Lara had come up on her 1 year anniversary working with coach Shauna before summer and we wanted to highlight her journey! She has continued on throughout the summer and continues to make progress through learning sustainable habits and behaviour around food and exercise. She is a 33 year old Precision Agronomist who enjoys journaling, walking and knitting. Her exercise of choice is strength training at home with lots of walking. Previously her activities had included 17 years of dance and full time gardening/landscape construction for 6 years. Lara is a remote client who is coached online through our nutrition program, Mission Nutrition.
Her starting weight was 178lbs and she is currently around 149lbs (1 lb away from her target weight)! She is at her lowest weight yet while eating her highest amount of calories so far, tipping into that comfy range of 1900-2000 calories/day!
Here is what Lara had to say about her experience this far.
Why did you decide to join?
Accountability. I knew I needed help and I needed someone to guide me through this process, instead of trying to do it (and fail) on my own. I’d previously led a very active lifestyle, but went back to school a few times and after the last round of school, had gained quite a bit of weight. I felt heavy and not just physically, but also emotionally. I felt frustrated and not like myself in my own body.
What results have you seen from Fitness Lair’s Nutrition program, Mission Nutrition? Where are you with your goals?
I knew I was in a rough spot when I realized just walking upstairs left me winded. Aside from losing weight that I unnecessarily carried around for a while, I notice the rate at which my heart rate recovers from any exercise has vastly improved. I used the word “nimble” in my intake form and I sure feel more nimble than one year ago. For example, I got a new job in February and it requires lots of walking in fields. I recently went on a hike and as an experiment, jogged up the last hill to see how fast my heart rate recovered. One year ago, it would’ve taken 3 to 5 minutes to come back down. This year, it’s down to about a minute. My recovery time from really long work days is amazing too!
I still have some goals I want to work on like improving my mobility, building and maintaining muscle, and getting enough water. Hydration is still a bit of a struggle for me.
What have you learned from this program?
Long-term consistency trumps short-term intensity pretty much all of the time. Every day is a new day to try again, but if I’m not consistently trying, I will not reach my goals.
Was anything you learned unexpected?
I notice my energy level throughout the day is much more even. I used to need naps regularly, and now I rarely take naps.
I was half-expecting to not be able to eat a lot of my favourite foods anymore and it just wasn’t true. There’s still a way to fit chocolate and cheese into the day.
It’s surprising how fitting all the macros in is like a big puzzle and the puzzle changes from week to week. It’s a really good problem-solving skill builder.
What do you specifically like the most?
Right from the start I felt completely comfortable spilling my guts to my coach and Shauna found positives in every negative, constructive input for every problem I needed to solve, and is so realistic in fitting in life events, unexpected events, or spontaneous occasions. Hitting the targets isn’t always perfect and Shauna has helped in so many ways to find solutions, while still reaching my goals.
Aesthetics aside, what other things have you noticed with your success on the program?
I used to get bloated very easily and that rarely happens nowadays. My digestion is so much better.
Food is truly a form of fuel for me now. When I don’t get the right balance of macros at the right times of day, I notice a difference in my performance and my body’s ability to bounce back from more challenging work days. Being strategic about getting that balance is like a game. Some days, it’s a slog to try and hit those targets, but most days I still wake up in the morning and think: How am I going to hit my targets today, what will the challenges be, and how can I better fuel my body for work or the exercising I get to do?
Between the March 7, 2021 photo and the April 6, 2022 photo, I notice a really big difference in my face (and maybe a willingness to smile (not that someone said that dreaded phrase: you should smile more)) There’s a bit more of a glow in my face and some of that could very well be energy levels and overall better nutrition. My birthday photo (March 26), I felt so comfortable and cute that day. We did quite a bit of walking and I had such great energy!