Today we are celebrating Person X. Person X does not want to be identified but she deserves recognition for all her super heard work.

Person X has been a member of TF for quite some time and has a number of things to work through in order to be able to get to where she is today. Mindset and self-sabotage haunt thousands of people trying to achieve body composition goals, including Person X.

Though she has not completely overcome this problem, she has improved a zillion times! Where self-sabotage was something she battled daily, it now only rears its ugly head now and then. And the best part of her journey is that she no longer beat herself up when she has treats, but factors them into her life and embraces the flexible lifestyle.

Some of the other awesome results she has achieved include:

• Drop of 7.7kg just through the 3 months of isolation
• Reduced 10cm around her waist and 7cm around her hips during this time
• Has become comfortable with flexible dieting
• Is proud of herself and happy with her achievements

We started off with this plan at the beginning of the year as Person X’s goal was to look and feel wonderful at a friend’s wedding. Due to Corona Virus the wedding had to be postponed so Person X’s dress was never worn. However, she wanted to continue the journey and see what sort of results she could achieve despite the wedding not going ahead. So we carried on and worked hard throughout the isolation period and beyond.

Some of the strategies include:

• Reducing calories to about 25% deficit (we are now in a ‘reverse diet’ phase, bringing calories back up, and still keep her lean)
• Including diet breaks where we brought calories up to balance calories to balance hormones
• Factoring in treat meals into calories
• Strength training in PT and at the gym for the period prior to isolation
• Adapting training to home training and virtual PT during isolation
• Managing stress levels and working on promoting the Parasympathetic Nervous System (which is the system in our body that promotes repair, recovery and relaxation)
• Promoting optimal sleep
• Managing hydration levels
• Maintaining adequate levels of N.E.A.T. (non-exercise activity thermogenesis) to enhance energy expenditure, by maintaining a minimum of 10,000 steps per day

Here is Person X’s story in her words:

“I’ve been a member at TF for quite a few years now.  I joined during a down phase in my life; although I was very active, I didn’t see the physical changes I was working for as I had a terrible relationship with food.  When I first came across TF, I was carrying a lot of extra weight due to a prolonged binge and restrict cycle with food. In the midst of this, my sister in law convinced me to attend one of Terri’s workshops.  A lot of what Terri spoke about resonated with me I was also inspired by Terri’s own story with her health and weight.  It didn’t take me long to realize that if I wanted to do something about my poor habits, weight and confidence, TF was going to be the place to help me.

Shortly after the workshop, Terrific Fitness held a 12 week challenge that would help participants overhaul their nutrition.  I decided to join a challenge sign up to a round of boot camp as I was confident that this was accountability I needed to pull me out of the rut I was in.  It wasn’t easy to start – I remember thinking I wasn’t going to survive my very first boot camp session.  But what was tougher was managing the emotional binge eating as I knew that this horrible form of self-sabotage was the reason why my body wasn’t changing despite my unrelenting training routine.  It’s all well and good to tell someone to stop eating crap, but without them understanding the reasons why they do this, or recognizing this is how they deal with stress, won’t get you very far.  Aside from helping me fall in love with training again, what has kept me here is the unwavering support that the staff provide in helping members achieve their goals. Anyone can give you a cookie cutter exercise routine and meal plan that will work for 12 weeks.  What’s really important is the knowledge and understanding that goes with it that will help form positive lifelong habits, so that no matter what your goal is, you have the tools to achieve it. This is exactly what TF does.

Over this time I have learned two big lessons:

• One, is that self-sabotage is real and that 5 minutes every day is all it takes to undo weeks and months of hard work
• Two, is that the plan works when you follow it 😊

I’ve had my fair share of challenges but the biggest one is what has previously held me back, and what I am most committed to working on.  That is managing my own tendency to self-sabotage.  There have been a couple of occasions over the years where I needed to get real with myself and take responsibility for my habits.  As much I would give my all in training, I’d equally undo all my hard work by overeating the moment I had a taste for a food that wasn’t a regular part of my meal plan. I wouldn’t just slash the other three tyres if I got a flat one, I’d set the car on fire.

For the first quarter of this year, I worked closely with Terri with the goal of leaning up so I could fit back into an outfit that I wanted to wear at a wedding.  The good news is I got there – the bad news is we are in the year 2020, and 2020 doesn’t give a toss about anyone’s plans so the wedding outfit wasn’t to be. When Terri and I re-assessed my goals at the beginning of isolation I told her that I had one criteria, I didn’t want to go backwards as I felt so happy seeing that the hard work and commitment had actually paid off.  Terri adapted my training to home workouts with minimal equipment, and we were back on our way.

I’ve used this time to instill some strong habits around routine and consistency, however the gold nugget for me has been to get clued up on being more flexible with my food.  I track and log my food every day – this may not work for everyone, but it’s what keeps me accountable to my goals. It is also what allows me to factor in the “20%” without it completely destroying the “80%.”  Not every day is going to be perfect, but working closely with Terri has meant that I have the knowledge to determine how to make the occasional treat fit without completely going off the rails.  It also means I don’t gorge on something because ‘who knows when I’ll get to have it again’.  I’ve been empowered by knowledge and that is what ensures the results stay. As the weeks in iso passed, I noticed that I was leaning up even more.  I didn’t miss a home workout and I still achieved 10,000 steps per day despite my daily routine looking substantially different to what it did 6 months ago.  It just goes to show that where there is a will (and a bloody good coach) there is a way.   

I’m only half way to my goal – I acknowledge that right now my calories are low.  The next goal I have is to build my calories back up without the additional kilos.  I want to look in the mirror in 6 months’ time and see that I’ve sustained or even improved upon this result.  Although it’s scary as I’ve never been in this position before, I know it’s only a matter of doing what I did to get me here …. being accountable, trusting the process, being consistent, and most importantly, following the plan.”

• Person X