Teen loses 30 pounds

“I would go home eat and just sit on the couch all day and watch TV,” Stephanie Newman said. “And then I would eat more and it was really bad.”

Chips, burgers and pizza were a part of this Washington High School freshman’s daily meals. Add not working out into the mix and it definitely made for some difficult times when it came to exercise.

“In the beginning of the year when Miss Seaman started having us do our lap, I couldn't go halfway around the track. I couldn't breathe. It was so embarrassing,” Newman said.

It would be a wake-up call from Newman’s doctor that would get her motivated to lose weight.

“I really needed to do it for me,” Newman said, “so I can be healthy and I won't have a heart attack when I'm 20.”

A key player in helping Newman get healthy again was her physical education teacher Wendy Seaman.

“Why don't we put you on a heart rate monitor and everyday in PE, I showed her how to use it, told her where to stay, helped her figure out an eating plan,” Seaman said.

Seaman has a different approach when it comes to teaching her freshmen girls. She incorporates heart rate monitors into a curriculum designed by Ironbody Lifestyle Fitness.

“The people at Ironbody, Robert Vera and Jim Rosania, helped me come up with a curriculum for the high school kids that was doable on a large scale with the heart rate monitors.” Seaman said. “And we kind of developed a year-long program that included cardio, they learned about their zones and learned about nutrition, core training and resistance training.”

The heart rate monitors have been a big hit in all of Seaman’s classes. Not only did they come in handy when the girls exercised, but it's also been a lifesaver as they trained for this one-mile fitness run.

“It’s not just that they have to go out and run a mile, but they understand what's happening to their bodies while they're running a mile,” Seaman said. “They understand what it takes to be fit.”

For Newman, training for this race has changed her life in more ways than one. Not only has she shaved off six minutes from her first one-mile run, but this 15-year-old has lost 30 pounds in six months.

“You could see her physical confidence increase, everything about her began to change because I think she gained control of her life and her eating habits and realized she could do it and was having success and people were noticing,” Seaman said.

“Tell yourself you can do it and just go out there and do it,” Newman said.