Losing 40 pounds in three months is an admirable achievement, but losing your hair along the way isn’t.
IT professional Karine Simard struggled with her weight all her life. Like many people, she had tried one diet plan after another and attempted to exercise regularly, but nothing worked.
“I was always ‘too busy’ for exercise, but I was really busy at doing nothing,” said the 25-year-old. “Food was my biggest challenge, I would ‘eat’ my feelings.”
These days, people are bombarded by one weight loss miracle cure after another. At one point, Karine tried a diet plan that had her consuming large amounts of soy protein. The program worked all right – she lost those 40 pounds in three months. But the soy-based supplements played such havoc with her hormones she started to lose her hair. After she stopped that program, the weight came back … and then some.
Frustrated by her lack of lasting progress, Karine decided to get some professional help. A Facebook connection led her to Free Form Fitness’s location in the ByWard Market, down the street from where she works.
Since November, she has been coming in twice a week, and supplementing this by working out on her own at home several times a week.
The combination of personalized coaching with the FFF trainers and nutrition counselling has at last allowed Karine to get on track in a way she was never able to on her own.
“I can see my muscles growing, I can see definition in my shoulders I never could before. And I can lift weight before that I couldn’t – that’s always fun.”
With any new routine of fitness, the challenge is to get over that first month or two where it’s a rough ride as the body adjusts. This is where Karine would always fail on her own. But with the support of the FFF team, she quickly got over that hump to where she now enjoys working out. It’s become a natural part of her routine. Being accountable to the trainers, and wanting to see a good return on the investment she has made in her health, has kept Karine motivated.
Karine’s goal when she began was to lose 60 pounds. She wants to look good and get in shape for a trip she is taking in September to Belgium. So far, she has lost 25. But the positive changes go far beyond what she sees on the scale.
“I sleep better, I’m not as tired when I get home, or even during the day,” she said. “My mood is better. I’m happier and not cranky all the time like I was before. My cardiovascular capacity is much better. I can even deadlift my body weight.”
Keeping away from the junk food is still a challenge, but after months eating a clean diet, it’s Karine’s stomach that gets cranky now if she overindulges.
“It’s just not worth it anymore,” she said. “I’ve also found some great cookbooks and learned that healthy eating is more than steamed broccoli and chicken breast.”
After all those years trying fad diets, Karine has learned there is no substitute for balanced nutrition and healthy exercise. It just takes time and commitment to see positive results.
“It won’t happen overnight,” she said. “It took you a long time to gain that weight, you won’t lose it overnight. But in the end, it’s worth it – it will change the whole rest of your life.”
