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Rondeau an inspiration to those looking to shed some pounds

Surrey resident Deb Rondeau lost 250 pounds and has maintained her weight loss for almost two years.
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Deb Rondeau and her trainer Maarten Van Nus try on a pair of her pre-weight loss pants.


By Deb Rondeau

Like most people born in North America today, I entered the world at an unremarkable weight – just 5 pounds, 7 ounces. But in 2009 at age 55 I was tipping the scales at 430 pounds. Simple things you probably take for granted like using a public restroom or buying clothes could fill my eyes with tears and my heart with shame.

In March 2009 I joined the Surrey SureSlim program and in one year lost 175 pounds. At this point my body began to come back to life and I craved moving, so I joined a gym in my neighbourhood called The Garage (yes, it was filled with body builders like the name suggests, but they were wonderful people and welcomed me with open arms). It was there I met the personal trainer that would change the course of my life.

Maarten Van Nus was no ordinary trainer; he knew the powerful connection between the body and the mind and he taught me that not only did I need to exercise, but I also needed to create a vision of what I wanted to look and feel like. Well, that vision worked and another year later I was down a total of 250 pounds!

Maarten next introduced me to my mentor Dov Baron who would encourage me to join a public speaking program. It was through my work with Dov that I discovered the reason I had yo-yo dieted my entire life was because I lost my physical weight, but not my emotional weight. So I did the work to shed my emotional weight and I have been maintaining my weight loss for almost two years now.

I am so excited for the contestants in the Green Fighters Challenge! It is wonderful to see that they will lose weight the healthy way (by incorporating healthy eating including lots of fresh fruits and vegetables with exercise)! I will be following their progress and cheering them on all the way!

To the contestants I say "good luck on this amazing and life-altering journey!" And if you need additional encouragement along the way, please visit my website at www.debrondeau.com. There you will find my blog with tips and articles to help you to reach your weight loss and fitness goals, my eBook, which you can download as my gift to you, and a link to listen to my Phit & Phabulous podcasts carried on iTunes.

Good luck everyone and remember: it is NEVER too late to bring your sexy back!