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We’ve heard it all before: Philadelphia often tops the list of major U.S. cities, but unfortunately, the categories have not always been flattering. Among the most notorious is "fattest" city, deemed so by Men’s Fitness magazine in 2000. But the city also is known coast to coast for some of the best cuisine, so it doesn’t take much to see the correlation.
Debra Mazda describes South Philly as a "food haven," with cheesesteak joints, corner Italian restaurants and mom-and-pop delis tucked between rowhomes. Growing up on the 2400 block of Carlisle Street, the temptation was all around. Living in a single-parent home left Mazda feeling unstable and eating became her comfort. Before long, she weighed nearly 300 pounds as a St. Maria Goretti High School student in the early 1970s.
"I don’t remember a thin day as a child, I was always the biggest kid," Mazda, 54, said. "[Other kids] were cruel. I was always the fat kid in grade school. I was ridiculed, called names like big-boned."
A few years after high school graduation in ’72, when she was in her early 20s, Mazda moved to Cheyenne, Wyo., to be near family in Colorado. "I just wanted to get out of Philly," she said. "I thought things would be better."
What she found was herself slipping further into unhealthy habits.
"One day while I was watching TV, I was eating a rack of ribs, two or three eggs, hot biscuits with butter and a chocolate milkshake — that was my normal breakfast three to four times a week — and I had a pain shoot across my chest. I thought I was having a heart attack. I ran to my neighbors, went to the doctor and he said I had indigestion," she said. "That moment, that was my wake-up call."
With newfound motivation, Mazda added a new passion: Fitness. She changed her eating habits, joined a gym and quickly overcame the initial intimidation of being the only self-described obese person in her aerobics classes. Twenty-five years later, she’s maintained her weight at 165 pounds, and is the mastermind behind the Curvy Girl Workout, a unique approach to women’s health that not only offers classes, but has created a supportive community.
"It’s been my baby. I birthed it, I created it, I marketed it and I’m out there talking about it," she said of the classes offered at five locations throughout the city. "I am one of them. They know my story. I may not look like them today, but I am one of the participants."
After months of aerobics classes while still living in Wyoming, and ever-evolving healthier ways, Mazda was making her way home through Colorado when she passed a banner that would take her on another major turn. "Richard Simmons Anatomy Asylum" stared down at her from atop a building. Not open yet, she ventured in and was offered a job on the spot from supervisor Marianna Forsea, who later said she saw something in Mazda that drove her to hire her as trainer director in the management team.
Before she knew it, Mazda was learning how to hire instructors, teach classes, run Simmons’ five health clubs in Denver and working with the fitness legend himself as his Colorado-based assistant.
"Oh my God, it was phenomenal," she said of her time with Simmons, whom she looked up to long before she got the job. "I have nothing but good things to say about him. The way you see him on TV is how he is. He’s a really good guy. He was instrumental in my weight loss continuing and, as I got to know him, he became more like a friend."
Mazda left the job in ’90 to return to Philly and attend Temple University, setting-up house at 12th Street and Snyder Avenue. At Temple, she received a bachelor’s in exercise physiology in ’94 and her master’s in sports physiology and human movement in ’00. Still in her original pad, Mazda is gearing up to move to 15th and Porter streets. She recently heard from Simmons for the first time since she left her job and said she’d love to get together the next time he’s in the area.
But now, with nearly three decades of teaching classes at gyms like Vitality Fitness Center, 2439 S. Broad St., and Bally Total Fitness, 2425 S. 24th St., under her belt, it seems she’s passing what she’s learned from her mentor on to women who are in the same place she was nearly 20 years ago.
Perhaps the most notable accomplishment came two years back with the creation of the Curvy Girl Workout. The program — which combines physical as well as emotional and mental aspects of weight loss — focuses on getting anyone, regardless of weight, to move their body. The concept comes from Mazda’s personal struggles and eventual successes.
She teaches the class several nights a week at the various gyms to women of all shapes and sizes. "[A lack of] portion control and non-movement are the two biggest things that cause obesity," she said. "You can begin to get fit at any size. If you move and breathe, you’ll sweat and burn calories."
Mazda said she has seen the diet industry skyrocket since she entered the fitness field and attributes the trend of overweight Americans to a few factors. "Portions are enormous today. People aren’t keeping conscious of their diets, we drive everywhere, we watch way too much TV and we’re eating way, way too much processed foods," she said. "I don’t even think we realize what we’re eating."
Her 45-minute high energy and low-impact aerobics use gravity and body-weight resistance. After exercising, a 30-minute circle has Mazda leading discussions on topics from emotional eating to individual diet and lifestyle obstacles the women face. The latter is what makes the experience unique for the maximum 40 participants per class and creates an ongoing community that trickles onto www.curvygirlworkout.com, where the women keep in touch via message boards and e-mails.
Mazda also is working with a small group five days a week to train them to powerwalk or jog in the Broad Street Run May 4.
"The whole idea here is that they have never experienced anything like this in their life. A lot of them told me they wanted to do this before, and as a team, they’re building up and supporting each other. They’re doing better than they thought they could ever do," she said.
But she isn’t stopping there. Mazda is juggling a slew of future projects, including a second workout DVD (her first is available on the Web site), a Curvy Girl Workout class for teens, possibly creating a similar program for and branching out to men and a nutritional program for the Web site. She’s busier than ever, but doesn’t mind.
"It gives me a tremendous amount of satisfaction to know that the women that I deal with could have been me," she said. "I can’t put it any other way. They’re standing there and I see myself in them. I understand the pain, the challenges, the frustrations.
"I’m really passionate about getting people to move and feel good. Nobody wants to wake up every morning and feel bad. You’ve got to start somewhere. It could be a walk around the block; just getting out is what really matters."
To contact Staff Writer Caitlin Meals, e-mail cmeals@southphillyreview.com or call ext. 117.
