Client Success Story: When Diets Didn’t Work
Today’s client success story features my wonderful client Connie (47), who is a busy mom of 4 as well as a full-time small business owner and web designer! Connie and I have been working together for a little over 3 months, and in that time she has lost 20 pounds, which far exceeded her initial expectations. Diets didn’t work for Connie… but a new lifestyle did!
One of Connie’s keys to success was that even though she had concerns about strength training and building too much muscle (since she puts on muscle easily), she still followed the strength training program, and saw her waist and hips each go down by almost four inches.
This is such a common fear that I encounter in my new clients: “I just want to lose weight – I don’t want to bulk up.”
It’s hard to internalize the fact that “bulk” is not muscle – it’s excess body fat. It seems logical to not want to build muscle if you’re wanting to get leaner, but the opposite is actually true. By implementing a strength training program in conjunction with a smart nutrition program, Connie maintained her muscle mass during fat loss, gaining three pounds of muscle while losing 23 pounds of fat. Her estimated body fat percentage went from 38% to 29% in just 3 months… and we’re not done yet!
This doesn’t always happen when people restrict food and focus solely on cardio – if you don’t include resistance training, you set up the risk of losing a lot of lean muscle along with the fat, and in the process lowering your metabolism to unsustainable levels (since muscle burns 2-3 times more calories at rest than fat). And it goes beyond sheer calorie burn – it’s a fitness issue, that when women have more lean muscle mass and more power, they’re capable of working out at higher intensities and creating a positive and sustainable upward spiral of fitness and body composition.
Changing your body composition, then, and not just your weight, is what will work for long-term weight loss once you’re over 35 or 40… not keto, not fasting, and not restricting. This is why diets didn’t work for Connie – the focus had to change from weight to body composition and fitness.
As a result of maintaining her lean muscle mass and improving her body composition, Connie now feels that she’s at the “right” weight for herself, and no doubt her metabolism is in better shape than it has been in years. Because we weren’t overly restrictive and focused on building new habits, we don’t have to worry about weight rebound, and she has the gift of sailing into her late 40’s and early 50’s in amazing shape.
Now, in Connie’s on words…
“Weight had slowly crept on year after year…”
I’m a mom of 4 and I own my own business. So life’s pretty busy all around! I’m a web designer and I work from home so I spend a lot of time sitting at a desk or sitting in the car driving my kids to activities. Additionally, I live in Nebraska so getting outside to exercise comes with some seasonal challenges.
Before working with Rachel my nutrition and exercise was decent but the weight had slowly crept on year after year and I wasn’t sure how to stop (or reverse, ideally!) that trend. I had tried keto, intermittent fasting and general “move more, eat less” eras but there was always a lot of mental doubt that I had the right plan in place and “how much more” and “how much less” was healthy, sustainable or effective.
Additionally, as a woman in my mid-40’s, I felt conflicted by all the articles I was reading about how important strength training is (seriously, that’s all anyone ever says these days when you hit your mid-40’s), but I’ve always had an athletic build and building muscle has never been a problem for me. So I knew there was more to it for me at least… I just wasn’t sure what all the pieces should be.
After hitting a number on the scale that I had never seen before (not in a good way), I decided to find someone who could give me a personalized plan that included both personal training and nutrition. I simply didn’t want to guess anymore.
“I feel like I’m the weight I’m supposed to be at now…”
Working with Rachel took the second-guessing, doubt and emotion out of losing weight. I had a plan that was realistic and that I trusted and I simply followed the plan.
The results came pretty quick and surprisingly easy. I lost 20 pounds in 3 months without losing muscle. I feel like I’m the weight I’m supposed to be at now and I feel strong, both lifting and running. Although I’m still not a great runner, I enjoy it and it’s so much easier on my knees now and I really look forward to run days!
One of my favorite things from the nutrition side of working with Rachel is that she has given me tools for eating out and ideas for keeping things healthy at work conferences and during travel—situations that are a part of life but are harder to control.
I really appreciate how custom Rachel’s plan was for me. She asks questions and adjusts things so that it works with my lifestyle and goals. She didn’t lump me into a generic plan and that was exactly what I was looking for with working one-on-one with someone who had both the personal training and nutrition background.
“If I were to give advice…”
If I were to give advice to other moms and business owners it would be…
- Start paying attention to your step counts for the day and set a baseline minimum (mine is 8,000). I think this really helped me carve out time in my day in short spurts or a longer walk (it’s hard some days but is still realistic).
- Having meal-prepped or go-to breakfast and lunches have been easy changes that have had a big impact as well. Having less to think about for ⅔ of meals makes the other ⅓ a lot easier to keep in control.
Rachel here again…
These are great tips from Connie!
As a mom and solopreneur myself, I related very much to Connie’s lifestyle issues – I spend many days myself stuck behind a computer or ferrying my daughter. But her advice is spot on – you get more proactive, you do what you can, you push your limits, and you stay consistent. You don’t have to be perfect.
Diets didn’t work for Connie, but here are some lifestyle strategies that Connie used to lose 20 pounds in three months:
- We refined her daily (and weekend) routines several times to make sure that her meals and snacks were ideally timed and composed for her goals and her lifestyle. We didn’t follow a “diet” and she didn’t cut anything out – we just got realistic and tuned things up, focusing on more protein, more fiber, and more consistency.
- Connie likes to run, so we used it as both her moderate-intensity and high-intensity cardio, and she was incredibly consistent with it three times a week!
- We created healthy “on-the-go” versions of meals and snacks that would be her “new normal” for busy times like work travel, kids’ practices, and chaotic weekends. This prevented her “falling off track” when she couldn’t cook a meal at home.
- Connie used MyFitnessPal at first to make sure that she had a basic awareness of her calorie and protein goals… but over time we started “weaning” off with more and more untracked meals, beefing up her automatic planning and routines.
- Connie used heavier and heavier weights… and this is a journey that will continue! She didn’t stick with tiny pink dumbbells because she “puts on muscle easily”… she is using 50 pound dumbbells and is continuing to build her ideal physique!
Great job, Connie!
Connie is in my signature transformation coaching program, which is completely one-on-one and provides 100% custom workouts, personalized nutrition coaching, progress tracking, and one-on-one deep-dive Zoom calls. Because she is 4 months into the program, her calls have reduced to once per month, which means I have the room in my client roster to take on another in-depth coaching client. If you’re ready to build a body that makes you proud (and maybe, like Connie, exceed your own expectations!), get started with a free consultation and let’s talk about your goals.
