Darlene's Nutrition and Training Commitment

​I am a 48 year old mother of three amazing young people, and wife to an incredibly supportive man.  All three kids are in post secondary, and all 3 participate in some form of fitness.   My two sons, Adam and Kurtis, are both involved at our gym; and my daughter, Daniella, works out at Movati in Guelph while attending university.  And as you know, my husband is a regular at the box too.

It was only when I hit my early 40s that I realized that I really needed to do something both with my activity and nutrition.  That's when I found Adam Phomin, pre-Crossfit Closer, and learned many of the basics for fitness and nutrition .

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1. Describe what you are doing both with your training regime and nutrition practice.

I changed the way I look at training and nutrition...really looked at it as something that I wanted, that I wanted to commit to.  Not just something that I 'should do' because someone else said so, or because someone else is doing it. 

I've made a commitment to myself to train 3 days a week.  I know it doesn't seem like alot when you hear of people going 4,5,or 6 days a week.  I found that too much, and that if I didn't go, I felt guilty.

So, I changed the way I look at training.  Commit to 3 days a week, and pour my heart into the workouts.  No half-ways, or 'maybe, I can do that'.  I decided that I would do as much as I can and push myself. 

After having been out of the gym for almost 8 months, moving the 35lb ladies bar was difficult.  Deadlifts, for example, were pretty much non-existent.  Move forward 6 months to today, and I hit my goal of 140lb deadlift (4 months earlier than expected!).  While 140lbs doesn't seem like much, when I consider that 6 months ago I was barely doing a 35lb deadlift, I think that 105lb increase is something to smile about.

As for my nutrition, a few months ago, I tried one of the diet plans that many of the ladies at our gym were doing.  In my mind, I was going to be that super-fit lean young woman, just like our 20-something athletes at our gym.  I was able to stick with it for a bit, but couldn't sustain such a regimented schedule and abide by the strict rules.  And realized (oddly enough), that I'm not 20 or 30 something anymore.

I took a bit of time off from dieting - still frustrated with lack of progress in the gym, I found (with my sister-in-law's help) a different kind of 'diet' - macros.  I found Stronger U which provided me with the flexibility to enjoy food - whatever I wanted, so long as it fit within my planned macros.  I eat based on the nutrition information that Adam Phomin gave me a number of years ago.  So, I tend to eat mostly whole 'real' foods.  Occasionally, I do have something different - but only if it fits my macros.  And, the added benefit is that I have a nutrition coach who is always there to respond to my questions, or 'talk me down' if I'm having a terrible day. 

So far, in the past 6 weeks of counting macros, I've lost close to 12 lbs and 17.5 inches overall!  And I'm not interested in 'finding' those pounds or inches again!

2. What made you want to prioritize your nutrition?

I've played around with many, many diets over the years.  Most 'worked'...at least temporarily, but nothing really stuck or became a way of life.  I yo-yoed for years.   I got some results and was happy, but couldn't sustain that particular way of dieting.

The fact of the matter is that I'm not 20 or 30 something anymore where looking at food doesn't cause weight gain.  I'm 48 - entering into a different stage of my life which also means a different way to take care of my body.  And, also a different way to understand how my body is going to work and respond with food.  As much as I love pizza, it doesn't quite love me as much anymore. 

Sadly, I see many women my age that are overweight, on some sort of medication, constantly unhappy with themselves and blaming everyone around them rather than taking the matter into their own hands.  I don't want to be just another 48 year old with all kinds of medical conditions or issues.  I don't want to be part of that statistic. 

I want to be an active participant in my kids lives for a long time and enjoy every minute of my life with Mike - healthy, happy, and pain free.

3. How is the prioritizing your nutrition changing your everyday life and results in the gym? 

That's an interesting question.  Initially, I didn't really notice very much.  I'm not craving some of the 'not so healthy' foods anymore though.

Now that I've made a commitment to myself, and not to anyone else, I feel more in control of my body and what I"m putting into it.  I'm definitely seeing progress at the gym, hitting PRs (re-established goals),  the bar moves easier around my body, body weight workouts are not as tiring as they used to be.  Don't get me wrong, I am definitely pooped out at the end of a WOD, but it's different.  There's more satisfaction because I poured myself into the workout.

I still have those days when I'm frustrated, thinking that I should be farther along than I am.  Let's face it, I've been one of Adam's students for almost 7 or 8 years!  But I think I finally figured it out.

Good nutrition = good/great training = a very happy Darlene!