5. Trim Visible Fat and Skin. I know, you really love skin--of course you do, it tastes good, it should, it's pure fat. Do you want to get leaner, or do you want to eat fat? You choose. I never eat chicken skin and never eat visible fat hanging off a steak, good taste or no. You have to decide what you want more, second's worth of pleasure of a yummy taste, or a lifetime of carrying around an extra 40 lbs? I know this is counter to low carb crowd's belief that fat is good, carbs are evil, but I've maintained an 80 pound weight loss for 18 years without dieting and I don't eat visible fat or skin. Enough said.

6. Ask for a Doggie Bag at Beginning of Meal. When food is served, immediately portion off some to take home for tomorrow. Most restaurants in US serve way too much. There is no law you have to eat it all. Do this frequently and soon you'll find you're getting an extra lunch out of that meal.

7. Read Restaurant Confidential by Michael F. Jacobson and Jayne Hurley, and start checking out how many calories you're really eating. If you eat out frequently and you carry extra weight, then that's probably problem right there. This little book can help you realize why it seems you don't eat that much yet you can't lose any weight. Hardees recently introduced a new burger that clocks in at just under 1200 calories all by itself! Now that's frightening.

If you really want to get a handle on your weight problem, look first to where you eat, second at what you eat, and third how much you eat. Where, What and How Much? Try these steps choosing one tip at a time, and see how easily you can take some of calories out of restaurant food.

~~Kathryn Martyn, Master NLP & EFT Practitioner, Author, Speaker and Weight Loss Coach brings a fresh approach to weight loss. Her method works when all else has failed. "It's not about the food."

4) How did you overcome those problems? What specific techniques did you use to make your dreams a reality?

A 4) Denise would be hard on me and tell me not to waste her time. She was right and harder she was on me better I was. She use to say "Do you want it"? In my mind that made me strive far and never give up.

5) Moving forward and knowing what you know now, what would you have done differently?

A 5) I would've signed on with Kim Oddo in beginning . It took me four years because I didn't eat much protein and then for a few years did no carb diet which was a total waste of time.

6. What would you have done same way, and will continue to do, going forward?

A 6) CARDIO BABY! It burns calories, raises endorphins, relieves stress, etc.

7. Do you feel that ongoing feedback and motivational tools would help in maintaining a fitness program? For example, appearing in June, 2005 issue of Ironman must be very motivational. This won't be a motivational tool most people can use. Before achieving that type of success, what types of motivational tools did you lose to keep going? After all, you don't lose 70 pounds of fat overnight and it must've taken some time before you could see positive changes in mirror.

A 7) What some people don't realize is a support team can be most important thing in training to reach a hard goal. I truly believe in having a great trainer like Joanne Rubienstein, Kim Oddo, Stephen Bauer or Denise Hart.

I personally love to train so I don't need motivation to get to gym but when results slow down I need someone to tell me that I can do it. What kept me going was belief that I could do it and prove world wrong.

Sometimes it feels like my job is to prove people wrong. They talk their talk but in end I will accomplish what I'm striving for and they'll look dumb for saying that I'll never achieve my goal. Sorry if that was a little pissy, but I get tired of people doubting me. If I can drop 40% body fat I think I can make it to Olympia!

8. If you were to advise a close friend or family member hot to follow in your fitness footsteps, what would you tell them?

A 8) Run far away and find an enjoyable job! I truly believe I did all this because of fate. I don't even really remember time I said I want to be a competitor. The diets and training are tough and rewarding at same time. I have accomplished a lot but I also sacrifice a lot of things in life that are enjoyable.

All I can say is I'm going after a DREAM and won't give up until I accomplish it. It's not only for me, it's for general population that has lost belief in themselves. My advice is to go after your dreams, believe in yourself and get right people to help you. That's key to being successful!

-CAT

See Cat's before and after phots at http://www.buildleanmuscle.com/caitlin-johnson.html