Heather Bear Finds New Love

For Herself, Her New Body, and Her New Life!

By Sue Mosebar, Executive Editor

Like many new mothers, weeks after Heather Bear celebrated the arrival of her brand-new baby girl, she finally got a moment to look at herself. And couldn't believe her own reflection.

Just two years before, she had built the body of her dreams.

In March of '04, Heather stepped on stage for her first show and loved it.

You see, Heather had wanted to look good on her wedding day. She had been exercising for a few years and thought she knew what she was doing, but her results weren't nearly what she had hoped for.

One night while flipping through a fitness magazine, Oxygen, she told her fiance about how much she admired Jenny Hendershott and wished she could work out with her. He suggested she email Jenny, who lived just three hours away.

Heather said, "Oh, she wouldn't give me the time of day." But he said, "Well, the worst thing she can do is say no." So Heather sent Jenny an email, and much to her surprise, she immediately got a response.

A New Training Plan

The next thing Heather knew, she was driving to Columbus, Ohio, to train with Fitness Champion Jenny Hendershott. "Though I was scared to death, once I met Jenny, you would have thought we had known each other forever," Heather remembers. "I ended up spending the night in Columbus and training with her for two days."

Heather continues, "I'm the type of person you have to show how to do something. You can't just tell me. So after Jenny showed me the correct form of lifting weights, I started seeing improvements rapidly."

Heather returned home and did the workout Jenny had designed for her, along with the nutrition plan, and really started enjoying amazing results. "I had lost 30 pounds by October for my wedding, and I was really proud of how I looked!"

After continuing with her workout plan, that winter, Heather decided to go back for another meeting with Jenny. This time, Heather had an even loftier goal. She wanted to fulfill her lifelong dream of competing. Jenny again provided a complete exercise and nutrition plan and told Heather if she followed it, she would be able to confidently compete.

And in March of '04, that's exactly what Heather did. She stepped on stage for her first show and loved it. She then took the summer off but decided she wanted to get back on stage for some shows in the fall.

"Despite exercising throughout her pregnancy, Heather found herself in the worst shape of her life."

A New Challenge

However, much to her surprise, nothing seemed to be working. "About the end of August, I called Jenny and told her, 'The weight's not coming off. I can't figure out what's wrong. I can't do this cardio any more. The smell of tuna makes me want to puke...' Jenny recommended I go to the doctor to find out what was wrong. And it turns out, I was 11 weeks pregnant. And I had no idea!" Heather laughs.

During the pregnancy, Heather continued to walk and did lift some weights—just little five-pound dumbbells—to keep herself somewhat in shape. At least mentally. She had worked so hard to lose those 30 pounds and build her best body. She was happy with herself. Her body. Her hard work. And all she had accomplished. She didn't want to lose all that.

But after her daughter was born, she wasn't even back to the beginning. Despite exercising throughout her pregnancy, Heather found herself in the worst shape of her life. She literally fell to the ground, crying. "I felt awful! Miserable!" Heather shares. "I couldn't even look at myself in the mirror. I started working out again right away, but I was miserable. I refused to buy new clothes. I just felt really bad. I hated myself."

It's normal, natural, and healthy to gain weight during a pregnancy. However, during her pregnancy, Heather had put on 78 pounds. When Heather's daughter, Izabella, was born, she was a month early, and weighed only five pounds. And Heather was stuck with that extra weight.

Worse was how she felt. "I didn't have any energy," explains Heather. "It was very hard for me to get started working out intensely again. Actually, six weeks after my daughter was born, we went to Australia to do three Phat Camps. I struggled doing the workouts when the previous year I had been helping teach them as the Phat Camp Coordinator.

"...six months to the day after her daughter was born, Heather was back on stage competing."

"A few short weeks later, we were back in the United States doing a Camp in Florida, and that's the only time I struggled so hard that I puked while working out. I just couldn't do it. And that's when I made the decision that the weight had to come off."

Six weeks after Izabella was born, Heather started dieting and cardio. And six months to the day after her daughter was born, she was back on stage competing. And she's continued competing ever since.

A Day in the Life

Heather never has the same day twice, and like everyone else, sometimes her days are hectic and unpredictable. So occasionally, she does her evening cardio at 11:00 at night because that's just how the day goes. "If I didn't have time to do my cardio all day, I know I've got to get it done. So I'll stay up late and do it."

But her day generally looks something like this:

Before Breakfast: 2 Curvelle capsules and a large glass of water

Breakfast: 5 egg whites, scrambled, with vegetables; small bowl of oatmeal

Morning Cardio: 30 to 60 Minutes—walk while pushing Izabella in the stroller, seven days a week

"With Curvelle, I lost those last 20 stubborn pounds. Plus, it gave me energy, without feeling nervous or jittery."

Mid-Morning Snack: Eat-Smart Nutrition/Protein Shake

Lunch: Salad with tuna or chicken

Early Afternoon: 2 Curvelle capsules and a large glass of water

Mid-Afternoon Snack: Eat-Smart Nutrition/Protein Shake

Workout: Weights—one body part per day, five days a week

Dinner: Grilled chicken or orange roughy (fish) with asparagus

Afternoon/Evening Cardio: 60 Minutes on the treadmill, seven days a week

Heather says she's now addicted to Eat-Smart. She not only regularly has protein shakes, but she cooks with it and makes Izabella pancakes with it.

