I recently asked a few of our gym members who have made improvements to their body composition to answer a few questions. The idea behind this series is to highlight the stories of people with normal jobs and lives who have implemented the nutritional advice that we provide to great success. We hope that you will be inspired by these stories toward your own successes, and as always we are there to help with all aspects of your health and fitness journey.
The third and final person in the series is Karen Williams.
– Please detail a bit about yourself: My name is Karen Williams. I came to the Sunshine Coast from Ipswich in 1988, so have been on the coast for nearly 25 years. I am an Accounts Manager with Hiller & Associates at Maroochydore, we design and build kitchens for Restaurants and Hotels and sell Commercial Catering Equipment. I have been overweight for most of my life, trying every diet under the sun without much result, or losing weight and then going back to old habits and putting it back on. Five years ago I decided enough was enough and lost 30kgs using Weight Watchers and have managed to keep it off but have not been able to progress any further.
– How long have you been training with Coastal CrossFit? I have been doing CrossFit for just over 1 year and have increased my strength and have slowly improved my technique and am able to perform more of the workouts, but not lost any more weight.
– What prompted you to make some changes to your nutrition? When Chris offered to help anyone with their nutrition, I jumped at the chance and sent him what I had been eating. I was eating basically paleo, but still not losing any weight. He said that there was nothing wrong with what I was eating but as it wasn’t getting the desired results and maybe I should try something different for 4 weeks.
– How long has it been since you implemented these changes? I have basically been following the Zone diet for the month of May except have not eaten anything sweet including fruit. So basically protein and low GI vegetables.
– What results have you seen in this time? I have lost 4.5 kgs in 4 weeks.
– What do you think were the major draw backs in your nutrition and what changes do you think have been most positive? I think that even though I was eating mainly Paleo foods, I was eating in the wrong quantities. I have decreased the amount of protein and high GI vegetables, increased the amount of low GI vegetables, reduced the amount of nuts, cut out sugar/fruit/alcohol. I have tried to increase the amount of water I am drinking and only have Mineral/Soda Water as the only other type of drink. I have not been eating bread/pasta/rice for a while now.
– Do you see yourself being able to sustain or even improve upon your achievements? I am trying to keep going for a bit longer to see if I can continue to lose weight, then hoping to adjust or add in other vegetables and fruits and maybe a cheat meal to allow me to go out to dinner and not be restricted in what I can choose to eat. It is hard in social situations, to make sure that there will be food options available or otherwise take your own food.
– Is there anything else that you thing would be of help to someone reading this? I agree with Louis, you have to really want to make a change and be strong in your food choices, because there will always be someone who is offering you food that you have decided you are not going to eat any more. You need to be very well organised and basically plan all your meals in advance, so that you don’t get caught with nothing available to eat.
Karen is another example of someone who has had significant results with minimal changes to her nutrition. As stated above, Karen was already eating mainly favourable foods but made the mistake that so many people make of being lulled into a false sense of Paleo security. I basically advised Karen to eat a Paleo diet (with the exception of dairy in her post workout meal) in Zone proportions to take away the guess work with regard to portions and proportions and we cut out what I believed to be an excess of fruit.
There was nothing revolutionary about the advice that we gave to Louis, Sirrka and Karen – limit sugar, fast/processed foods and alcohol but I believe the common thread was that they involved another party (us) which makes the decision more formal and most importantly creates accountability. Please remember that we are always there to provide this service to each and every one of you.
I hope that you have enjoyed this series and hope that will inspire many more of you to take the step towards better nutrition. Remember, you’re only one meal away from making a positive change!
