I just want to start this off by saying I am not a certified nutritionist, and by no means do I feel like an "expert," but I think once you hear my story, what I've been through and the results I achieved, you can decide whether or not I am qualified to help you achieve your food and fitness goals or not.
If you didn't already know, I'm a mother of three beautiful girls. After the birth of my youngest, I was eating very healthy, or what I thought or considered was a very balanced, healthy diet.
I only ate organic meats, I had a ton of fruits and vegetables in a day, lots of healthy fats too, and hardly snacking at all. I rarely, if ever, indulged in what I thought were "bad" foods (like fancy Starbucks drinks or cookies.)
But after all of my effort, I wasn't losing my baby weight and I wanted to lose it badly. I was stuck at 141lbs, at 5” 2 and I wanted to be below 130lbs, which is where I was when I was married. I felt the most comfortable at 127lbs-129lbs so this was my goal.
I was stuck with this extra 20-22lbs for a year and I was getting tired and frustrated. My confidence was going down, not so much in my ability to feel like myself in my own skin, but in my ability to lose weight at all. I was getting riddled with self-doubt. Was I ever going to reach my goal?
One of my closest friends is a Food Coach and she ALWAYS tracked her food, felt great, and looked great too. To me, food tracking just seemed so unattainable. I assumed I didn't have the level of discipline needed to make it work. I couldn't see myself tracking every single bite of my food, and then stopping myself from eating what I wasn't supposed to eat that day. Can you relate? Nobody actually wants to do that.
On one sad day, after stepping off the scale with zero success, I caved and asked for help. I asked my friend to be my Food Coach and teach me her ways.
I just want to say that asking for help was really hard for me. I haven't mentioned yet that I am a Certified Personal Training Specialist, and helping women lose weight with fitness and healthy eating is my jam. Shouldn't I be able to crush my own goals? Food Coaching was about to open my eyes to a new way of looking at nutrition.
After a few weeks of coaching, it turns out I was doing a lot of things right! I was eating a lot of healthy options, but I was not eating enough of what my body was asking for, and too much of what it wasn't.
So for example, I wasn't eating enough carbohydrates and then eating twice as much fat that my body needed. Things like sausage, grass-fed meat, coconut oil on my potatoes, all healthy choices, but the portions were wrong. As soon as I made a few small changes, I started to lose weight.
Just an FYI: this is something I would have never realized had I not started tracking my food. Once I did track what foods and how much I was eating, results came fast.
Now I won't lie, it was a learning experience for sure. I started strong, I saw a few pounds drop and then I would stop seeing results and I would get discouraged so I would stop tracking. I would talk myself out of my own success.
It took me 6 months to get consistent with my tracking. And then it clicked. I lost 20lbs in 8 months.
Since the day I reached my goal, I've continued to track my food with my Food Coach. I’ve been consistent for 957 days in a row, (my app tells me that.) Not only has it gotten me to my goal weight and kept me there, having a Food Coach has been able to help me manage overwhelm and stress, colitis and hormone changes in my body. When the world has turned upside down, it has allowed me something that I can control. I have gone on vacations, had two surgeries, and I am able to use food tracking as a way to help me stay on track and care for myself through it all.
Now, some may say food tracking is obsessive, like my husband who thinks I plan out too many meals and snacks. In my opinion, we all have our "obsessions." Some people obsess about what to watch on tv or what to wear, I obsess about the healthy food I can put in my body every day to feel good.
Today, I am proud to now be a Food Coach for other women struggling with the same challenges I was, stuck at one weight and wanting to be another.
So, do you want my help? Do you want to learn how to navigate food tracking, learn what your body wants for fuel and how to eat in a healthy way that works for you? Want to know how to order at restaurants, enjoy family parties, and the all-you-can-eat buffet on your next vacation?
Food tracking is so proactive and a way to take control of your health. If you are ready to start, get in touch with me NOW. You can email me directly carolyn@strongirl.ca.
Carolyn,
Personal Training Specialist
Food Coach
Mother