Misty Vaccariello

The first thing we did was gather information about Misty’s current training and diet plan. Misty completed a detailed consultation form and sent it along with photos that showed her current conditioning. I know that taking those initial photos is one of the hardest things for a woman to do. We’re used to hiding or covering up our worst areas, but having an accurate picture of where you are starting will help you set realistic goals. After receiving Misty’s paperwork and photos, we set a time for an initial telephone consultation. This part is so important in the fit body experience! Online personal training is not for everyone, so this telephone conversation makes sure that we are both completely comfortable and confident with each other and the way the FitBody system works. I want my clients to understand the process, have every single question answered and to be 100% confident that everything we do is for their overall health, fitness and success.

During this consultation we determined that Misty had 3 primary goals:

• Make a clean eating diet plan and training a lifestyle – not something that she just did until she lost x # of pounds, but a long-term lifestyle.
• Prepare for a competition in the next year.
• Continue to improve her running times as she got leaner and tighter.

From there, we talked through the specifics of her situation, what her daily life looked like, when were the best times for her to workout, any struggles she had experienced before with diet plans for women, what supplements she took, etc. I explained that she’d need to “check in” regularly with photos and measurements to assess her physical changes, and also with performance specific measures to determine improvements in her overall fitness. [See the Fit Body Fit Test article here.]

As we talked, I could tell that Misty was going to be a great match for online personal training. Her time was limited and she needed to be in charge of her own schedule, but she was motivated and willing to take on the challenge.

1600 Calorie Diet Plan
35% Protein, 40% Complex Carbs & 25% Healthy Fats

Meal 1: Breakfast parfait with Greek Yogurt, Berries, High Fiber Cereal & Almonds

Meal 2:  2 Scoop Beverly International Ultimate Muscle Protein Shake

Meal 3:  Turkey, Hummus, Parmesan Wrap with Fruit

Meal 4:  Oatmeal & Peanut Butter

Meal 5:  Super Sized Grilled Chicken Salad

Meal 6: 1 Scoop Beverly International Ultimate Muscle Protein Shake

2275 Calorie Diet Plan
33% Protein, 31% Complex Carbs & 36% Healthy Fats

Meal 1:  Eggs, Cheese & Spinach Frittata with Fruit

Meal 2:  Ultimate Muscle Protein Energy Snack Balls

Meal 3:  Grilled Salmond with Mixed Veggie Salad

Meal 4:  Kashi Bar and Apple with Peanut Butter

Meal 5:  Grilled Chicken Breast, Sweet Potato with Butter and Veggies

Meal 6:  2 scoop Beverly International Ultimate Muscle Protein Shake with Fruit

Very quickly I realized that Misty was caught in what I call the Under/Over cycle. It starts with good intentions… eating less and doing far too much cardio in an attempt to lose weight. With this kind of diet plan, your body can only take that for so long before you crash and end up overeating or binging because you are so depleted. This inevitably leads to guilt and more cardio paired with another stint of undereating. This cycle damages your metabolism and causes a weight roller coaster but over time, unfortunately, the result is a steady increase in bodyweight. It is an emotional roller coaster too, and while those under eating cycles might result in some weight loss, it all comes back and even more as soon as you ‘cave’ and eat more realistically.

Our first step was to increase Misty’s calories with her diet plan for women to a level that would support the amount of activity she was doing and help her start building a stronger metabolism. Adding more calories would help her feel satisfied throughout the day and make her less likely to overeat on lower quality food. Vegetables were completely unlimited and she could eat them any time she wanted, provided she did not add extra oil or butter to them. Finally, I encouraged her to be flexible with her eating. That she should listen to her body and eat according to her natural biorhythms. There is no magic hour by which you should stop eating if you still have calories left for the day.

Every two weeks we did a thorough evaluation of Misty’s progress with measurements from her progress tracker, photos, her fit test results, along with her personal feedback. As Misty lost bodyfat and lbs on the scale, she gained muscle. It is important to change diet plans as you go along to avoid plateaus, continue challenging your metabolism, and respond to the changes your body is making. For Misty, like many of my clients, we have been able to incrementally increase her calories to a level higher than she has ever consistently been to before! Currently, Misty has lost more than 20 lbs on the scale, gained considerable muscle and is now eating almost 2300 well-balanced calories a day as part of her diet plan. And she is still losing bodyfat! Check out Misty’s current diet plan above.

Misty knew that supplementation was an important part of her diet plan for women, but she was not sure where to begin. I explained that Beverly International supplements are the highest quality supplements on the market and that they would make a big difference in her results. With her busy life adding in Beverly Internationals Ultimate Muscle Protein was a no brainer. Misty loved the way it tasted as a shake and she has gotten very creative about using it in delicious snack recipes. We started off with the basic weight loss supplements for women – ones that I knew would help her lose bodyfat and add a bit of muscle.

