I cut it out completely? I also recently stopped drinking diet soda in hopes that reducing the sodium will help. I just feel like we are always told to cut calories, carbs, etc from our "normal" diet in order to loose weight. But if I keep cutting, eventually I'll be on an anorexia diet! lol I want to find a lifestyle that is doable, and I want to get rid of these last, unsightly pounds that are so stubborn. I want to have a body like yours! Please help! :)
HI Heather!! Congrats on your new little one!!I'm glad you found this site too, this site is GREAT!! It's really hard to say..I have never drank soda and really am very strict on water intake...that could be an issue maybe. Cheat days are GREAT! They do kick start your metabolism. Maybe you should change it to a cheat meal verse a whole day. I have my cheat meals mainly for my sanity! LOL. Again, I am happy to look at an exact daily routine and give you feedback that way. I don't recommend cutting calories, your body NEEDS the fuel from good whole foods to function and grow muscle (which will burn fat). I personally don't even recommend a fat burner. Have you had your thyroid checked? Email me and I would love to help!!
Marissa
I am so inspired by your transformation. I'm 42 years old and over the last five years my body has gone through a transformation. I've gained a nice amount of weight and things are shifting. I'm interested in building muscle. I know as you get older, muscle mass begins to decreases’. That's happening to me. What would you suggest and is it too late. I just joined a boot camp AGAIN. I've also had surgery for fibroids and now I have a kangaroo pouch. Please help. What should I be doing on my own outside of boot camp?
Hi Trinette!
Thank you!! :) First off it is NEVER too late! Of course diet is KEY when losing fat and building muscle. You want to make sure you are eating the right amount of the right foods. Also without knowing exactly what your boot camp entails, maybe add extra weight training? You can always email me at marissa@fitmomconsulting.com and I can look at your daily activities and meals and give you advice :)
Keep at your goals and you WILL reach them!!
Marissa
I really need to lose alot of fat and i have alot of excess skin hanging off my body. I hate myself. And I don't know where to start. I am 5.0 and weigh 250 pounds. I am very depressed about my weight and I am tired of people telling me how much weight I've gained. I need help badly. At this point I work alot of 16 hours shift at work so i be so tired. I am always working my off days. I need to know how to eat right thats a big problem with me. I am always tired and never got no energy. I legs are small but have alot of excess fat on them. I wish I could have surgery but i can't afford it. I live on a low-income budget. Please if you can help me because I cannot afford a trainer. My legs is what I hate the most.
Marissa,
What is your current work out plan per day (Exercise, Sets and Reps)? Your transformation is amazing and I have been searching for good routine? Thus I was wondering what is yours?
Thank you,
Noureen
Hi Noureen!
I do basically a body part per day. I don't have a set routine per say as far as what exercise I do but I usually do supersets and 3-4 sets of between 8-15 reps, depending on the week. My basic schedule is:
Monday: chest & 30 min cardio
Tuesday: shoulders and abs & 30-45 min cardio
Wednesday: Back & 20 min cardio
Thursday: hamstrings and calves & 40 min cardio
Friday: biceps & triceps & abs & 30 min cardio
Saturday: glutes and quads & 20 min cardio
Hope this helps you a little! Search this site and I'm sure you will find some excellent exercises to add to your routine!
I wish you the best of luck!
I agree with the others. Not only are you a real inspiration to people who read articles like this one but I'm sure you inspire people regularly in your daily life who see what you've done and then make positive changes in their lives as a result. What a great example to set for your children too. I've got a lot of respect for anyone who makes a conscious decision to change their lives for the better and then follows through with such focus and determination and, in your case, you've achieved so much in such a short amount of time! Congratulations and good luck for the future.
Thank you! I think I have inspired more people than I know, but its so nice because I'm inspired daily as well. Your kind words made my day! I wish you well and happy health in your future as well!!
Marissa, you're an inspiration. I've been working towards better health since January and recently started weight training. Thanks for the reminder that I can't see the results overnight. Seeing your one year transformation has been a motivation to continue. You look fabulous! Congratulations on the hard work.
Thank you so much!! I just saw this comment! It honestly is so heart warming to get comments like this. I hope you are having success with your motivation on your goals!! I hope you are also loving weight training! I'm certainly addicted!
I am so inspired by this. I have been training a couple of months. An been getting real discourage. My stats are similar to your from your start. The only difference is I am 5' tall and I started at 150lbs. I have 2 kids and the same thing I stop putting my self first. I am currently at 140lbs. I was inspired that it took you 5 months to get ready for a competition. My trainer and husband wants me to train for a competition as well so that I have a goal to strive for. The only thing is that it is in 4 months and I don't think I will be ready.. But with this story transformation I am more motivated to try harder thank you. Wanted to know if there is any advice that you can give me or tips.? My problem area is my stomach from having kids and not eating right and I have the same body fat percentage from when you started.
Liz! Aww you seriously just made my day! Good for you! What does your trainer say about being ready. You don't want to do anything to sacrifice your health or metabolism! My problem area is for sure my stomach. I have a LOT of loose skin and fat there too and that is the very first place to gain and last to lose. Its safe to say you would love about 2 lbs a week (from my understanding). You can follow my blog (musklemom.wordpress.com) I do write a lot about my experiences and challeges! Its always good to know there are people out there like us looking to reach the same goals! Thats what helped me to realize my body wasn't "doomed" after having kiddos!
My advice would be to really focus on your goals. Don't give up and don't compromise your health. Shows will always be going on and if you aren't ready for this one look for the next one!!
Feel free to email me anytime with questions!! I wish you the very best of luck and can't wait to hear how your transformation goes!