As we wrap up our year with Iron Mom ShaRhonda Burton, we ask her team of experts—trainer Chris Crawford, dietician LaDonna Dunlop, and life coach Mary Tucker—to tell us about their year with the Iron Mom.

From Chris Crawford:
The major focus of ShaRhonda’s exercise program was to burn calories, through both cardiovascular exercise (primarily walking on her own) and strength training in the gym. I used a circuit training method with ShaRhonda, which consists of sets with weights with a short rest in between, keeping the heart rate elevated and providing optimal calorie burn.

ShaRhonda lost weight and got stronger, and she deserves the credit for her progress. She did what was asked of
her and sometimes had to be told to slow down. It’s been a blessing to assist ShaRhonda to success this past year; she made it easy for me by never allowing life’s roadblocks to hinder her progress. I am so proud of her accomplishments. What an inspiration!

From LaDonna Dunlop:
From my viewpoint as a registered dietitian, ShaRhonda has been an ideal client. She has studied nutrition and now
knows how many calories are in each bite she takes, and how many minutes of exercise required to work it off. She has developed some wonderful habits—controlling portion sizes by using a salad plate and ordering from the healthy heart section when she eats at a restaurant.

ShaRhonda took the advice of her team to heart and actively applied this knowledge to her life. She wants to lose 75 more pounds and I have no doubt that she will. To anyone starting on a journey of weight loss and healthy living, I offer this advice:

• Learn about nutrition and how to eat healthy for your body. Read food labels, use healthy recipes, and be aware of
healthy options when at a restaurant.
• Make exercise a part of every day. Get your heart rate up and get moving.
• Make healthy eating a habit. Practice it until it becomes second nature.
• Be patient with yourself—changing your habits takes time, and you have to take small steps before you can manage
the big ones.

From Mary Tucker:
ShaRhonda’s success is based on her willingness to transform who she is and how she fundamentally sees herself. This is the only sustainable approach. Change is based on the past—we attempt to create a bigger, better version of the past. Transformation is a complete shift and this is what ShaRhonda understands.

Because of this shift, ShaRhonda sees herself as a whole being, not just a body that wants to lose weight. She sees that her body is just one aspect of who she actually is and that it’s a choice she can make to maintain it properly in order for the other aspects of her to live more fully. Now, she gets more life out of life.

Working with ShaRhonda was an inspiration to me as a coach. She really gets it.

From ShaRhonda:

This has been an experience I will never forget. I’ve received so much support from the MetroFamily staff, my family
and friends. I am grateful for the support of my team—Chris, Mary, and LaDonna. The journey has been hard, but not impossible, even with setbacks like a nearfatal car accident. 

It’s a wonderful feeling to go to a regular department store for clothing, and not a plus-size only store. I actually love to go shopping now. My advice to anyone is to start slowly, with exercise each day and healthier eating habits. I
focused on a lifestyle change rather than a diet. Each milestone you reach will encourage you to strive for the next one.

When I started the Iron Moms program I wore a size 30/32, and I recently reached my goal and
bought a size 20. My new goal is size 16.
ShaRhonda Burton, MetroFamily Magazine Iron Mom, has lost a total of 115.5 lbs