Here is Misty’s initial supplement plan:
Fit Tabs – 2 in the am & 2 in the pm
Density – 3 in the am, 3 before training and 3 after training
Lean Out – 2 before 4 meals per day
Glutamine Select – 1 scoop before training

As her body and her diet plan for women changed, her supplement needs changed too. Misty is at a point now where she wants to gain muscle and maintain her bodyfat, so we’ve added those that will help her build. Beverly International’s Ultra 40 & Mass Aminos are my favorite one – two punch for optimal muscle building.

Fit Tabs – 2 in the am & 2 in the pm
Ultra 40 – 2 with 5 meals per day
Mass Aminos – 2 with 5 meals per day
Lean Out – 1 before 4 meals per day
Glutamine Select – 1 scoop before training

When it comes to training in addition to a great diet plan for women, Misty needed the right balance to achieve her fitness goals and also work with her life. She was accustomed to running, so more running was not the answer. We were going to challenge her body with weight training for women specifically and just enough endurance work that would still allow for growth. In general, I set up Misty’s training schedule so that she was working out 4-5 times per week for about 45 minutes each session.

Every 2 weeks, we would evaluate her progress and make changes to her training program as needed. Each month, we’d incorporate new exercises and new techniques including everything from traditional weight training for women, to body weight exercises to endurance training, to CrossFit ™ style movements, and everything in between. With cardio, my philosophy is efficient, effective and fun! No dying of boredom after hours on the treadmill! Misty did cardio she enjoyed varying from 2 short sessions per week up to 5 sessions per week. We kept Misty’s cardio times short but intense, rarely going over 30 minutes – usually in the 15–20 minute time range.

Over the course of 8 months in my Online Personal Training program and with the right diet plan for women, Misty completely transformed her body. Not only has she lost more than 20 lbs on the scale, she has gained considerable muscle. She has lost 5 inches in her chest, 3 inches from her waist and hips, along with almost 3 inches in each thigh. The really exciting part of her progress though is her Fit Test results. Her strength has skyrocketed and her max pushups have more than doubled going from 20 to 42 on her feet pushups without stopping!

Misty has reached her running goal as well, clocking in her best ever 1 mile run time. Misty also reached her goal of competing in a figure show; in fact, she competed in 2, winning 3rd place in Open Figure. That said, Misty’s online personal training journey has been about so much more than competition. Here are some of the thoughts Misty shared with me as she progressed through her journey:

“I lost more than 20 lbs on the scale while gaining muscle, strength and getting faster!!!”

Jan 19th “It has only been a few weeks, but I wanted you to know that I had an amazing workout today. It really did come easier and I felt like a powerhouse today! I almost cried. This is the best feeling.”

Feb 1st “The biggest change in the last two weeks I would say was understanding measurements on food better, adding more veggies, and I also increased weight on my reps as I went along. So far, I am loving this journey. So much different than training for a marathon haha. I can’t wait to see what the next 4 weeks brings!”

March 15th “Ugh! Toughest week yet! Too much going on and not enough time.”

April 20th “Oh my goodness, tried the Beverly International Ultimate Muscle Protein Banana muffins today and they are amazing!!! I love having a protein powder that is so versatile.”

June 11th “I am eating more calories and food than ever yet I am the leanest I have ever been my whole life!”

July 6th “I was practicing posing tonight before bed. I wanted to cry (happy tears) at my reflection tonight when I realized how far I’ve come. My legs look so great, my abs, my arms… I’m feeling sooo much more confident. I’m just in total “wow” mode, and wanted to say thank you. I’m not sure I say it enough and in case I don’t…. This new path in my life of eating well, sculpting my body, and learning to appreciate the small things so much more… Is mostly because of you. I’m so glad I found you! I can’t wait for check in next week. Have a great week! Speak with you soon.”

Aug 16th “Julie Lohre! I just had to share this with you. My husband began eating like me once we got home from Missouri in Feb. Granted it was not exactly the same meals I was eating. He ate more cheat meals, and his were slightly different but for the most part, as a family we ate more veggies, fruits, lean meats etc. He’s lost over 70lbs lol!”

Aug 26th “It’s been 2 weeks since I competed and I’ve had a few people ask how am I doing in terms of weight, issues etc. Well I went into peak week eating quite a bit, and as soon as competition was over, my calories were increased quite a bit more. I was thinking… Who can eat this much food? I went back to eating clean within a day of the show. I’ve had a few cheat meals and cardio has been cut down quite a bit. I’m extremely proud to say I’m only 1.5lb up from mid peak week weight. My FIBODY experience along with your diet plans for women and your training for women has been incredible…”