She also uses glutamine twice a day and takes a multivitamin/multimineral daily.

"When I compete, I just want to keep looking better and doing better."

With her connection to Jenny, Heather got an advanced supply of Curvelle, before it was released to the public, and she's been using it ever since. "When I started with Curvelle, I loved it. My weight loss had plateaued, but I still felt I could reach a higher level. With Curvelle, I lost those last 20 stubborn pounds. Plus, it gave me energy, without feeling nervous or jittery. Even better, I get migraine headaches, and I did not get any headaches with Curvelle. I also suffer from low blood sugar, and I have not had low blood sugar since I started taking Curvelle. I also love how it curbs my sweet tooth."

She does admit that she fell for the advertisements for a hardcore product that promised rapid weight loss a few weeks later, so she decided to give that a try. But within a day, she experienced a massive migraine headache and low blood sugar. "I went straight back to my Curvelle!" she says.

Staying on Track

Heather uses her trips on stage to motivate her to continue to improve. "I'm a very good self-motivator. I just want to keep getting better. When I compete, I just want to keep looking better and doing better. And I can tell by pictures that my body has changed completely in the last couple of years," she explains.

Heather finds by keeping her eyes on the goal, it's easy for her to stay on track. "I know I have to be on stage on a certain weekend," she shares, "So I look at it this way—why screw around and not give it my all? I'd rather give it 110 percent and get out there and look good rather than do it halfway and go out there and say, 'Ah man, I could have done better.'"

Heather's second key motivator is helping other new moms. "I hear a lot of moms complain that it's impossible to lose the 'baby weight.' I like to prove to them that it can be done and then show them how."

In fact, it can even be done with limited resources. Heather created her competition-ready body six months after her baby was born with only a treadmill and a set of dumbbells from Wal-Mart. She worked out in her garage while Izabella was in her little bouncy seat or taking a nap.

The key, she explains, is being determined to succeed. "I made sure I got up before Izabella, so I could hit the treadmill. I wanted to get the weight off, and I did whatever it took to do it." Still to this day, Heather makes sure she gets up before Izabella to get her workouts done.

"Heather has always had one person she could count on. Her husband."

Obstacles to Overcome

"My mom is 5' and almost 250 pounds, so I think that's one reason I work so hard," Heather explains. "I know that if I just eat whatever I want and do whatever I want, I'll end up with the same body shape. I love my mom dearly, but I don't want that."

So while Heather could live off of pasta and garlic bread since that's what she was raised on and that's what she loves, she chooses not to eat it. Even for her free meals, which she allows herself every Saturday night, she instead indulges in a Caesar salad, steak, baked potato, and some kind of chocolate cake. "That's what I look forward to every Saturday. And I know that if I'm good all week, that's my reward," she explains.

A Small But Powerful Support System

At the beginning, Heather found that her family and friends weren't always supportive. They had a hard time understanding her new lifestyle. Her mom even worried that she might have an eating disorder.

Fortunately, Heather has always had one person she could count on. Her husband. "My husband understands you have to be dedicated," she says. "So he's always very supportive even when I'm bringing my own food to various functions."

She's also found that her daughter is a pretty awesome cheerleader. "My daughter loves to imitate everything I do. She now has a little two-pound dumbbell, and recently, I've built a full gym in my garage, and she loves going out there and playing around with the weights and bouncing on the ball and hanging from my smith machine. It's really cute."

A New Love—for Herself

Heather's a long way from the woman who cried at her own reflection in the mirror.

"You can do it. I'm living proof. I've lost a total of 93 pounds!"

"I've accomplished more than I thought I would accomplish," she explains. "And I love motivating people. People get to the point where they put on so much weight that they can't see the light at the end of the tunnel. They start to think, 'Oh, I'll never be able to get that weight off.' But you can do it. I'm living proof. I've lost a total of 93 pounds! So I've been there. I answer an average of 100 emails a day just from women wanting to lose weight. I love helping people stay motivated. Encouraging them. And helping them with healthy food choices."

Every aspect of Heather's life has changed. She started working fulltime with Jenny as her Phat Camp Coordinator and quit her job as a veterinary technician. She also does personal training at the house, so she gets to stay home and spend more time with Izabella. Plus, she's had the opportunity to travel all over the world meeting and motivating people through Phat Camp. She's even gotten to share the experience with her husband and daughter, who have traveled with her to numerous states, to Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.

"Much of the credit goes to Jenny," says Heather. "It's been a blessing meeting her. If it wasn't for her, and for my husband encouraging me to send that first email, I would still be... well, who knows what I would look like."

Perhaps best of all is Heather's new love. For herself. "I'm definitely more positive now. I feel better about myself than I ever have before. And I love the new me," she says, smiling brightly.

• Keepin' Estrogen in Check
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