Bianca Roberts and Dominic Fraterrigo started alone on their weight loss journeys – and found each other along the way.
The two, both 23 and SUNY Buffalo State graduates, were bent on getting fit when they connected during the holidays two years ago on Facebook. They had mutual friends on the social media site, and she reached out to him after seeing a photo of him holding a puppy in his muscular right arm.
Roberts didn’t know at the time that the 6-foot-2 Fraterrigo, a former Buff State football offensive lineman, once weighed 325 pounds. He didn’t know that Roberts, 5 feet flat, once weighed 190 pounds.
“I was very addicted to food,” Roberts said. “I wore sweaters in the summer because I didn’t have any clothes that fit me. When I bought my size 16 pants in May 2011, and realized after a month of wearing those pants that they didn’t fit, that’s when I decided, ‘I’m not going to go any higher.’ ”
The couple already had shed weight by the time they went on their first date on Christmas Eve 2012, but resolved during the last two years to step up those efforts. Two months ago, at their lowest point weightwise, he weighed 218 pounds; she, 114 pounds.
They got fit by following keys to success that can work for New Year’s resolutions, and also are embraced by two regional wellness pros:
1. FIND A FRIEND
Roberts and Fraterrigo started working out and eating better together as soon as they started dating. “We’re each other’s nutritionist,” said Roberts, of Grand Island. Fraterrigo, of Kenmore, added, “We’ve both got each other’s backs, no matter what.” That includes encouraging – and sometimes cajoling – each other to make healthy choices.
“Perhaps the most effective habit for sticking to your New Year’s resolution or goals is forming or adopting a group that focuses on similar goals,” said Dan LiBurd, strength and conditioning assistant and nutritionist with the Buffalo Bills. The Bills have workout groups in the morning and evening. “It’s a resistance program and the players follow it two or three days a week,” LiBurd said. “What ends up happening is it creates not only compliance but motivation. You don’t want to be the individual who doesn’t show up for that morning group. There’s that competitive factor, too: If somebody’s able to do an activity for 20 minutes, I want to be able to do it at a higher intensity.”
2. Keep It SIMPLe
“New Year’s resolutions don’t have to be revolutions,” said Kelly Hahl, health and wellness programs manager for BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York. “By making your resolutions realistic, there is a greater chance for success. Small, simple changes can make a very big difference.”
LiBurd said it’s important to break goals into steps, which means focusing not only on outcomes, but process. “The outcome goal might be, ‘I want to lose 20 pounds,’ ” he said, “but what is the process goal? It might be to make sure I include three days of cardiovascular activity in order for me to reach this outcome goal.” This strategy, he said, will allow you to “start small and finish big.”
3. WRITE IT DOWN
Bills players left the team’s field house after the season ended this week with a goals sheet and workout books. They will focus on rest and recovery for a few weeks, but continue to eat right and exercise. “There’s always a plan going forward,” LiBurd said.
Roberts keeps logs in which she tracks her weight, all workouts and everything she eats. A Dominican University study showed that people who write down and share their goals with others as a means of support are more likely to achieve them.
4. SET BENCHMARKS
At One Bills Drive, various departments compete regularly in weight-loss challenges. LiBurd, 30, enters a bodybuilding contest, powerlifting competition, triathlon and marathon every year. “It sets a time frame and some sort of an outcome: there’s going to be a test, an event that measures how well I’ve performed,” he said.
Roberts lost weight preparing for a bikini contest. She and Fraterrigo look to build muscle for a powerlifting competition this spring, so have changed their diets and workout plans to add some weight. “Here in Buffalo,” LiBurd said, “people just come out of the woodwork for these bodybuilding and race competitions. You can use those events – which start to become popular in April and run through November – to say, ‘I’ve got four or five months to get myself in good shape and test myself.’ ”
5. HIRE A TRAINER
“There is an education element” to better fitness and nutrition, LiBurd said. Certified personal trainers can consistently point out that lasting results come with time, consistent effort and breaking things down into simple parts. “We’re trained to be motivators,” LiBurd said. “Our repertoire is not only instructing individuals on what to do in terms of proper exercise and nutrition, but creating our own little benchmarks to help people stay along the right path. Having that resource is instrumental for everyone, even trainers themselves.”
Roberts and Fraterrigo do the bulk of their fitness and nutrition work with trainer Nick Murphy in the University at Buffalo North Campus gym. The two found a 12-week training program worth the $150 apiece that it cost. They now are working with Murphy to establish Paramount Performance Physical Fitness. The trio have set up an Instagram page, as well as a page at facebook.com/parmountperformance.
6. STAY POSITIVE
Roberts and Fraterrigo reward themselves with pizza or an Oreo cookie every week or two as part of their healthier lifestyle, occasional choices that keep them from feeling deprived of some of their favorite foods – and they stay optimistic about the vast majority of choices they now make. “When you get really depressed or upset – and I’ve experienced it – you’re not going to see any change,” Robert said. “As soon as you change your mindset and say, ‘I can do this, it’s going to happen eventually, I just need patience,’ you see a dramatic change in yourself. It’s awesome.”
People should expect setbacks along the road to wellness, Hahl said. “If you make a mistake, it is important to revisit your goal and get back on track,” she advised. LiBurd encouraged people to understand those missteps, and learn from them.
“There is this perception that people who make resolutions are successful in their first attempt,” he said. “That is probably the biggest misconception. It’s repeated effort that creates success. That results in a greater ability to maintain.”
Related story: Read tips on how to choose a gym, Page 10 email: refresh@buffnews.com
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