OC woman loses 140 pounds with focused exercise and diet.

Two years ago, Mary Lonich was 140 pounds overweight and couldn’t bend over to make her bed or vacuum her house for fear she would throw her back out.

Now, on the eve of her 50th birthday, Lonich is healthier than she’s ever been in her life. Thanks to her “Eat to live, don’t live to eat” mantra and a comprehensive fitness program, Lonich lost 140 pounds in two years and went from 44% body fat to 22%. She watches what she eats and chooses food for its nutritional content, not its sensory appeal. Her daily workout regime starts at 6 a.m. and usually includes an hour of trail running, a 20-mile bike ride and strength training - a combination that could exhaust most people half her age.

Mary Lonich before her dramatic weight loss.

Mary Lonich (left) and her trainer Carla Ralston getting in some roadwork in preparation for an upcoming San Francisco to Los Angeles, charity bike ride.

How did this petite blonde ball of energy go from fat to fit in just two years? Determination, guts, perseverance - and a trainer named Carla Ralston.

Downhill slide

“Ten years ago I fell off a ladder and damaged my leg. Doctors had to insert a 12-inch steel rod. I wrecked my knee at the same time,” recalls Lonich. “I had knee surgery, and immediately following that, I blew out my back. In less than three years I had four major surgeries. My doctors told me I shouldn’t even think about skiing, riding a bike, doing anything athletic. They said it was too risky, so I stopped.”

Lonich began to distance herself from her friends who were athletic and started hanging out with people who were sedentary. Instead of filling her time with athletic activity, she viewed going out to dinner as entertainment. With food as her focus, putting on the pounds became her main activity.

Two years ago, Lonich accepted the position of Executive Director of the Balboa Performing Arts Theater in Newport Beach and moved from San Jose to Orange County - a move that changed her life.

“It was like a bucket of cold water was thrown on my face,” says Lonich. “I’m an outdoor person - I love the outdoors - and it’s very outdoorsy here. It’s a very invigorating, very vibrant lifestyle. Where I lived before, it was more city life, so to go out and enjoy the things I liked took planning and time and travel. When I moved here, I had a trail 100 yards from my front door that went up into Laguna Canyon. Plus I drove to work at the beach every day. I was surrounded by all the things I enjoyed.”

After a year in the OC, Lonich decided she was going to ignore her doctors and try to get back in shape. She put herself on a strict diet and eased herself into exercise. She bought a beach cruiser and every day at lunchtime rode two to three miles along the beach. In the evening she walked the trail near her house, at first managing to get only about a quarter of the way up the half-mile hill before turning around and staggering back down. Eventually, she was able to run up and down the hill.

Lonich continued her routine for nine months and saw results, although not the kind she was expecting.

“Nutrition was not part of my thought process, just weight loss. At one point I was eating 500 calories a day just to get the weight off, but it didn’t matter to me if it was a 500-calorie Snickers bar,” says Lonich. “At the end of nine months I lost 70 pounds and four clothes sizes, but I didn’t really feel good. I was tired, my skin was blotchy and my hair was starting to fall out. I realized I needed to do something different, so maybe instead of just diet and physical activity, I should have someone help me with the right physical activity for me. I didn’t realize at the time that proper nutrition came along with that, but I found that out soon enough.”

The next step

Lonich’s next step on the path to fitness enlightenment came in March of 2004 when she enlisted the help of fitness coach Carla Ralston, a local trainer who herself had at one time fought a losing battle with weight gain.

“I have always been involved in fitness, but I had gained a lot of weight during my marriage,” says Ralston, 35, who was a web site designer prior to changing careers. “When I reached 150 pounds, I knew I had to do something about it. Fortunately, I was hired to design a website for a personal trainer. I asked her a lot of questions about physical fitness and personal training, and she pointed me to the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM).”

Ralston got back on the fitness track, lost weight and became fit. Two years ago she became certified with NASM and International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA). She transitioned from website design to designing training programs for clients under the business name My Fit Pro. She works out clients at CDM Fitness in Corona del Mar and in private homes and outdoors depending on the need.

Ironically, Ralston had the same epiphany as Lonich when she moved to Orange County from her native Missouri: This was an active area that provided myriad outdoor recreational opportunities, including roller-blading, bike riding, rock climbing and hiking.

“The more I did the more I wanted to do,” says Ralston. “I felt such a satisfaction out of it, and I wanted to do that for other people. This fits in well for Mary, because she’s very outdoorsy. To me the best goal is not just to lose weight, but to do something that gives you a sense of accomplishment. I saw something in Mary that was in me - her strong will, and her dedication and willingness to do this.”

“As soon as I went to Carla, she put me on a very different diet,” says Lonich. “It was only 1250 to 1500 calories a day, and not very tasty - it was real bland, but it felt better. I had to change my mindset there, because it wasn’t about enjoying food, it was about getting the nutrition your body needs to be able to function and exercise.”

