Rina Baker

  After
Before  

When Rina Baker stepped into Dr. Clark Trask's office in August, 2009, she had no idea that she was about to take the first step towards completely changing her life.  At the time, Rina was coming to Dr. Trask only to support her husband, Ted, who desperately needed to lose weight to save his health. When Dr. Trask's staff encouraged her to participate in the program with her husband to give him moral support, she reluctantly agreed. One year later and 60 pounds lighter, she is so happy she did. "I remember thinking at the time that maybe I could lose 20 pounds or so. If someone had told me I could lose 60 pounds, I would have laughed at them. I look back now and wonder, 'how did I not see how bad I was'."

The 12-week program required no medicine and no crash dieting, but simply learning the basics of diet and exercise and the importance of accountability. Dr. Trask provided the couple with a self-written book about healthy eating and exercising, and then offered weekly meetings to track their progress. "Dr. Trask gave us the knowledge, but it was up to us to make the choices. The program was pretty easy, but getting motivated was the hardest part. That accountability between my husband and I, plus the accountability with the staff, made all the difference," Rina said.

Rina and Ted made the decision to stop eating out so much; cutting it from five to seven times a week down to one or two. They also replaced all the fried food in their diets with vegetables and grilled or baked. In addition, they both started exercising daily. Rina is now walking/running 5.6 miles every day and lifting weights to strengthen her upper body. Ted is on a similar training program and has currently lost 94 pounds!

 By making some simple lifestyle changes, Rina has seen a dramatic difference in her attitude, energy and family life. "I am healthier, I feel better, I sleep better, and I just love the energy I have!" Rina glowed. "I help out with the youth group at my church and now I can jump up and join in a soccer game without even thinking about it!"

Rina's lifestyle changes have not only affected her, but her family and friends as well. She has noticed that her friends seem to make healthier choices when she is around and her two daughters, age 21 and 15, do as well. "Because we only buy healthy food now the girls automatically eat better, plus we have more family time together around the table. Neither are overweight, but they have become more conscious about their health and have even gotten into exercising with us. The habits they develop now will affect them for the rest of their lives," Rina said.

As a result of this positive lifestyle change, Rina has recently found a new joy in shopping. Whereas shopping used to be done only out of necessity, she now jumps at the chance to pick out new and exciting outfits. "Last weekend my husband put my shorts in my daughter's laundry pile. I know it was just something silly, but it made me so happy," Rina smiled.

Rina and Ted are currently in maintenance mode, but they are still setting goals for the future to keep moving forward. One goal Rina has is to be able to run the full 5.6 miles without walking at all. She and her husband also want to start competing in more races including 3Ks, 5Ks and half-marathons. This past April they completed their first half-marathon (13.1 miles) in under two and a half hours.

Although staying fit and moving forward is one of her main goals, she admits that the biggest goal she has is to maintain her commitment to being healthy. "When Dr. Trask told me I was healthy, they were the sweetest words I've ever heard. I know I could still probably afford to lose a few pounds, but then again, I don't want to lose my curves!" laughed Rina. "The most important thing I have learned is that my health is a lifetime commitment and I never plan on going back to where I was."

Up Close:

Family: Husband, Ted; Two daughters, Kayla (21) and Kelsey (15); Six cats, all rescues
Hobbies: Reading, work, running and volunteering with the youth at church
Guilty pleasure: "I have a 40-calorie Fudgsicle every night before I go to bed!"
Just celebrated: 25th wedding anniversary with an Alaskan cruise!
See Rina's before picture at: www/itsallpink.com!