281 Pounds And Counting

BROOKSVILLE - The trainer with the volleyball-sized biceps did not waste any time giving his students the hard facts.

There will be weight loss, but there will also be pain.

"Good moanin'," cracked Michael Greene, one of the many personal trainers taking part in the Get Hernando Healthy program. "I start off saying, 'Good moanin" because I always make my clients moan."

After that greeting, Greene and the other trainers actually spent most of the session trying to make their students feel welcome. They are embarking on a new program for Hernando County and organizers are relying on them to make it a success.

They are hoping to get all participants to lose a total of 5,000 pounds of body fat by the end of the year. The program is called Get Hernando Healthy.

"The purpose of being here is not just to learn yourself, but to inform others, too," Greene said.

Among those 30-plus people taking the plunge Saturday were Bill Patty and Marla Banta.

Patty has been training with Shayne Cahill, founder of Progress Personal Training and brain child of the program. Since the start of the New Year, the new student already has dropped from 280 to 253 pounds.

He has set high goals, but he made sure to stay grounded by having realistic expectations.

"The first 20 or so is easy to lose," said Patty, 62, a physically imposing man who shows his strength with every tightly gripped handshake. "The next 20 is going to be tough.

"I want to get down to 235 pounds," he continued with a wide grin. "That's my fighting weight."

Cahill said more than 100 people have registered for the program. More than 30 of them attended Saturday's health seminar at the Brooksville Gold's Gym.

The Get Hernando Healthy program will consist of a monthly seminar where trainers, doctors and other health professionals will talk about how fitness and good nutrition can pay great dividends in all facets of health - physical and mental.

A healthy lifestyle cannot only combat obesity, diabetes and heart disease, but it also can improve a person's dental hygiene, mental health and bone strength - to name a few.

All of those topics will be covered in the coming months.

The seminars also will include a weigh-in among members. The more people participate, the more likely the trainers will reach their goal of 5,000 pounds of lost body fat. Higher attendance also will translate to a better support system.

"I think this is just a great idea," said Banta, who read about Saturday's seminar in the newspaper 10 minutes before it started.

She raced to the gym to take part.

"Last year, I talked to people about this and I was trying to get people to do it," Banta said. "Now these guys are doing it."

Banta, who was a gymnast in her younger days, has lost weight before. She knows the benefits of eating six meals a day versus gorging once or twice a day. She has opted for lean chicken over fast-food burgers. A few years ago, she lost 55 pounds in five months.

It took her a little more than a month to gain 30 of those pounds back.

She is convinced this time will be different. She now has a support group.

"It's very hard to do it alone," she said. "It's really easy to overeat that way."

Banta is a caregiver for her disabled husband. As a result, she spends a lot of time at home. Now she has something to do and somewhere to go at the beginning of each month.

"You know you're going back every month for a weigh-in," she said. "You don't want to look stupid.

"You know you're not alone doing it," Banta continued. "I hope more people join. It would be nice to make some new friends out of this."

Saturday's seminar was mostly an introduction to the program. Greene and Cahill did most of the talking. They went over the basic bullet points of a healthy lifestyle.

For more information or to register, visit www.gethernandohealthy.com.

The program is free. A nutrition plan and workout regimen is available online.

Participants also are eligible for discounts on personal training with Cahill and his staff.