Ralston started Lonich on a fitness regime that focused on burning calories, which meant intense cardio exercise including interval training, jumping rope, and even some weight training intervals using high reps and low weight. Ralston also focused on core training, which included developing the muscles around the spine, a key aspect of training for Lonich due to her bad back.

After a few weeks, Lonich was at the point in her training where she was ready to gain muscle, so the emphasis switched from cardio to weight lifting and resistance training.

The results were astounding.

Measuring up - and down

“It had taken me nine months to lose 70 pounds and four clothes sizes, but with a trainer I lost another 30 pounds and four more dress sizes in only three months,” says Lonich. “I lost less weight but the same number of dress sizes, but that’s what strength training can do to the physique. I also felt stronger, more awake and invigorated. It enabled me to keep going and do even more.”

Eventually Lonich lost a total of 140 pounds, and has had no difficulties keeping it off. More important, Lonich now does most of her fitness activity outdoors like she wanted.

“I always defined my ultimate goal as spontaneous athletic activity. If I wanted to go skiing, or swimming or ride a bike, I wanted to be able to go out and do it. I didn’t want to be in a gym the rest of my life; I wanted to be outdoors enjoying life,” she says. “Before, I couldn’t do anything, and now there’s almost nothing I haven’t tried. I’m back to skiing, I snowboard, bike, run, water ski and swim. When I think about where I was when I started with Caria a year ago and where I am now, it’s unbelievable.”

“I’ve been exposed to a lot of different trainers, and the thing I like about Carla is that she really seems to listen to what I want and works toward that goal every day,” adds Lonich. “She knew I loved the outdoors and loved to run, so she exposed me to trail running. I had never heard of it, and the first time I tried it, I thought ‘I can’t do this,’ but she encouraged me, and it was reaching one of my objectives - to get out of the gym. And whatever I do, she goes with me. She gave me opportunities to enter 5K and 10K races, and she ran with me. She goes with me on trail runs. And she’s going with me on a 500-mile bike ride. It’s great to have someone there you feel comfortable with while you’re trying things that are new to you.”

Pushing the boundaries

With her soth birthday approaching this December, Lonich has been searching for a memorable event to commemorate the occasion, something to celebrate how far she’s come. Ralston put forth the challenge of a 530-mile bike ride from San Francisco to Los Angeles that will raise money for the Arthritis Foundation. Lonich accepted the challenge, bought a new road bike and is training for the ride that takes place this September.

“Carla and I are entering as a team, My Fit Pro team,” says Lonich. “We have to raise $3,000 each to ride in the race, which we want to do soon so we can focus on our training.”

“We may not finish at the top, but I like the competition, the camaraderie - it’s so motivating,” adds Ralston. “We’re also training for a biathlon, which is a sK run, soK bike ride and sK run, so we’re doing a lot of running and biking right now. After the biathlon, we’ll focus on biking and lower back exercises, plus leg exercises. Every week we’ll change the variables a little, change the number of reps or go from standard to supersets. It keeps the body guessing and prevents it from adapting too much to the same exercise.”

Bottom line

With her daily devotion to exercise, Lonich can now drink wine (one of her passions) and eat foods she likes. She feels she is in complete control of her weight and her body. If she needs to lose five pounds, she can do it with little effort. She’s more food conscious now, so things like heavy cream sauces and butter are out of her diet, but other culinary delights have found their way back onto her menu.

“Give me a good steak and I’m all over that, baby,” laughs Lonich. “Give me a good cabernet to go with it, I’m all over that too. I can do that and continue to feel good, and continue to be at the weight that I’m at.”

“My original weight goal was not a number, it was to reach a size 10. I’m now at size six, and am on the border of a 6/4.1 never thought that at 5’ 7” I’d ever be a 6/4. I was a size 24.1 have gone from 24 to 6/4. Isn’t that incredible? It baffles me, but the facts are there.”

An unexpected result of her amazing weight loss: friends who haven’t seen her for a few months, or years, don’t recognize her.

“It happens to me all the time. It’s a little awkward. I go up to people and say hi and they look at me with blank faces,” says Lonich. “Even my own brother didn’t recognize me. I was at the airport waiting for him to pick me up, and he was late. I was the only one at the curb, and I saw him drive by, and circle around and drive by again. On his third pass, I called him on his cell phone and said ‘Aren’t you going to stop?’”

Lonich and Ralston looking fit and happy.

Lonich says that as a result of her dramatic transformation, she has inspired people to change their lifestyle and start getting fit. Friends often call her for fitness advice or a bit of inspiration, which she is happy to share. She’s also a great example of what can be done without having to resort to gastric bypass surgery.

“It’s such a lifestyle change that you don’t have to worry about gaining weight,” explains Lonich. “With the surgery, if you don’t change your eating habits and lifestyle, you’re going to regain the weight. I think if you want to get fit and lose weight, then do it. It can be done, and this is the best way to do it. Look at the results.”

Copyright Churm Publishing Jun 9, 2005