by Isabel Summers

                                                                   
                                   Before                                                   After

 Like most young women in the fashion business, I worked hard and partied hard. As a fashion stylist in my early 20s, I had nonstop appointments at showrooms and endless on-location photo shoots. I never found it difficult to stay model thin, even with all the catered food and production meetings over cocktails. I was always told that I was attractive and most people said I had a very good body, although I never really believed the latter. Like most women, I always thought my hips and my bust were too big. But, of course, I was comparing myself to the pencil-thin models.

It wasn’t until I was in my early 40s that several events led to extreme weight gain. I had decided that the “glamorous” fashion lifestyle was no longer for me. I wanted to be more intellectually stimulated and do something that was more fulfilling to me. Booking models, dressing models, reviewing each season’s “new look” was not providing me with the fulfillment I was searching for. I began a new company called Turtle Island and started by developing a line of stationery products with contemporary Native American artists as a fund-raiser for the American Indian College Fund. From there, I grew the company by developing products for other nonprofits, including the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation.

I didn’t realize that there was a relationship between my desire to change careers and my hormones. Hello, that is why they call it a mid-life crisis! When I got married at 25 I weighed 125 pounds (I’m 5′9″). In my early 40s, my metabolism had slowed to a crawl, I was now sitting at a desk most of the day, and I learned about peri-menopause and depression. I didn’t realize that the depression, the career change, and the weight gain were all related. I was gaining weight very quickly, and in about eight years I gained 66 pounds. From 40-48 years old I ballooned from 130 pounds to 196 pounds. I also didn’t know that anti-depressants cause additional weight gain. And now I was also taking meds for high blood pressure and had high cholesterol.

I tried a variety of diets, and although I joined a gym (I was never an athlete), the elliptical machine didn’t seem to do the trick or melt away the weight. Then, a miracle happened. It was March of 2006, my husband and I were at a neighborhood restaurant, and the owner introduced us to Angelo Sorrenti (www.angelosorrenti.com), the personal trainer/nutritionist who helped him lose weight and get physically fit. Angelo developed a program called Integral Manipulation, which combines a nutrition and exercise plan that tricks the body into burning its own fat storages and increases metabolism.

First, I got off the anti-depressants with the help of a medical doctor. Then I began Angelo’s Manipulation program for five weeks. It was a lot of protein and a lot of water. Angelo typed up what I was to eat and drink seven days a week for five weeks. Angelo prepares a unique diet for each client based on their age, weight, and blood work, which he reviews before beginning the program. My program involved a structured combination that balanced protein, carbs, and water. And I was to consume absolutely no refined sugars or alcohol.

I trained in the gym at least three to four times a week. I whined a lot. But I was actually invigorated and had more energy than I had in years. Each week I lost around five pounds. By the end of five weeks I had lost 25 pounds. The next visit to my cardiologist showed that I no longer needed blood pressure medication and I had lost a total of 100 cholesterol points.

Most diets work—but they don’t stick. I wanted this to stick. For that reason Angelo and I decided on a maintenance regimen. I wanted to learn how to live at 160 pounds instead of reaching too far, too fast. I continued to improve in my cardio exercise, moving from the elliptical machine to the treadmill. In a few months I had reached another milestone of 150 pounds using a maintenance diet developed by Angelo.

My publishing career was flourishing and I felt so much better about myself. The most important thing was I learned how to make time for myself and go to the gym. Regardless of deadlines or any other pressures of growing a business, the owner of a business must be on top of their game. And, especially for women, that means being healthy and physically fit. I have more focus and more mental acuity, and I now have more energy than I did when I was 25!

In the spring of 2007, just around one year after beginning the program with Angelo, I was ready to go down to the next level. So we did another round of the Manipulation Program and I reached my next goal of 140 pounds and a very toned size 8. By February of 2008, almost two years after beginning the program, I reached my goal weight of 130 pounds and a size 6. I work out six days a week and run three miles a day on the treadmill. I do abs every day, stretch, and do other toning exercises throughout the week, training with Angelo twice a week. My metabolism is working. Most important of all is that I have adopted a healthy lifestyle. I make time for myself and I learned how to get up from my desk and take a break. I feel more alive than ever in my life.

I have to admit that working with a trainer who is as passionate about a client’s results as Angelo is very inspiring and encouraging. I have heard from many friends that most trainers at gyms do their job but do not provide nutrition plans in conjunction with their training. I have also heard that many trainers do not push too hard for fear of losing a client. Having a nutritionist and fitness trainer in one person who works with you on a daily basis is a huge benefit. Although this program was not inexpensive, it is my personal belief that with Angelo’s encouragement I obtained results that I was not able to get with other programs. I had seen a nutritionist with Beth Israel Hospital, had used trainers with Crunch Fitness, and tried diet books, acupuncture, and Weight Watchers for three years straight. I absolutely could not have done this alone.

Isabel Summers is a member of the New York City Incubator and president of Turtle Island.