Fitness program helps Lynn YMCA staffer

LYNN – For those of you looking for some New Year’s fitness inspiration, look no further than the Lynn Y and one of its staff members, Bonnie Maitland.Maitland, 38, looked energetic as she discussed her fitness regimen on Thursday night. Wearing a blue Y T-shirt, black pants and grey Nikes, she talked about her goals for this year, which include running a half-marathon this summer.Maitland, 38, is certainly a goal-driven person. Since last January, she lost about 150 pounds with help from three and a half sessions of the “Waist Away” program at the Y. She also tackled other challenges: running a 5K race, competing in a Lynn Woods obstacle course and participating in a triathlon.”Not only did it change my body, it changed my mind,” Maitland said.When she joined the Y in November 2011, she weighed 338 pounds. She could not walk up a flight of stairs without getting winded, and one of the items on her to-do list was just to ride in the backseat of a car with the seatbelt on.Health-wise, she said that while her blood pressure was good, her blood sugar was bad, she was pre-diabetic, and she was headed for Type 2 diabetes.So, last January, she signed up for “Waist Away.” She describes it as “a group exercise competition inspired by ‘The Biggest Loser.'” (The latter is a reality television program.) “Waist Away” runs for 8-week sessions, with participants meeting twice a week. They are divided into two teams, headed by trainers Sharon Dobbyn and Steve Martin. They also meet with a nutritionist, Jennifer Perry, once a week for lectures and dietary advice.”There were all ages, college students all the way up to people in their 60s,” Maitland said. “Men and women, people with 150-200 pounds to lose, and people with 10 pounds to lose who were more looking to tone and get feedback.”As for the fitness component, Dobbyn said, “Any exercise you could think of, we did.”These included jumping jacks, planks, step-ups, shoulder presses, bicep curls, lunges, spinning, yoga and free weights.After Maitland’s first week, she actually gained a pound and a half. This, she said, was one of the several times she considered opting out.Yet she resolved to listen more to the advice in the program, and after completing one session, she had lost 47 pounds, exceeding her goal of 25. When the program ended, she took up running. In March, with her cousin, Rebecca Maitland, she ran the Lynn Hibernians’ 5K Recovery Run.”I was overweight, obese, with prediabetes,” Bonnie Maitland said of her former condition. “I ran the whole thing.”Maitland signed up for the next session of “Waist Away,” and took a 4-week triathlon training course at the Y. She also began working for the Y, in its membership and fitness departments. In September, after a summer of mini-triathlons, she completed a Sprint triathlon in Nahant. This past fall, she joined Martin and two other Y members leaping over hay bales and climbing over walls in the Lynn Woods obstacle race.”I never would have even dreamed of (triathlons) before the ‘Waist Away’ program,” Maitland said. “It gave me the courage to try new things. It was really a jumping-off point. It motivated me to work out between ‘Waist Away’ workouts and change my lifestyle, from more sedentary to more active.”One result is an end to what she calls “The Talk.””I always hated going to the doctor,” Maitland said. “We would have ‘The Talk.’ ‘The scale has gone up since last time.’ Since sixth grade, we would have ‘The Talk’ at my annual physical. I was always overweight. I did not go to the prom because there were no dresses in my size.”She said that her doctor, who has been her doctor since she was 17, is “ecstatic.”With good reason. Maitland said she is not prediabetic and has no blood-sugar issues.”There’s still about 45 pounds I’d like to lose, if I really apply myself,” she said. “You are never done.”Rich Tenorio can be reached at [email protected].